Automatically Saving Versions

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated April 11, 2015)

As you pass a document file around to other people to work on, you may want Word to automatically save a version of your document every time it is closed. This is easy to do by following these steps:

  1. Choose Versions from the file menu. Word displays the Versions dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    2. Figure 1. The Versions dialog box.

  2. Make sure the Automatically Save a Version On Close check box is selected.
  3. Click on Close to dismiss the Versions dialog box.

Remember that Word saves a version every time the file is closed. Thus, if the document is worked on in a lot of small sessions, it is very easy for the document to get very large very fast. To overcome this problem, make sure you review the versions periodically and delete those you no longer need. (Deleting a version is covered in a different tip.)

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1852) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

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

Creating a Table of Contents Involving Multiple Documents

Word can handle very large documents, but some people find it preferable to break large documents into multiple documents. ...

Discover More

Problem with Menus Crashing Word

What do you do if, one day, one of your Word menus suddenly stops working and actually crashes the program? Here's the ...

Discover More

Status Bar Summing No Longer Available

When you select a range of cells, Excel normally displays the sum of those selected cells on the status bar. If the sum no ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Creating a Quick Letter

Word provides a handy wizard that is helpful in creating basic letters quickly and easily. This tip discusses the Letter ...

Discover More

Locking the Position of Tools

Don't want your toolbar tools to move around on you? You might think you are out of luck, but here is a way you can make sure ...

Discover More

Updating Document Links

If you establish dynamic links between documents, then you can force Word to update those links whenever you want. How you do ...

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.

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

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}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. 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 4 + 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 menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2017 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.