Making Save As Display the Save As Dialog Box

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 8, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365

David notes that in earlier versions of Word, when you selected "Save As" you immediately got the Save As dialog box, which defaulted to the current folder, but allowed you to select a folder and a file type before clicking Save. In the latest versions of Word, after clicking "Save A Copy," you have to click on the "More Options" link after the file type selector (or on the path name above the document name) to get to this dialog box. David wonders if there is any way to have "Save As," once again, directly display the Save As dialog box.

There are a few ways you can go about this. First, you can change how you initiate "Save As." The quickest way to do so is to simply press F12, which fortunately still brings up the classic Save As dialog box. (This is my preferred method of saving the current document under a new name or in a new location.)

You might also try these steps to implement a configuration change:

Display the File tab of the ribbon.
Click Options at the bottom-left side of the screen. Word displays the Word Options dialog box.
At the left side of the dialog box click Save. Word changes the settings available in the dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Save options in the Word Options dialog box.

Clear the Don't Show the Backstage when Open or Saving Files option.
Select the Save to Computer by Default option.
Click OK.

This should instruct Word to not show any of the areas that David finds problematic, opting instead to show the traditional Save As dialog box.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13685) applies to Microsoft Word 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Specifying the Exact Pages to Print

If you have multiple sections in your document, it can be frustrating to print out a limited selection of pages from that ...

Discover More

Changing an Invalid Autosave Folder

Excel allows you to specify where it stores various files used by the program. One location you can specify is where ...

Discover More

Deleting MRU Entries

By default Word dutifully keeps track of the different files you've worked on in the past. If you want to delete an entry ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Default Units that Change

Word allows you to specify the unit of measurement you would like used in dialog boxes throughout the program. It can get ...

Discover More

Changing the Format for a Date Inserted Using the Keyboard Shortcut

If you are having difficulties getting Word to insert the date exactly the way you want, it could have to do with how you ...

Discover More

Showing Text Boundaries for Pages, not for Paragraphs

Word allows you to configure how your document is displayed rather extensively. One configuration that has been around ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is four less than 7?

2024-04-10 09:38:16

Beepee

Hi.
Whichever combination of the three options I check (all, none, 2 of 3) I still always get the Backstage view NOT the Save as dialog!!!
Guess I just need to remember the shortcut F12
Beepee

2024-04-08 07:34:51

HS Noble

Adding the Save As (F12) command to the Ribbon is another solution.

2023-12-03 12:21:03

Dan

In the latest version of Word (as of Dec. 2023), I had to check "Don't Show the Backstage" and uncheck "Show Additional Places for Saving," which took care of both of the unnecessary additional steps that were bothering me. Hope this helps somebody!

2022-09-23 08:21:19

Travis

I think 4. should be "Check the Don't show the Backstage...".

I got further frustrated when this page didn't provide the solution - then I decided to try checking that box also, since it wasn't already checked and sounded like what I wanted. I have both "Don't show..." and "Save to Computer..." checked now and, OMG, my sanity won't be taking such constant hits anymore.

2022-09-14 11:37:00

John

F12, clutch. Thanks

2022-04-19 04:10:15

Lincoln

@Ed Nelson: Why not save the templates in DOTX/DOTM format, that way whenever you open the document template, you'll have to save it with a new name in the preferred location. Alternatively, if you are forced to use DOCX formats, mark the file as Read-Only and then you won't be able to save any changes to the template and will have to save it with a new name in a preferred location.

2022-04-18 18:20:55

Ed Nelson

The third time I used "F12" to bring up "Save As" dialog, Windows saved my changes to the 3rd version to my original file.

I've read elsewhere Windows Autosave changes the behavior of "Save As" and "Save a Copy" to overwrite the original file.

Many years ago I used "Save As" to use documents as DeFacto templates. "Save As" and autosave did not modify your original file.

I am so confused. I have lost > 10 hours of work by unintentionally overwriting files with "Save a Copy" and/or Windows autosave.

Can you point me to a Youtube video that explains and demonstrates how to use "Save a Copy" in Word 2016 to:
1) Ooen an existing file,
2) Save a copy of the file to a new name or location WITHOUT modifying the original file?

Thanks!

2022-03-28 14:10:49

Lincoln

This tip didn't help me, also my F12 button on my home keyboard is not functioning, so I resorted to setting up the shortcut key Alt+F, A to the SaveAs dialog box and it works perfectly.

2021-12-08 11:10:20

William ALLBERRY

Thank you so much - this irritating feature (which I hadn't asked for) was driving me mad!

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.