[Quick Guide] How to Turn on Auto Save in Excel?

Overview of Auto Save in Excel

When working in Excel, it's easy to lose important data if you forget to save your file in time. Fortunately, Excel Office 365 includes a new feature called Auto Save, which automatically saves your work in real time. It ensures that your data is consistently saved without requiring you to manually click the Save button every time you make a change, protecting against data loss in the event of unexpected crashes or power outages.

Additionally, it also integrates seamlessly with OneDrive and SharePoint, ensuring that all changes are reflected in the cloud without any additional effort from you. Therefore, it is widely used among Excel users to maintain data integrity.

This post will show you how to turn on Auto Save in Excel and recover files with this feature. It will also explore additional recovery solutions to ensure you can protect your work under any circumstances.

How to Turn on Auto Save in Excel?

Auto Save is enabled by default in Microsoft 365 for files that are stored on OneDrive or SharePoint. However, if you're working with a file stored locally on your computer or on a network drive, you need to manually enable it to automatically save your editing files. In this section, we will show you how to turn on Auto Save in Excel step by step. 

Step 1: Open Excel Office 365 on your PC.

Step 2: Click File at the top left corner, then select Options.

Step 3: Select the Save section from the left sidebar and ensure that the following boxes are checked:

• AutoSave OneDrive and SharePoint Online files by default in Excel.
• Save AutoRecover information every xx minutes.

Step 4: You are allowed to customize the time interval for Auto Save according to your preferences.

Step 5: Click OK to apply and save the changes.

How to Recover an Auto-Saved Excel File?

After enabling the feature, how can we find auto-saved Excel files and get them back? Once Auto Save is enabled, you can easily recover your Excel file if the application crashes or if you accidentally close a file without saving. This section provides two recovery ways, as follows:

Method 1. Recover from Temp folder

If your Excel files were unsaved before the system crashed, follow these steps to recover them:

Step 1: Open Excel, and click File > Open > Recent in turn.

Step 2: Select Recover Unsaved Workbooks at the interface bottom.

Step 3: Find the Excel file you lost, open it, and save it to the specified location.

Method 2. Recover from Document Recovery

Alternatively, you can recover unsaved Excel files from Document Recovery. Here are the detailed steps:

Step 1: Open Microsoft Excel once your computer is working properly.

Step 2: Typically, all unsaved files will be displayed on the Document Recovery pane.

Step 3: Select the Excel file you want and save it to the specified location.

Although Auto Save helps you recover unsaved data with ease, it is not an alternative to manual saving. It is advised to manually save your work in real-time to prevent data loss.

Alternative Ways to Recover Excel Files

Now that you know how to turn on Auto Save in Excel and recover unsaved files with it, there are several additional methods to restore unsaved or deleted files. Choose the recovery option that best suits your needs for a comprehensive solution.

Method 1. Recover from Temp folder

In addition to Auto Save, recovering unsaved Excel files from the Temp folder is another effective option. In Windows, temporary files are created by the operating system or applications to store short-term data, which can help improve system performance. These files are typically stored in the Temp folder on the C drive. Here's how to recover unsaved Excel files from the temporary files:

Step 1: Go to the temporary file location by following this path:

C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\Temp

Step 2: Find the desired Excel file here and change its extension from .tmp to .xls or .xlsx as you like.

Step 3: Open and save this file properly to the specified location.

Method 2. Recover Deleted Excel Files with Software

Unexpected system crashes or software glitches can sometimes result in the loss of your work. If your files have been deleted, consider using professional recovery software to retrieve them.

AOMEI FastRecovery is a comprehensive solution designed to help you recover lost, deleted, or corrupted files. With its advanced algorithms, it quickly scans all types of storage devices on Windows PCs and Servers for recoverable files. Whether you've lost data due to accidental deletion, formatting, system crashes, or virus attacks, AOMEI FastRecovery allows you to easily locate and restore your files to a specific location.

Free Download Windows PCs & Servers

100% Secure

Key Features:

High Success Rate: Supports effectively recovering various files on devices with a high success rate.

User-Friendly Interface: Makes the recovery process easy and straightforward.

Two Scan Modes: Offers quick scan and deep scan to completely scan your storage devices for finding lost data.

Secure and Reliable: A professional data recovery expert ensures that your data is 100% safe.

Let’s use AOMEI FastRecovery to recover deleted Excel files:

Step 1: Download and install AOMEI FastRecovery, and then choose the exact partition or disk where your Excel files are stored.

Step 2: Scan the specified drive to find the deleted files. It will execute the Quick Scan first for finding your deleted data fast, and then execute the Deep Scan for searching other lost data.

Step 3: Once the scan is completed, missing files will be displayed. Choose the files that you want to restore and click Recover. 

Step 4: Select a folder path to save your recovered files, and wait for the process to finish.

Method 3. Check the Hidden Items

Sometimes, you cannot find certain files because they are hidden instead of deleted. Hidden files can remain invisible during regular file browsing due to specific system settings, file attributes, or permissions. However, you can easily view them at any time. Follow these steps to show hidden files:

Step 1: Open the File Explorer.

Step 2: Click the View tab at the top toolbar.

Step 3: Check if the Hidden items option is selected in the Show/Hide group. If it is selected, hidden files and folders will now be visible.  

Strategies to Prevent File Loss

File loss can be incredibly frustrating and often feels like a setback in our work. To minimize the risk and ensure your data stays safe, here are several strategies to consider:

► Double-Check before Acting: Always double-check your actions when managing files during routine tasks to ensure they are intentional. This will help prevent the accidental loss of important files.

► Manually Save Your Files Regularly: Although the Auto Save feature can help you recover unsaved files when necessary, it is still recommended to manually save your files in time to ensure data integrity.

► Back Up Your Data: Implementing a regular data backup can mitigate the risk of losing critical data due to unforeseen circumstances like hardware failure or accidental deletion. It is also advisable to back up your essential files using system tools, professional backup tools, or cloud storage services.

Conclusion

Auto Save in Excel is an invaluable feature that automatically saves your work in real time, protecting you from unexpected data loss. This article shows you how to turn on Auto Save in Excel and recover unsaved files with this feature. If you still cannot find your files on your PC, they may have been deleted or hidden for unknown reasons. In such cases, consider using the recovery methods mentioned above to restore them.