Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Setting the AutoRecover Directory.

Setting the AutoRecover Directory

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 11, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365


Word has a feature that causes automatic saving of temporary files, in case there is a problem with your computer. (You know the routine—power goes out, whatever.) This feature is called AutoRecover. When an AutoRecover file is saved to disk, it is normally placed in a directory that is related to your Windows profile. If you want Word to place the AutoRecover files in a different directory, you can specify the directory by following these steps:

  1. Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 and later versions display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. At the left side of the dialog box click Save. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Save options of the Word Options dialog box.

  4. Click the Browse button to the right of the AutoRecover File Location field. Word displays the Modify Location dialog box.
  5. Browse through your drives until you locate the directory you want to use.
  6. Click on OK. The path to the directory you specified is shown in the AutoRecover File Location field.
  7. Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10420) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Setting the AutoRecover Directory.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Formatting an ASCII Table with Spaces

When you get a text file from a program other than Word, tabular information may be formatted with nothing but spaces in ...

Discover More

Protecting an Entire Folder of Workbooks

Want to protect the Excel information stored in a particular folder on your system? There are a number of ways you can ...

Discover More

Making Managerial Titles Lowercase

Your in-house document style may require that job titles be all lowercase. Applying such a rule across a long document or ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Saving in a Macro Using a Desired File Name

Need to save a new document, from within a macro, to a specific file name? If you use the Record Macro capabilities of ...

Discover More

Copying Custom Properties

You can add custom properties to a document to help with all sorts of file management tasks. If you want to copy these ...

Discover More

Converting Many DOC Files to DOCX

Need to convert a bunch of old DOC files to the newer DOCX format? Word doesn't provide the capability to convert a bunch ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is 8 - 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


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.

Videos
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.