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there is a new feature that has an "autosave" toggle per document opened. i have 1000s of excel files since the 1990s and do not want to turn off autosave for all of them. how can i disable this by default? id like to turn it off completely if possible, it's something that is not only unwanted, it's actively negatively impacting my workflow. i'm considering trying to download an earlier version of excel that does not have the 'autosave' toggle. this is not to be confused with autorecover.
if this is not possible, can this be escalated to the product team to add as a feature?
i cannot express how much i hate the autosave toggle and need it gone.
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Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Hi Everyone
A reminder to vote on this issue on the Microsoft User voice page. The user voice site is closer monitored by developers. The link to this specific problem is below:
I want the AutoSave feature gone from my Office version.
It messes up the history of my files. I use the same data at different times with slightly different things within. I want to know when in history I created that specific version.
That info is lost the second I open a file - before I even have a chance to Save A Copy.
The additional chore of copying a file before I open a file is stupidly time-consuming. Frequently I just want to see differences in a specifically dated version. I don't want to waste time copying multiple files before I just want see it for a few seconds.
This was the stupidest change Office has come up with.
Why isn't there a permanent switch off for AutoSave? It's not hard to build.
This is enough for me to consider dropping Office 365 subscription.
Hi Jonathan,
The AutoSave is a new feature available for Office 365 subscribers wherein changes made on the file are saved in every few seconds. Regarding your concern, we cannot turn off the AutoSave feature by default in Excel 2016. However, we can turn this off to a file and Excel 2016 will keep it every time you reopen that file. To know more about the AutoSave feature and the FAQ's about it, feel free to check this link.
Let us know if you need further assistance.
I am joining the scores of replies to voice my frustration, too, with the new AutoSave "feature". Completely annoying and had to restore a prior version of a Master document because of it. Who decided this "feature" was something everyone would appreciate to the point where you cannot even set it to default "off"?! I hope the Microsoft folks are listening to their paying customers' complaints and reversing this unwanted feature.
Over the years I have frequently seen evidence of Microsoft's arrogance in updating their software in a way that forces users to change to the MS-preferred way of working. This is just another example. They don't seem to have learned anything since the last time they implemented AutoSave in Excel 97, in 2001 - see https://support.microsoft.com/en-nz/help/213943/how-to-use-autosave-in-excel .
They don't seem to consider that many users do not operate with cheap, reliable, fast internet connections. Nor do the majority work in an on-line collaborative environment (unlike MS itself?) where AutoSave would offer some minor advantage over the AutoRecovery and document sharing of the previous release of Office365..
Hi Jonathan,
The AutoSave is a new feature available for Office 365 subscribers wherein changes made on the file are saved in every few seconds. Regarding your concern, we cannot turn off the AutoSave feature by default in Excel 2016. However, we can turn this off to a file and Excel 2016 will keep it every time you reopen that file. To know more about the AutoSave feature and the FAQ's about it, feel free to check this link.
Let us know if you need further assistance.
I am joining the scores of replies to voice my frustration, too, with the new AutoSave "feature". Completely annoying and had to restore a prior version of a Master document because of it. Who decided this "feature" was something everyone would appreciate to the point where you cannot even set it to default "off"?! I hope the Microsoft folks are listening to their paying customers' complaints and reversing this unwanted feature.
Bless you :)