Saving and Sharing Documents

Introduction
When you create a new document in Word, you'll need to know how
to save it so you can access and edit it later. As with previous versions of
Word, you can save files to your computer. If you prefer, you can also save
files to the cloud using OneDrive. You can even export and share documents
directly from Word.
Save and Save As
• Word offers two ways to save a file: Save and Save As. These
options work in similar ways, with a few important differences.
• Save: When you create or edit a document, you'll use
the Save command to save your changes. You'll use this command
most of the time. When you save a file, you'll only need to choose a
file name and location the first time. After that, you can click the
Save command to save it with the same name and location.
• Save As: You'll use this command to create a copy of a document
while keeping the original. When you use Save As, you'll need to
choose a different name and/or location for the copied version.
To save a document:
It's important to save your document whenever you start a new project or
make changes to an existing one. Saving early and often can prevent your
work from being lost. You'll also need to pay close attention to where you
save the document so it will be easy to find later.
To save a document:
• Locate and select the Save command on the Quick Access Toolbar.
To save a document:
• If you're saving the file for the first time, the Save As pane will appear
in Backstage view.
• You'll then need to choose where to save the file and give it a file name.
Click Browse to select a location on your computer. Alternatively, you can
click OneDrive to save the file to your OneDrive.
To save a document:
• The Save As dialog box will
appear. Select
the location where you want to
save the document.
• Enter a file name for the
document, then click Save.
• The document will be saved. You
can click the Save command
again to save your changes as
you modify the document.
• You can also access
the Save command by
pressing Ctrl+S on your
keyboard.
Using Save As to make a copy
• If you want to save a different
version of a document while keeping
the original, you can create a copy.
For example, if you have a file
named Sales Report, you could save
it as Sales Report 2 so you'll be able
to edit the new file and still refer
back to the original version.
• To do this, you'll click the Save
As command in Backstage view.
Just like when saving a file for the
first time, you'll need to
choose where to save the file and
give it a new file name.
To change the default save location:
If you don't want to use OneDrive, you may be frustrated that OneDrive is
selected as the default location when saving. If you find this inconvenient,
you can change the default save location so This PC is selected by default.
1. Click the File tab to access Backstage view.
2. Click Options.
To change the default save location:
3. The Word Options dialog box will appear. Select Save on the left, check
the box next to Save to Computer by default, then click OK. The default save
location will be changed.
AutoRecover
Word automatically saves your documents to a temporary folder while you
are working on them. If you forget to save your changes or if Word crashes,
you can restore the file using AutoRecover.
To use AutoRecover:
1. Open Word. If autosaved
versions of a file are found,
the Document Recovery pane will
appear on the left.
2. Click to open an available file. The
document will be recovered.
Note: By default, Word autosaves every
10 minutes. If you are editing a
document for less than 10 minutes,
Word may not create an autosaved
version.
autorecover
If you don't see the file you need, you can browse all autosaved files
from Backstage view. Select the File tab, click Manage Versions, then
choose Recover Unsaved Documents.
Exporting documents
By default, Word documents are saved in the .docx file type. However, there
may be times when you need to use another file type, such as a PDF or Word
97-2003 document. It's easy to export your document from Word to a
variety of file types.
To export a document as a PDF file:
• Exporting your document as an Adobe Acrobat document, commonly known
as a PDF file, can be especially useful if you're sharing a document with
someone who does not have Word. A PDF file will make it possible for
recipients to view—but not edit—the content of your document.
To export a document as a PDF file:
1. Click the File tab to access Backstage view, choose Export, then
select Create PDF/XPS.
To export a document as a PDF file:
2. The Save As dialog box will appear. Select the location where you want to
export the document, enter a file name, then click Publish.
To export a document to other file types:
You may also find it helpful to export your document to other file types, such
as a Word 97-2003 Document if you need to share with people using an
older version of Word or as a .txt file if you need a plain-text version of your
document.
To export a document to other file types:
1. Click the File tab to
access Backstage vie
w, choose Export,
then select Change
File Type.
To export a document to other file types:
2. Select a file type, then click Save As.
To export a document to other file types:
• The Save As dialog box will
appear. Select
the location where you want to
export the document, enter
a file name, then click Save.

• You can also use the Save as

type drop-down menu in
the Save As dialog box to save
documents to a variety of file
types.
Sharing documents
• Word makes it easy to share and collaborate on documents
using OneDrive. In the past, if you wanted to share a file with
someone you could send it as an email attachment. While
convenient, this system also creates multiple versions of the same
file, which can be difficult to organize.
• When you share a document from Word, you're actually giving
others access to the exact same file. This lets you and the people
you share with edit the same document without having to keep
track of multiple versions.
• In order to share a document, it must first
be saved to your OneDrive.
To share a document:
1. Click the File tab to access Backstage view, then click Share.
2. The Share pane will appear.
Share pane
Share pane
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Share pane