set new "autosave" toggle to off by default

I had the exact same problem. Two copies, messages from OneDrive that it "can't sync". I just want to save files to OneDrive so they are backed up and accessible from other locations. I don't need all of the "sharing" capability turned on.

It was all good until the latest Win10 update and then it started defaulting to Autosave and being difficult to turn off.

Here's the fix!

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4036334/how-to-disable-autosave-in-office-365-proplus

Registry edit.

"we cannot turn off the AutoSave feature by default in Excel 2016"

Ugh. Frustrating. I have exactly the same issue. I keep all my docs, etc, in OneDrive by default. Everything has been fine until this update.

Now the autosave is not syncing properly, and I end up with 2 copies of everything. The fix is clear: turn off AutoSave by default. But no. Apparently this cannot be done.

We pay (I think) a fairly high fee p.a. for Office. And now an update I didn't want has been foisted on me, and I can't even opt out? Perhaps opting out of Office365 is the only way to clear this mess.

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.

Last time I checked this was the 21st century. Did the good old checkbox become obsolete all of a sudden?

You turn this off for a file and Excel 2016 will keep it every time... unless you rename the file (then it will be reset to autosave) or relocate it (then it will be reset to autosave) or make a copy of it (then it will be reset to autosave).

Why, oh why, is this necessary?

The only reason that makes ANY sense (and yet...) for not having this option to disable AutoSave by default is that Microsoft decided to build their user-behaviour analytics at the expense of the people who pay for the product. Shame on you, I already had Google for that. Shame on you, again, shame on you.

This attitude ("we know better than or moronic customers, so why giving them the choice to decide how they work") is the sort of thing that that makes once-loyal customers give a try to competitor products.

Once again, shame on you.

Completely agree.

Not giving the option to set it on or off by default is ridiculous. And worst of all, I am sure that it was thought of and discussed when this functionality was planned. So it's a deliberate choice. MS Office is NOT free software, we pay for it.

To turn it off as a default for all Office documents change the "Office" setting in OneDrive, right-click the OneDrive icon. Office Tab. Uncheck the box.