Excel for Mac (v16.49) does not autosave?

[talltree]

I have a standalone version of Excel (16.49) running on my M1 Mini. I just realized that no document, even if left open for hours, will save any changes until I specifically hit Command-S. I'm not saving to the Cloud, and all docs are on the main drive. Is this normal behavior? I can't find any settings for Save, except Preferences, and the 3 boxes in the Save tab are checked (none really have anything to do with autosave). Any suggestions?

 

[chabig]

Excel doesn't autosave, except to OneDrive.

 

[usagora]

Excel doesn't autosave, except to OneDrive.

I believe this is correct, but that raises a question: why can't it also autosave to a local drive? 🤔

 

[chabig]

I believe this is correct, but that raises a question: why can't it also autosave to a local drive? 🤔

Because Microsoft wants to promote their cloud products.

 

[usagora]

Because Microsoft wants to promote their cloud products.

I know the OP has the standalone version of office, which doesn't include OneDrive, but I'm a Microsoft 365 subscriber, which includes 1TB of OneDrive storage, and I still can't autosave to a local drive, so I don't think that makes sense as a reason. As long as you're paying for your subscription, why would MS care whether you were actually using OneDrive or not?

 

[chabig]

I’m a subscriber too. But other than the reason I suggested, the only other explanation is lazy programming.

 

[McScooby]

It doesn't autosave other than to OneDrive, but you should be able to autorecover if the s/s is shut inadvertently.

 

[mj_]

I think there's more than just lazy programming, such as for example the need to keep a version history so you can revert to earlier versions if you take the process of saving away from the user's responsibility and entrust your software with it. Versioning and the ability to revert to any time in the past is key for a feature like this to gain any sort of acceptance. In addition, autosave is a key component of Microsoft's auto-sync routine that allows multiple people to work on a single document simultaneously. I doubt they did it that way to promote their cloud products as that feature is fully available to you even if you don't pay for OneDrive and use their free 5 GB per person offering instead. It's just that while autosave may have been easily and quickly implemented for local drives as well the ramifications thereof could end up being disastrous.

With that said all Microsoft Office products keep an internal snapshot of your documents and are capable of restoring the last version should your computer or office application crash. That feature has been available for decades.

 

[ItWasNotMe]

Isn't what the original poster was seeking now called Autorecover?

Activated when your next reopen Excel