How to Get Excel to Ask for Confirmation When a Change Is Made

Nan 20 Reputation points
2026-08-13T23:05:19.1033333+00:00

It appears I no longer have access to this method:

Method 1: Enable Confirm Changes Before Saving

  1. Open your Excel workbook.
  2. Go to File > Options.
  3. In the Excel Options window, select Save from the left menu.
  4. Scroll down to the Confirm changes before saving section.
  5. Check the box for “Confirm changes before saving”.
  6. Click OK.

I do not need a Power Automate for a Change Alert all spreadsheets, only when working on a specific spreadsheet. How can I do that please? The spreadsheet has 6 worksheets. Please assist. Thank you.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows
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Answer accepted by question author
Hendrix-V 18,930 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2026-08-14T04:21:49.9566667+00:00

Hi Nan,

The "Confirm changes before saving" option you mentioned is not available in current versions of Excel for Microsoft 365, which is why you may no longer see it in the Save settings. Based on your description, it sounds like you want a confirmation prompt that applies only to one specific workbook rather than all Excel files.

You can consider these built-in alternatives:

  • Store the workbook in OneDrive and use Version History to restore previous versions if changes are saved unintentionally.
  • Open the workbook as Read-only when you only need to review data.
  • Use worksheet or workbook protection to help prevent unwanted edits.

I hope this helps point you in the right direction. Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

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