Knowledge Base

WD: Information About the AutoSave/AutoRecover Feature

Article ID: 176382

Article Last Modified on 11/21/2006

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This article was previously published under Q176382

SUMMARY

In Word, you can use the AutoRecover (Word 98) or the AutoSave (Word 6.x) feature to recover a document if your computer loses power or if Word hangs or freezes while you are working and you are forced quit the program.

MORE INFORMATION

The AutoRecover (Word 98) or AutoSave (Word 6.x) feature creates a recovered file with a file name similar to "AutoRecovery Save of <file name>" (Word 98) or Word Work File XXX (Word 6.x). The default folder that this file is usually saved in is the folder called Rescued Items from Macintosh Harddrive (Word 98) or a folder called Temporary Items (Word 6.x). You can change this location. To do so, see the section below in this article called Setting the Location for Autorecover/AutoSave Files.

When Word is restarted after a crash or after you are forced to quit while this feature is active, Word searches the system for any files with names similar to "Word Work File XXX" and it automatically tries to open these files. If Word is successful in recovering the file, the file will be opened. The document title bar will display the document's file name as "<file name> (Recovered)." You can save the file at this time.

To turn on this feature, follow these steps:

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  2. Click the Save tab.
  3. Click to select the Automatic Save Every check box and set the number of minutes between saves, and then click OK.
To turn on this feature, follow these steps below appropriate to your version of Word:

Word 98

  1. On the Tools menu, click Preferences.
  2. Click the Save tab.
  3. Click to select the Save AutoRecover Info Every check box and set the number of minutes between saves, and then click OK.

Word 6.x

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  2. Click the Save tab.
  3. Click to select the Automatic Save Every check box and set the number of minutes between saves, and then click OK.
IMPORTANT: The AutoSave and AutoRecover features are not replacements for manually saving your files. That is, even when you use AutoSave or AutoRecover, you must manually save your documents.

To save a document in Word, follow these steps:

  1. On the File menu, click Save.
  2. Select the desired location.
  3. In the Save Current Document As box, type the name you want to give your file, and click Save.

Setting the Location for AutoSave Files

To change where the automatically saved files are saved to, follow the steps appropriate for your version of Word.

Word 98:

  1. On the Tools menu, click Preferences, and then click the File Locations tab.
  2. In the File Types box, click AutoRecover Files and then click Modify.
  3. Change the folder to where you want Word to store recovered documents.
  4. Click Use Selected Folder.
  5. Click Close.
Word 6.x:

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the File Locations tab.
  2. In the File Types box, click AutoSave Files, and then click Modify.
  3. Change the folder to where you want Word to store recovered documents.
  4. Click Use Selected Folder.
  5. Click Close.
For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

156577 WD97: Unable to Recover Lost Document


Additional query words: automatic backup back up

Keywords: kbhowto KB176382


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