Microsoft Word now automatically saves new documents to the cloud: Details

Microsoft Word for Windows now automatically saves new documents to the cloud, offering real-time AutoSave, secure storage, easy collaboration, and access across all devices

Microsoft Word for Windows is getting a major update that changes how new documents are saved. According to the Microsoft 365 insider blog, any new file will be automatically stored in the cloud, so users do not need to enable AutoSave or select a cloud location manually. The company aims to make documents safer, easier to access across devices, and always backed up without extra effort.

 

This feature is available to Word for Windows users running Version 2509 (Build 19221.20000) or later. Microsoft said that similar functionality is coming to Excel for Windows and PowerPoint for Windows later this year.

 

Raul Munoz, product manager at Microsoft Office Shared Services and Experiences team, said, “We are modernising the way files are created and stored in Word for Windows! Now you don’t have to worry about saving your documents: Anything new you create will be saved automatically to OneDrive or your preferred cloud destination.”   

 

The blog stated that the Word files will have all the cloud advantages, including:

• Secure and compliant: Files follow company security rules automatically.
• Auto-save: Work is saved in real time.
• Flexible storage: Name, organise, and store files where you want.
• Access anywhere: Syncs across devices and browsers.
• Easy collaboration: Share and edit with others in real time.
• Copilot support: AI assistance while creating or updating documents. (A Copilot Chat or Microsoft 365 Copilot license is required).

Microsoft Word’s automatic save: How it works

• Create a new document in Word on your Windows device and notice that AutoSave is already toggled on. The new document will be named with a date instead of the traditional document name.
• Select Save (Ctrl + S) to change the file name or file location. Once selected, click Confirm.
• If you close the document before saving, a dialog will appear asking you whether you want to ‘Discard’ or ‘Keep’ it. If you are closing an empty document, it will be discarded without confirmation.
• You can change where new documents are created by right-clicking on any cloud folder and selecting ‘Set as Default Location’.
• You can change how new files are created (either automatically in the cloud or in the traditional way) in the ‘Save’ page of ‘Word Options’ by selecting or deselecting ‘Create new files in the cloud automatically.’

Known issues

• If you start a new Word session while another Word session is running, the new file created is not automatically saved.
• Sometimes, after changing the name of the document, there is a delay in refreshing the list of recent files.
• If you have the ‘Show the Start screen when this application starts’ setting disabled, the first file created after starting Word will not be automatically saved.