How can I set Office to save documents in the current folder?

  • Thread starter Thread starter MaryL
  • Start date Start date
M

MaryL

I do not like the default location MS uses for saving files (deeply nested).
Instead, I have a "Data Files" folder directly under C:\, and I create
folders there for my documents. I have set Word to open to the correct
folder, but I have found that when I save or "save as" a document, it often
ends up in the nested folder established by MS. How can I change this so
Word will save documents in whatever folder I am currently using?

I am using Vista Home Premium and Office 2007.

Thanks,
MaryL
 
I do not like the default location MS uses for saving files (deeply nested).
Instead, I have a "Data Files" folder directly under C:\, and I create
folders there for my documents. I have set Word to open to the correct
folder, but I have found that when I save or "save as" a document, it often
ends up in the nested folder established by MS. How can I change this so
Word will save documents in whatever folder I am currently using?

I am using Vista Home Premium and Office 2007.

Thanks,
MaryL
Click to expand...

In Word 2007, go to Office button > Word Options > Save and change the entry in
the "Default file location" box to the location you use most often.

A hint: you can put shortcuts to other often-used folders into that folder for
quick navigation.
 
Jay Freedman said:
In Word 2007, go to Office button > Word Options > Save and change the
entry in
the "Default file location" box to the location you use most often.

A hint: you can put shortcuts to other often-used folders into that folder
for
quick navigation.


--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup
so all may benefit.
Click to expand...

That has already been done. That's what I meant when I said that I set the
options to open to the correct folder. However, Word does not automatically
save either to that location (C:\Data Files\Word) or the the folder I am
working in. Instead, I have to remember to manually go to the correct
folder. Otherwise, it saves to a very deeply nested folder
(C:\Users\Mary\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft). Ironically, I can then only find
it by using "Search" because I have not been able to follow this path. I
get to C:\Users\Mary, but AppData does not show up. I haven't gone to
Control Panel yet to show hidden files, but that may be the explanation.
It's a real annoyance, though.

Any ideas on why Word is saving to that location even though I have already
set the shorter path in "Default file location"?

Thanks,
MaryL
 
That has already been done. That's what I meant when I said that I set the
options to open to the correct folder. However, Word does not automatically
save either to that location (C:\Data Files\Word) or the the folder I am
working in. Instead, I have to remember to manually go to the correct
folder. Otherwise, it saves to a very deeply nested folder
(C:\Users\Mary\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft). Ironically, I can then only find
it by using "Search" because I have not been able to follow this path. I
get to C:\Users\Mary, but AppData does not show up. I haven't gone to
Control Panel yet to show hidden files, but that may be the explanation.
It's a real annoyance, though.

Any ideas on why Word is saving to that location even though I have already
set the shorter path in "Default file location"?

Thanks,
MaryL
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I don't know why Word isn't honoring your setting for the default
file location. That doesn't happen for me. I usually have it set to my Documents
folder (I try to keep this machine as plain-vanilla as possible so I can
research posted questions without being confused by customizations). But when I
set the default file location to another folder, it does default to saving
there. I hope someone else might step in here with a real answer.

Two points that you may consider side issues: (1) Yes, the AppData folder is a
hidden folder, and setting Windows to show hidden folders will allow you to
navigate to the folder you mentioned. (2) In the various file dialogs in Office
2007 on Vista, you can display the Favorite Links pane on the left; and you can
right-click that pane, choose "Open Favorite Links Folder", and create shortcuts
in the links folder to point to the folders you want to use. Those will be
available every time you open one of those dialogs.
 
Jay Freedman said:
Unfortunately, I don't know why Word isn't honoring your setting for the
default
file location. That doesn't happen for me. I usually have it set to my
Documents
folder (I try to keep this machine as plain-vanilla as possible so I can
research posted questions without being confused by customizations). But
when I
set the default file location to another folder, it does default to saving
there. I hope someone else might step in here with a real answer.

Two points that you may consider side issues: (1) Yes, the AppData folder
is a
hidden folder, and setting Windows to show hidden folders will allow you
to
navigate to the folder you mentioned. (2) In the various file dialogs in
Office
2007 on Vista, you can display the Favorite Links pane on the left; and
you can
right-click that pane, choose "Open Favorite Links Folder", and create
shortcuts
in the links folder to point to the folders you want to use. Those will be
available every time you open one of those dialogs.


--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup
so all may benefit.
Click to expand...

Do you know if there is any way to have Word display the path at the top of
a document (that is, above the menu bar -- not as part of the document
itself). That, at least, would serve as a reminder if I need to change the
location where a file is being saved.

MaryL
 
Do you know if there is any way to have Word display the path at the top of
a document (that is, above the menu bar -- not as part of the document
itself). That, at least, would serve as a reminder if I need to change the
location where a file is being saved.

MaryL
Click to expand...

