Default "Save As" location in Microsoft Office on a Mac

Anonymous
2019-02-28T15:24:52+00:00

When I open a file in Microsoft Office on my Mac, I typically do a "Save As" to append a version number to the file name.  However, by default the "Save As" location is NOT the folder where I opened the file (which is typical behavior in Microsoft Office on Windows...and for that matter any other application on the Mac).  Instead, the default folder is the location of the last file I SAVED in Microsoft Office.  This is extremely annoying, not typical or desired behavior, and is both baffling to me as to why it does this or how I can change to the expected behavior (if open file XYZ from folder ABC, the default "Save As" folder should be ABC).  This is literally annoying to the point that I'm ready to just ditch Microsoft Office on a Mac and move to Pages / Numbers / Keynote.  If anyone knows how to change (or why Microsoft is using this approach) please help me...

Mac OS:  Mojave 10.14.3

Microsoft Office for Mac:  Version 16.22

Posting this to Office -> Word -> Mac topic, though the issue happens to be the same across all Office products (Excel and Powerpoint).

Note, I do use OneDrive, though I just work from local directories and let OneDrive sync to the cloud.

Also note, I posted this question to a Mac forum, and everyone insisted this is a Microsoft issue as the setting for the "Save As" dialog are set by the program you are using (and I confirmed in applications like Pages, Numbers, and Keynote the behavior is correct i.e. as desired and done everywhere else...the default "Save As" is the folder where you opened the file).

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2019-11-08T18:28:21+00:00

It appears I MAY have fixed the problem... I just turned off "Files-on-demand" and "File Collaboration" in my OneDrive preferences and "Save As" defaults to the current file's directory instead of the directory that I most recently saved to.

Can anyone else experiencing this problem confirm that this works as a fix?

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John Korchok 236.1K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2019-10-11T16:00:00+00:00

Rena left out some details. She's referring to the hidden Library folder in your user folder. To open it, hold down the Option key while clicking on the Go menu and choose Library. Look inside the window that opens for the folders she cited.

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-02-28T15:42:13+00:00

    Hello

    I am an independent advisor wiling to help you.

    Just to confirm, do you want to change your Default location when saving office documents?

    Did you try to open the word preferences > file location, then set the path you want Word to use by clicking in the Location field.?

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  2. John Korchok 236.1K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2019-02-28T23:08:18+00:00

    This is a OneDrive bug (or maybe they think it's a feature), not a Word issue. You should be able to instantly fix it by signing out of your Microsoft account. At least that works here, Word goes back to normal Save As operation.

    My personal theory is that this is a design decision to ensure that cloud documents stay in the cloud or cloud folder. But who knows with MS.

    To report your annoyance with this, please click on the small smiley-face icon in the upper right corner of the program window. Choose Tell Us What Can Be Better and describe the problem in detail. If, by then, you have found that this issue disappears when disconnected from OneDrive, include that information as well.

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-03-01T15:33:44+00:00

    Hi JMSChicago,

    Does the issue only happen to file stored in your OneDrive local sync folder?

    Based on my test, the save as window automatically detects and shows the path where the file stored. Even the file is stored in my OneDrive local sync folder. You can check my reproduce video:

    https://1drv.ms/v/s!AoZSNBiDPuHNmlUkAU4TkO0Z_bDm

    My reproduce environment:

    Mac OS:  Mojave 10.14.3

    Microsoft Office for Mac:  Version 16.22 (190211)

    And the latest OneDrive for Mac version which is 19.012.0121.0009

    Thanks,

    Rena

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