Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 23, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021
Excel includes the ability to save automatic backups of your workbooks, and this can be controlled on a workbook-by-workbook basis. If your system is configured to create backups automatically, you may want to modify whether a backup is created for a particular workbook. In order to turn it off for a specific workbook you need to follow these steps:
Figure 1. The General Options dialog box.
Following these steps affects only the current workbook; other workbooks remain unchanged in their behavior.
The first thing to realize about this particular setting in Excel is that it is fairly esoteric and, therefore, easy to miss. Normally you change settings in Excel by going to the Excel Options dialog box—not so with this setting. Note it is only accessed through the Save As dialog box.
Another thing that should be noted—it is easy to confuse automatic backups with AutoRecover. These are not the same. AutoRecover is a way to save temporary information, between "hard saves," so that you can recover a workbook on which you are working if the power goes out. Automatic backups are copies of your workbook saved whenever you save the workbook itself. (These backups are stored in the same folder as the original workbook being backed up.) Since AutoRecover and automatic backups are two different features of Excel, changing the settings of one feature doesn't affect the other at all.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3884) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021.
Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2013 For Dummies today!
Excel allows you to display the results of several common worksheet functions on the status bar. The available functions ...
Discover MoreReferring to cells is typically done using a letter and a number, which represent the column and row. That's not the only ...
Discover MoreIf you find yourself working with a number of different workbooks at the same time, you may want to arrange your desktop ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2024 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments