AutoSave switch greyed-out.

Anonymous
2017-08-04T15:40:16+00:00

A couple of days ago, I noticed that the save icon at the top of the Excel window in version 1707 of Office 365 has been moved a little to the right because a new greyed-out AutoSave button has appeared. It is set to "Off". 

Does anyone know how to turn it on?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2017-08-04T16:25:12+00:00

this is from:

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/What-is-AutoSave-6d6bd723-ebfd-4e40-b5f6-ae6e8088f7a5?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

"AutoSave is enabled when working on a file that is saved to OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint Online. If the file is saved to another location, then AutoSave is disabled. This will happen if your file is on a SharePoint On Premises site, a file server, or saved to a local path like C:.

There are other reasons AutoSave could be disabled as well. For example, if your file is in an older format like .xls, .ppt, or .doc., it will be disabled. It will also be disabled if your presentation is in slide show mode, or if your workbook contains password protection. If AutoSave is disabled, you can always hover over the AutoSave switch and a tooltip will tell you why it's off."

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-08-04T21:08:23+00:00

    Thanks Jason.

    I save to iCloud because I found OneDrive to be unreliable. I will just keep saving files manually.

    Interestingly, when I hover the mouse over the AutoSave switch, the tooltip says "Automatically Save"...which I think I had already guessed!

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-09-06T20:37:39+00:00

    I have the same problem on my desktop, though Autosave on my laptop works fine.  I double checked all the settings to be sure everything was the same on both computers.  The only difference is the desktop has a more recent OneDrive build - 17.3.6998.0830.  The OneDrive build on the laptop is 17.3.6966.08.24. Hmmm.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-09-15T23:19:18+00:00

    This has to be the dumbest feature ever. 

    • It only works on OneDrive
    • It is confusing.  "AutoRecover" does the same thing for locally stored files.  Why do I need something special for OneDrive?  Plus I have to remember the difference for similarly named features.
    • Apparently it only exists for Excel, not for any other program in the Office365 suite
    • It was added to my Quick Access toolbar, even though I never use OneDrive (too slow, too buggy)

    Would it be possible for MS to prevent the nerds that don't actually use these programs for anything on a daily basis from making "improvements" and take away their keys to the UI?  Who needs this?

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-09-16T16:01:21+00:00

    I have the same problem using Sharepoint and OneDrive for Business.

    After troubleshooting I have found the following:

    1. Uninstalled Office
    2. Installed Office 32bit from Office 365 download
    3. Connected office 365 account to Office (verified in Account settings)
    4. Opened file from Open > Sites > (sharepoint site)

    Auto-save is enabled when file is opened from Site with this method

    1. Used "Sync" function on sharepoint site document folder to sync files via OneDrive for Business
    2. Opened same file from synced folder in windows explorer

    Auto-save disabled (greyed-out)

    1. Opened same file using previous method (sharepoint site - Open > Sites...)

    Auto-save disabled (greyed-out)

    1. Unsynced library using OneDrive for Business settings. Confirmed no longer synced
    2. Opened file using Open >Sites > (sharepoint site) again

    Auto-save is enabled

    This troubleshooting would lead me to believe that syncing a sharepoint library to the computer using OneDrive for Business disables the Auto-Save function. I am not sure if this is a bug, or by design. It should be a bug, as it only makes sense that synced files should also be Auto-Save enabled.

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