Excel - Save Location - Remember the folder

[nflfan]

Up until a few months ago, whenever I opened a worksheet and later wanted to
save it with a different name using "save as", it remembered the location of
the original file.

Now, it remembers the name of the last file I opened, I would prefer it the
old way, but don't know how to change it back.

Example, I open worksheet aa from folder AA, then open worksheet bb from
folder BB. I make some changes to aa and want to save it as aa1 in folder
AA, when I select "save as" it wants to save it in BB. I can navigate to AA
and save it there, but it was much easier when it remembered.

Is there a setting I may have changed inadvertently?

 

[Mark]

Select: Tools...Options...General(Tab)

Then navigate to the "Default file location" text box and select the
folder you want.

This will work as long as you continue to use this folder, however the
next time that you save to a different location, Excel will remember
this and change the setting again.

Hope that helped...

 

[nflfan]

It's not the default file location that is a problem. Looking for excel to
remember where any given file was located, this oftentimes is not the default
location.

 

[Dave Peterson]

What version of excel are you using?

I _think_ xl97 would want to save the default location when you did a
File|SaveAs on an existing file.

But xl2k changed this behavior to use the location of the folder that the file
was opened from.

But this doesn't help you--since you're not seeing that behavior.

I'm guessing that you're using xl2k or higher or you would have never known
excel to use the folder that held the file that was opened.

Maybe you could try this:

close excel
Open excel in safe mode
Windows start button|Run
type:
excel /safe
file|Open your workbooks (so you can test)

Then test your File|SaveAs.

If it works correctly for you, maybe it's not excel. Maybe it's a "helpful"
macro that intercepting the save and doing some non-standard things.

If it does work ok, then you could do some detective work to find the culprit.

Chip Pearson has some notes on how to diagnose startup errors:
http://www.cpearson.com/excel/StartupErrors.htm

And Jan Karel Pieterse has more notes:
http://www.jkp-ads.com/Articles/StartupProblems.asp

=========
Starting excel in safe mode avoids loading other stuff -- customized toolbars
and "helpful" addins/macros.

 

[Ben M. Schorr - MVP (OneNote)]

I think the issue is because he's opening two workbooks from different
directories.

Default is Folder D. He opens workbook A from folder A. If he did a
Save As it would offer to save to Folder A. He opens workbook B from
folder B. If he did a Save As it would offer to save to Folder B.

But he's opening workbook A from folder A, THEN opening Workbook B from
folder B. When he switches back to Workbook A and tries to Save As it's
offering to save in Folder B. I think Excel is remembering the folder
it LAST opened a workbook from; regardless of where the workbook being
saved came from.

At least that's my understanding of what he's seeing.

--
-Ben-
Ben M. Schorr, MVP
Roland Schorr & Tower
http://www.rolandschorr.com
http://www.officeforlawyers.com

What version of excel are you using?

I _think_ xl97 would want to save the default location when you did a
File|SaveAs on an existing file.

But xl2k changed this behavior to use the location of the folder that the file
was opened from.

But this doesn't help you--since you're not seeing that behavior.

I'm guessing that you're using xl2k or higher or you would have never known
excel to use the folder that held the file that was opened.

Maybe you could try this:

close excel
Open excel in safe mode
Windows start button|Run
type:
excel /safe
file|Open your workbooks (so you can test)

Then test your File|SaveAs.

If it works correctly for you, maybe it's not excel. Maybe it's a "helpful"
macro that intercepting the save and doing some non-standard things.

If it does work ok, then you could do some detective work to find the culprit.

Chip Pearson has some notes on how to diagnose startup errors:
HYPERLINK "http://www.cpearson.com/excel/StartupErrors.htm"http://www.cpearson.com/excel/StartupErrors.htm

And Jan Karel Pieterse has more notes:
HYPERLINK "http://www.jkp-ads.com/Articles/StartupProblems.asp"http://www.jkp-ads.com/Articles/StartupProblems.asp

=========
Starting excel in safe mode avoids loading other stuff -- customized toolbars
and "helpful" addins/macros.






--

Dave Peterson

No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.3.0/1502 - Release Date: 6/13/2008 7:25 PM

No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.3.0/1502 - Release Date:
6/13/2008 7:25 PM

 

[nflfan]

Yes, that is exactly what I am seeing, but not what I used to see or want to
see....

I tried Dave's suggestion of opening excel in safe mode and he was right, it
performed the way it used to, save as file A to folder A and file B to folder
B just like I want it. Guess will have to find where I'm getting the "help"
that I don't want. If anyone has ideas on where this help may be coming
from, I'm all ears. I regularly receive software update pushes, this one
apparently came in late April....

 

[nflfan]

You're right on, I'm using Excel 2003.

I tried Dave's suggestion of opening excel in safe mode and he was right, it
performed the way it used to, save as file A to folder A and file B to folder
B just like I want it. Guess will have to find where I'm getting the "help"
that I don't want. If anyone has ideas on where this help may be coming
from, I'm all ears. I regularly receive software update pushes, this one
apparently came in late April....

 

[Ben M. Schorr - MVP (OneNote)]

Total SWAG but...do you have any Add-ins running in Excel? If so, you
might try disabling them and see if the problem goes away.

--
-Ben-
Ben M. Schorr, MVP
Roland Schorr & Tower
http://www.rolandschorr.com
http://www.officeforlawyers.com

 

[nflfan]

I did have one add-in running, but disabling it (UltraSleuth) did not fix the
problem

 

[Dave Peterson]

Read those articles by Chip and Jan Karel. It'll explain how you turn off all
the addins (even ones you don't see!) and isolate the problem addin.

 

[Dave Peterson]

That doesn't cause any trouble for me.

Excel (xl2k+) is smart enough to know where the workbook I started with came
from. And it'll use that as the suggested folder for the File|SaveAs.

 

[Ben M. Schorr - MVP (OneNote)]

I don't recall having tried it, but I also don't recall seeing any
similar problem.

But that's apparently what he's seeing for some reason.

--
-Ben-
Ben M. Schorr, MVP
Roland Schorr & Tower
http://www.rolandschorr.com
http://www.officeforlawyers.com

 

[Ben M. Schorr - MVP (OneNote)]

You don't happen to have any kind of document management system, like
Hummingbird, DocsOPEN, iManage or anythinglike that running, do you?

--
-Ben-
Ben M. Schorr, MVP
Roland Schorr & Tower
http://www.rolandschorr.com
http://www.officeforlawyers.com

 

[nflfan]

No document management systems......

You don't happen to have any kind of document management system, like
Hummingbird, DocsOPEN, iManage or anythinglike that running, do you?

--
-Ben-
Ben M. Schorr, MVP
Roland Schorr & Tower
http://www.rolandschorr.com
http://www.officeforlawyers.com

 

[nflfan]

My IT Help Desk advises this is an "enhancement" from Microsoft. Not sure if
I believe them since it still works the way it should when I open excel in
safe mode.

Any ideas on how to get it to work the way it used to would be appreciated.

 

[Dave Peterson]

If it worked the old way when you started in safe mode, then I would wonder how
much of an enhancement this really is.

What happened when you tried the techniques at Chip's page and Jan Karel's page?

 

[nflfan]

I can't say I tried every single thing on Chip's and Jan Karel's page, but I
sure tried everything I understood or was comfortable with, not any luck
there.

 

[Dave Peterson]

I still don't think it's a problem/feature with MS.