Autosave not working - no files are there

I think what's really troubling to me is how many people are having this issue, yet nothing has been addressed about it.

My current job is the first time I've had to use Excel exclusively and I hate it (I've never liked it to begin with, but you would think using it would change my mind. Nope). Just last week, I spent several hours working on something when Excel itself crashed upon saving. It took forever before it would recover to the point where I had to close and then open it.

Despite ALWAYS having auto save on for every 10 minutes (as I have it with all my other Office programs), I have NO files on either one of my computers, from which I worked on the file last. As the OP mentioned, autosave does nothing if files can't be recovered when something happens. And with this occurring, I'm not convinced that Word is even updating; thankfully I keep most of personal items in Google Drive, which DOES update every time a file is changed and I save it manually.

That's what I don't understand. Last week, I noticed I now have this 'AutoSave' icon next to the actual Save icon and it's turned to off. This has just appeared and what's annoying is, I don't know how to turn it on. Every place I've looked says to turn it on in options, however - as mentioned above - it's BEEN turned on in options, ever since I installed it on my computer. How is it that in options it can be turned on, but show being turned on??

I've included a screen shot - again, this item did not turn on until last week and has never been there before. Is this something new? And again, HOW DO I TURN IT ON??

The AutoSave feature you are referring to is new. It works exclusively with OneDrive and Sharepoint sites.

So, if you are saving to OneDrive or Sharepoint, AutoSave will save every few seconds and give you a complete version history.

This is not the same as AutoRecover which is what you are referring to in Options.

https://www.petri.com/autosave-office-documents

Oh thanks! Now here's another question - how do I get rid of it? It only shows up in Excel and I don't use either OneDrive or Sharepoint.

Also, it still doesn't solve my autosave issues either.

I've had exactly this same issue twice now, since that new Autosave toggle appeared.  The file is saved in OneDrive, the Autosave is set to 10 minutes and yet....nothing.  Only the original file from the beginning of the session is saved.  After Excel crashed, I open the file and hours of work are lost because it wasn't saving (i had an internet connection the whole time, was logged in, etc.)

@Microsoft - why give us a false sense of security that your application is saving our work?  At least before (in the 90s, before autosave was a default feature), I knew that if I didn't save, I'd lose the work I'd done if your application crashed.  This Autosave feature is so simple and so frustratingly poorly implemented.  Google Sheets - which is FREE - does a better job of this basic, fundamental feature.  What's up?

Sincerely

• a frustrated, paying customer

This Autosave feature is so simple and so frustratingly poorly implemented.  Google Sheets - which is FREE - does a better job of this basic, fundamental feature.  What's up?

Sincerely

• a frustrated, paying customer

You hit the nail on the head. 

This is another example of a "me too" feature. A competitor implements a well liked feature, and "does it right", then MS Marketing comes along and pushes developers to come up with something they can give the (almost) same name to. But it is a "fast and dirty" copy so it is no where near as functional as the feature they copied from.  MS has been doing this since the 1980's. 

It is better if you make this complaint on the appropriate uservoice forums:

“UserVoice.com” - MS Suggestion box sites

The Office 2016 applications now have the File menu > Feedback command.  The 2 “smiley face” buttons just submit ideas, with no possibility of feedback.  The third “I Have a Suggestion” button. It connects you to the appropriate “UserVoice” subsite.  There you can make a suggestion. During the start of the process it does a keyword search looking for similar existing suggestions. You can pick an existing suggestion to vote for (and add a comment to or you can submit a new suggestion.  Copy the link to the suggestion and post it back in the Answers forum if you had a question started there.

A better place to submit this type of feedback the “UserVoice” forum. You can submit suggestions for “new feature requests”, “change existing feature requests” or actual “bug reports” to the forum either by “voting” and commenting on a similar existing suggestion or by creating a new suggestion for others to vote and comment on.

When MS determines there is “enough” interest they will change the status of the post to indicate if they are going to work on it or ignore it.  What is “enough” interest is totally undefined. Some postings have been acted on with only a dozen or 2 votes and comments.  Others (like “bring back Picture Manager” continue to be ignored even though they have several hundred votes and comments.

It is also a good idea to provide cross posted links.  Put a link back to this answers.com posting on UserVoice, and add a reply here with a link to your specific posting on UserVoice.

Pointing to “uservoicpe” is a wasted effort.  That is just the high level identifier with no link to MS specific subsites!