There are at least two distinct ways to display the path of the current file:
You can add the Document Location box to the Quick Access Toolbar or you can
place a simple macro in the Normal.dotm template to show the path in the title
bar. Both of these are covered in the thread at
http://groups.google.com/group/micr...6a3360d4d081?hl=en&lnk=st&q=#64976a3360d4d081
-- one in my reply, and the other in Graham Mayor's reply.
 
It works fine for me too in that I use E:/documents (a partition of a
separate drive to Windows). Are you sure that you are not opening a document
from the MS 'deeply nested' location because by default, Word will normally
save a document back in its original folder regardless of the path setting
in Word.

Terry Farrell
 
Jay

Of course, where the Document Location tool falls down, is that it cannot be
'stretched out' to show the full path - unlike the old Web Address tool that
worked like a charm.
 
Terry Farrell said:
It works fine for me too in that I use E:/documents (a partition of a
separate drive to Windows). Are you sure that you are not opening a
document from the MS 'deeply nested' location because by default, Word
will normally save a document back in its original folder regardless of
the path setting in Word.

Terry Farrell
Click to expand...

No, this happens when I create a new document or use "save as." Documents
that I edit remain in the same folder, just as you described.

MaryL
 
Jay Freedman said:
There are at least two distinct ways to display the path of the current
file:
You can add the Document Location box to the Quick Access Toolbar or you
can
place a simple macro in the Normal.dotm template to show the path in the
title
bar. Both of these are covered in the thread at
http://groups.google.com/group/micr...6a3360d4d081?hl=en&lnk=st&q=#64976a3360d4d081
-- one in my reply, and the other in Graham Mayor's reply.



--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup
so all may benefit.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll try to set it in the Quick Access Toolbar (as described). I'm
too much of a newbie in Word to try macros. This is one of the WordPerfect
features -- that is, automatically display the full path across the top --
that I really like and would like to see Word emulate. Another is Reveal
Codes. I have tried Show All, but it doesn't seem to show everything I need
to know (such as position of codes for boxes).

MaryL
 
MaryL said:
I do not like the default location MS uses for saving files (deeply
nested). Instead, I have a "Data Files" folder directly under C:\, and I
create folders there for my documents. I have set Word to open to the
correct folder, but I have found that when I save or "save as" a document,
it often ends up in the nested folder established by MS. How can I change
this so Word will save documents in whatever folder I am currently using?

I am using Vista Home Premium and Office 2007.
Click to expand...


The default location is C:/User/{your account name}/Documents.

How is that "deeply" nested?
 
Gordon said:
The default location is C:/User/{your account name}/Documents.

How is that "deeply" nested?
Click to expand...

Mine was being saved to this location:
C:\Users\Mary\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft. Oddly, the problem seems to have
been solved. I had already set the Default file location to my preference,
but it still saved to the folder I just listed. As a final attempt, I
changed the AutoRecover file location to an AutoSave folder I created
because the path listed had been the same as what I just described as the
default location. I have no idea why that would change the positon where
new files are being saved, but it did -- they are now being saved to my
preferred location.

I have a folder called C:\Data Files. I create data folders under that
name -- one for WordPerfect (with numerous sub-folders), one for Word, one
for Quattro Pro, one for my diabetes test results, etc. I do use a lot of
categories in WordPerfect and Quattro Pro, and it's possible that I will
eventually do the same with Word. However, I do a lot of "back ups" that
are really copies -- I simply copy everything in Data Files with one click,
and I prefer that to the default.

MaryL
 
Note that Save As will always default to the folder where the original
document is saved.
 
However, I do a lot of "back ups" that
are really copies -- I simply copy everything in Data Files with one
click, and I prefer that to the default.
Click to expand...

My Documents is intended to provide the same function. You can make
subfolders of My Documents (and I do) and similarly back up everything in My
Documents. Although the actual location of My Documents is "deeply nested,"
it is hard-wired to be visible at a top level, which makes it easy to
access. It's a built-in shortcut on the Start menu, in Windows Explorer, and
in the Office Places Bar.
 
Suzanne S. Barnhill said:
However, I do a lot of "back ups" that

My Documents is intended to provide the same function. You can make
subfolders of My Documents (and I do) and similarly back up everything in
My Documents. Although the actual location of My Documents is "deeply
nested," it is hard-wired to be visible at a top level, which makes it
easy to access. It's a built-in shortcut on the Start menu, in Windows
Explorer, and in the Office Places Bar.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Click to expand...

Thanks. I think I will try that since most of my programs did have My
Documents as the default backup folder (and I had to change the -- which was
easily done -- to use the system I described). For some reason, Word was
not backing up to My Documents. It was using the much-more-deeply-nested
folder that I described earlier, going through AppData (which is not even
visible unless I go to Control Panel and check Show hidden files and
folders.
 
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