
GET TO AUTOSAVE ON MICROSOFT FOR MAC LICENSE
The first thing you need to know, then, is that AutoSave is only available if you have a subscription license for Office. Microsoft automatically updates the Office programs with new features, but only the programs licensed with a subscription.

GET TO AUTOSAVE ON MICROSOFT FOR MAC INSTALL
It’s still technically possible to get a “permanent license” for a one-time purchase, but Microsoft strongly discourages it – you won’t get new features (like AutoSave), you won’t be able to install the license on multiple devices, and the programs have odd limitations. If you click on File / Account in one of the Office programs, you will likely see something like the above picture showing that it’s a subscription product. Business users may not realize it when they get their computer set up for them, but the business has purchased licenses from Microsoft through one of the Office 365 business plans. As the Provider Of IT Services™, I’ve been the bearer of bad tidings far too often over the years.ĪutoSave is an alternative that does a better job, but only for Office 365 subscribers working on files stored in OneDrive.īy now, most of you have subscribed to Office 365 for a license to use the Office programs. It’s effective and simple, except for the part where it doesn’t seem to work when you really need it. After a crash or unexpected shutdown, the “Document Recovery Pane” appears on the left when you start up Word or Excel, showing you work that might not have been saved. The Office programs have had AutoRecover for years, automatically saving your work every 10 minutes. (The old document will be updated while you work.) Instead, you have to open the document and immediately click File / Save A Copy and give the file a new name before you start working. You can’t open a document, work on it, and save it with a new name. The second is that you have to change one part of your work flow.The first is that you need a clear understanding of whether you’re connected to OneDrive or OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft has done nothing to make that less confusing. This is a pretty good reason to start using OneDrive. OneDrive and OneDrive For Business offer reliable syncing (on par with Dropbox) and plenty of storage space.No more lost work if the program crashes! If you open an Office file stored in OneDrive, the latest Office 365 versions of Word/Excel/Powerpoint will automatically save your work every few seconds.In other words, it’s a typical Microsoft solution. Oh, and there’s one bit that will drive you completely batshit crazy until you get used to it.

No more lost work!Īll you have to do is meet a couple of requirements – little things, really, except you might have to completely change the way you work and where you store your files. Microsoft has finally set up Word, Excel and Powerpoint the same way, so they save your work continuously.

Now that you think about it, you’re feeling a bit superior, aren’t you? Stop it. In fact, you’ve forgotten about that problem because Google Docs automatically saves everything continuously. That has never happened to you if you use Google Docs. Have you ever lost hours of work in a Word document because you closed it without saving? Of course you have.
