5 Tips to Customize “File Save” Page in Microsoft Office Applications
There is no doubt that Microsoft Office is one of the most popular and widely used software created for Windows OS. Most of us regularly use Microsoft Word and other Office applications to create our documents, presentation slides, etc.
There are many people who have switched to the latest Office 2013 version. On the other hand there are some people who are still using older versions of Office suite such as Office 2010, 2007 or 2003. We here at AskVG are using the latest Office 2013 version in our computer systems and we love it.
Microsoft always tries its best to improve the functionality of Office applications in each new version which can be seen in the file open or save pages in various Office applications. Previous Office versions used the classic Windows dialog box to open or save documents but Microsoft changed it in Office 2010 and 2013 versions. These new versions show a different page to open or save documents instead of the classic dialog box.
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Today in this tutorial, we are going to share a few tips to tweak and customize the file save page in Office applications. These tips will help you in making your experience with Office better and easier.
So without wasting time lets start the tutorial:
STEP 1: Open any Office program such as Microsoft Word and open its Options window. Click on Office ORB or FILE menu present in the ribbon and then click on Options.
STEP 2: It’ll open Options window. Now click on “Save” tab and you’ll see various options to change and customize file open and save dialog box functionality.
You can customize these options according to your requirements as suggested in following steps:
Table of Contents
Option 1: Change Default File Format to Save New Documents
With the help of this option, you can change the default file format which is used by Office programs to save new documents. You can set it to a previous Office version format for compatibility purposes or you can set it to a webpage format.
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You can change the default file format using the drop-down box given in “Save files in this format” section at the top.
Option 2: Change Auto Recover File Creation Time
Whenever you are working on a new document in an Office program, it automatically saves your changes in a hidden auto-recover file which is saved in every 10 minutes by default. It helps you in recovering your data if something goes wrong such as your computer accidentally shuts down or Office program crashes. In such cases, you can recover the data from the auto-recover file.
If you want, you can decrease the 10 minutes time period so that Office saves your data quickly and you don’t lose it ever.
You can change the auto-recover time period using “Save AutoRecover information every xx minutes” option.
You can also change the auto-recover file location using “AutoRecover file location” option. Just use the browse button and select your desired location.
Option 3: Disable New File Save Page and Get Classic Dialog Box Back
As we mentioned in the beginning of this article, Microsoft changed the default file open and save page in newer Office versions.
The new Office versions use a new “Backstage page” to ask you whether you want to save the file to your local computer or to your online accounts such as SkyDrive.
If you don’t use SkyDrive account, you can disable this new save page and get the classic Windows dialog box by enabling “Don’t show the Backstage when opening or saving files” option.
Option 4: Remove SkyDrive Option from File Open and Save Pages
If you don’t want to disable new file open and save pages but want to remove SkyDrive option from these pages, you can do this by disabling “Show additional places for saving, even if sign-in may be required” option. It’ll remove SkyDrive option from file open and save pages.
You can also set your local computer as default file save location by enabling “Save to Computer by default” option.
Option 5: Change Default File Save Location
By default all Office programs save your documents in your user documents directory or library. If you want to save your documents in a different directory, you can permanently set it as default file save location.
Just select your desired drive or folder using browse button given in “Default local file location” option.
It has also been mentioned in details in following AskVG article:
How to Change Default File Save Location in Microsoft Office?
That’s it. After making desired changes, click on OK button and it’ll immediately take effect. Almost all these options are universal so once you change an option in a particular Office program, it’ll also apply to other Office programs automatically.
Didnt know about 3 and 4 tip. Thanks for sharing.
Disabling backstage makes no changes whatsoever for me.
For anyone looking for the Group Policy option to disable the SkyDrive integration in Office 2013 then here is the place to set it.
Open Group Policy Editor and create a new GPO.
Navigate to: User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Office 2013 -> Miscellaneous
In the Right Pane Click on: Show SkyDrive Sign In and Choose Disabled.
If you don’t have the Microsoft Office 2013 in your Admin Templates list you’ll need to download the Office 2013 ADMX Files from here: microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35554
Hope that helps someone.
I’ve the same problem as Israel Redden. Disabling backstage doesn’t do anything. Maybe you have to be disconnected from MS account…
Hmm… I found something strange. Look, no Browse buttons: img203.imageshack.us/img203/5530/gabx.png
If you want disable Office-SkyDrive integration so that Office Behaviour became the same as previus versions, you must eliminate the Register Keys under
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SkyDrive\FileSyncPartner
In this location you find some Keys related to office 15. Erase all Keys except the default one with no value setted.
Magic, you see your office load and save locally and SkyDrive that sync files on the cloud.
When I use Word or Excel in Windows, and I try to save a file to a sub-sub-directory of My Documents using “Save As”, I can’t get there like I could in Windows XP. I read the AskVG article “How to Change Default File Save Location in Microsoft Office?” and I couldn’t find a solution there. Any ideas?
^^ Please provide more details. What screen or window do you get when you use Save as option and what screen do you want in place of it?
Same as Greg, I want the save dialog to open when I select Save As but I still get the “backstage” page and have to click on Browse to open the actual save dialog window.
It seems that these options only apply to Open and Save but not to Save As.
(6/1/2015)
In previous versions of Word (and all Office programs), a Save As would bring up all the files in a directory. This was very useful (especially because I name my files from different programs similarly). Now, only the files that have the same extension as the type of file you’re Saving As are shown. Does anyone know we can show all the files?
