Autosaving and One Drive

Yep - your documents will still be protected automatically after a crash. Microsoft Word has two different backup systems that sound alike but work differently. They are called AutoSave and AutoRecover.

The AutoSave toggle switch works if you save your files directly to OneDrive or SharePoint. It saves your changes to the cloud. Since you turned this toggle switch off, you are no longer tied to OneDrive.

The AutoRecover feature is the local backup system. It saves a secret temporary copy of your file to your MacBook's internal hard drive every few minutes. It stays turned on automatically for local files, even if the OneDrive AutoSave switch is off. If Word 2024 crashes while you are working on a local file, it will use AutoRecover to pop up your recovered text the next time you open the app.

To ensure you have your local backups configured exactly the way you want, you can verify your settings directly inside Word. First, click Word in the top menu bar of your Mac and select Preferences. Next, click the Save disk icon under the Output and Sharing section. Finally, look for the checkbox that says Save AutoRecover info every. Make sure it is checked. Change the timer box to 5 minutes or 1 minute if you want it to save even more frequently than the default 10 minutes.

For AutoRecover to protect your file, you should manually save a new document at least once. If Word ever crashes and fails to offer you the recovery file automatically upon relaunching, you can find the hidden folder where your MacBook keeps them. Open Finder and press Command, Shift, and G at the same time on your keyboard. Paste this exact text line into the box and hit enter: ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery.

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hth

Marcin