• MS has SEVERAL dozen sub sites.

• MS does NOT have naming standards for those sub sites.

• MS does NOT have a home page to guide people to all of the sub sites.

<HINT HINT MS!>

This next link is a wiki with a collection of MS UserVoice.com sites I’ve encountered (I’m sure there are more):

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki/windows\_10-desktop/ms-suggestion-box-sites-at-uservoicecom/7397119c-6d48-49e6-8d94-7bd0a50d214f

Go to UserVoice, either through specific links I’ve provided below or create your own suggestions there. That is where MS is looking specifically for this type of user feedback to bring them back to reality from what-ever lala-land they are working in when they make these “improvements”.  Comments (and votes) like these in UserVoice helped to convince MS to roll back the “phat QAT” buttons in 2016 and to at least partially undo the 2016 changes to the way the Pen input works.

Please do copy the comments you’ve made here and paste them into comments in UserVoice. Also include a link to this question. If you do make a suggestion, copy the link to the UserVoice suggestion and post it back on this question so other people with the same problem can vote for it and comment on it. (You’ll get faster action that way.) Please get all of your friends and co-workers who use Office to vote for your issue!

This blog has a picture to show MS really is looking at UserVoice sites:

http://blog.indezine.com/2016/02/powerpoint-feedback-and-uservoice-does.html

https://www.change.org/p/satya-nadella-microsoft-what-computer-users-want-changed-in-windows-10

• Public petition site

Win10- Send feedback to Microsoft with the Feedback Hub app

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4021566/windows-10-send-feedback-to-microsoft-with-feedback-hub-app

Win10 Office – Use Win10 Feedback Hub To Capture Office Install Errors

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice_install-mso_win10/office-365-deployment-tool-ignores-part-of-the/a2a7c12b-12f0-4ecb-9343-8994037706fb?msgId=2223d383-61cc-48dc-b489-7464791359f6

Softie Devlin Sco suggested using the Win 10 Feedback Hub to capture errors to submit to MS. I am waiting for confirmation that it can be used to capture, and submit to MS Support, Office installation errors.

In order to submit new feedback, please follow these steps:

1. On a Windows 10 device, search for “Feedback Hub” in Cortana search, then launch the app.
2. Navigate to Feedback in the left menu, then press + Add new feedback.
3. Select the Problem, and share any details you think are relevant, and choose an appropriate category and subcategory

Important: If possible, reproduce the problem(s) (ie start Office Install) after clicking Begin monitoring (or Start capture) near the end of the form; Stop monitoring when you’re done

1. Once you’ve completed the form and monitoring, click Submit
2. Click Continue using Feedback Hub
3. Click My feedback at the top, then find the item you submitted (it may take a while to appear)
4. Open the item you submitted, then click Share
5. Click Copy link, then paste the link here in your response (it will look like https://aka.ms/ <unique link>)

Win10 Feedback to make after crapplets are working

Add configuration option to customize selection color, like maC

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice_word-mso_mac/selection-contrast/fb7f5f56-4754-41d6-b1da-23a70fb80c88?msgId=b4d84679-79be-4f52-b380-7eef27432c54

How do I give feedback on Microsoft Office for Windows / Mac / iOS / Android / Office Online

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/How-do-I-give-feedback-on-Microsoft-Office-2b102d44-b43f-4dd2-9ff4-23cf144cfb11

If you do submit a suggestion to UserVoice, please copy the link and post it back here in a reply so that other people can more easily find it and vote to support it and add their comments.

We’re working to make Word help more helpful

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice_other-mso_win10/were-working-to-make-help-more-helpful/8f97889c-ad04-42be-955c-1982924449da?msgId=486d9f73-594f-4908-93ef-c09d99bea741&rtAction=1487125316842

<snip>

When you click a Help link in Word, we want to take you to helpful information. Sometimes we have a clear idea of what people are looking for, like how to use the Format Painter. But sometimes we don’t yet have an article that meets your needs.

In those cases, please use this discussion to tell us what you’re looking for. What were you working on in Word, and what information did you expect in Help?

Not only is this discussion an opportunity for you to get an answer to your question, it’s also a way for us to learn how to improve Word Help. Thanks for helping!

</snip>

In other words, if you tried to use the built in help in Word and it didn’t … help, then post your complaint to the link above. If you have links to the solution to your question, please include them.  And since this question has been asked by MS developers, they will look into the question and hopefully provide a reply with “inside” information.