I default to .xlsx for saving (Excel 2013), but regularly have to save as .xls, .csv, or .txt. I hate all the format options to choose from and have picked varying .txt and .csv types (Unicode, MS-DOS, Mac etc.) or simply miss with the mouse and choose some other format by accident. The Quick Access toolbar allows for the “Save As Other Format” button which includes a drop down of 6 options, 1 of which is the default anyway and only 1 other one is of use (.xls). This seems like almost exactly what I want, except I can’t change the 6 options (or can I?) Will this drop down self-correct/learn as I use it to always do certain file types or is there some other way to alter it so that the types I actually use will be in that drop down?
Hi Is there a way of customising/editing the file format list in the “Save As” dialog? I do a lot of file conversions but I only ever use a few formats (xls, xlsx, txt, csv, maybe sometimes a few more). And the list has like 20 more which I never use. Can I hide them so I dont have to scroll through them each time I use “Save As”?
^^ Try Formats Customizer. Google for it.
God, I just want a file dialog box when I type Alt-F A. WHY is this so freaking hard? None of these options work for me, for opening or saving.
I am so frustrated. I’ve selected the option to not display external sources for saving and to not display the backstage. Neither worked. I also deleted the reg keys no change.
Everytime I choose file-save as (which I can never use file save) it attempts to point at 3 stupid OneDrive and “teamsites” that I pointed at, at one point in my life recently. It sits for 10 seconds.. finally I get browse.. then it fails to respond, then comes back with a new menu – where my mouse is now on a different button..
This is infuriating. I work on dozens of docs a day FLIPPING MADNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How do I get a normal save as dialog back? Why does Windows think it knows better than me and suggests places to save it? It needs to just open the dang my docs folder. Thanks. Kindle
When I try the path File > Save As > This PC in Excel it used to show a list of recent places that I saved other xlsx files. Now it shows the same information as if I had clicked on “Browse”. How can I make it show the recent folders again?
^^ May be following article will help you:
https://www.askvg.com/tip-customize-number-of-recent-documents-and-show-them-in-left-sidebar-of-microsoft-office-programs/
I want a classification pop up in ms word / power point and excel , which asks me to select the information classification scheme ( radio button = public / private and confidential ) before saving the document. I should not be able to by pass it.
How to go about making it?
PLSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS HELP
Hello,
s Is it possible to hard code today’s date into every file in the “Save As” box for every file on one’s computer running windows?
Same as Chris – re “Save As” page – just open my current folder file list. So simple. So please, developers, this concept of “improving” applications by inserting additional choice pages between the user and his task under the guise of providing a better service, is a disease that is all over the IT industry now, as is making pages all pictures and the fonts enormous as if we use baseball bats to make touch screen choices. It allows for more clicks if you are selling adverts, but Excel isn’t (yet: mark my words, folks). Seriously, the “Save As” extra page with extra choices and browse click “options” that cannot be turned off is infuriating, useless and stupid if I don’t need/want/use it. Please, Microsoft, help me be as efficient as I want so I can sing your praises like I used to.
Best regards, Jakes
AWEFUL. I’m of the group that wants a FIX or WORKAROUND for the ALT-F-A
(file save-as). Is there anyway I can do this from the keyboard ?
EUREKA! for me
ALT,F,A,,
(don’t do it too fast thought)
HA HA HA, double the keystrokes, but there is it, BROWSE, the old save dialog showing all files of type docx.
I am laughing cause hate to cry, esp at work. I want to call the entire MS Office Software team IDIOTS. I’m sure that ain’t true. Yet I am sure there is at least a few in their ranks that are. HOW can you let this get thru ? Usability testing on major interface changes. Alt-F-A is my most used feature !!!
if you want to see all, not just docx, put *.* in the file_name of the save-as dialog, press enter.
Has anyone attempted to create a keystroke macro that “simulates” customary operation ? How’s STAR OFFICE or GOOGLE DOCS look now ? Not a good time to be non competitive MS.
Sign me, MS Officer Lover, becoming Hater.
This only helps for when we create new documents. But our offices saves all client related documents into one shared folder. I’d like to know if there is a way to open one of our document templates, make changes, and then have the Save As location (we use F12) to default to our one shared folder where all of our documents are saved. This would be tremendously helpful.
All I want to do is Save As… back to the same folder, with a revised file name, eg, date. Why in the world does Office want to send me back to the folder where the file I saved 2 or 3 times ago was?
How to I tell Word and Office to automatically offer the folder that the file was opened in?
Is this a Microsoft “functional improvement”?
DITTO – Alt+F=A “File – Save As”
I need this back!
Changing the “Backstage” in File options only works for ‘Save’, not ‘Save As’
Earlier question: “In previous versions of Word (and all Office programs), a Save As would bring up all the files in a directory. This was very useful (especially because I name my files from different programs similarly). Now, only the files that have the same extension as the type of file you’re Saving As are shown. Does anyone know we can show all the files?”
I want to repeat this question. It’s important to see the whole list of files in whatever types/formats/extensions existing in the folder. I desperately need a solution to this problem!
^^ You should temporarily see all the files if you type “*.*” (without quatition marks) as the file name and press enter.
This is a complication and doesn’t help.
It’s a pity that this useful feature together with several others are not available in MS Office Pro anymore.
Thank you.
checking the Don’t show the Backstage worked 🙂