Saving Office 2007 Files

Most people dump their documents inside a folder in the Documents folder, so to make retrieving files easier, you can customize each Office 2007 program to look for files in a specific folder.

In addition to defining a default folder to look for files, you can also define a default file format for your Office 2007 programs. Finally, to protect your data (as much as possible) from inevitable computer crashes and hard disk failures, Office 2007 programs include a special AutoRecover feature, which saves a temporary copy of your file at fixed intervals, such as every ten minutes. That way, if the power goes out, you lose only those changes you made in the last ten minutes and not all your changes.

Access does not offer an AutoRecover feature because it automatically saves any changes to your data anyway. To customize the location, format, and AutoRecover feature of an Office 2007 program, follow these steps:

1. Load the Office 2007 program you want to customize (such as Word or PowerPoint) and then click the Office Button. A pull-down menu appears.
2. Click the Options button. Depending on the program you are using, the Options button may read Word Options or Excel Options. An Options window appears and then click Save in the left pane. The Options window displays various Save options.
3. (Optional) Click in the Save Files in This Format list box and choose a file format, such as the 97 - 2003 format to save files that are compatible with previous versions of Office.
4. (Optional) Click in the Default File Location text box and type the drive and folder that you want to define as your default folder. (Or click the Browse button and then choose a folder.)
5. (Optional) Select the Save AutoRecover Information Every check box, click in the Minutes text box, and type a value or click the up/down arrows to define a value, such as 7 minutes.
6. Click OK.