How do I stop Word files from making copies of themselves?

[Guest]

Some time ago, I made a change whereby my Word files automatically make
copies of themselves. This has now become a nuisance, since my desktop is
littered with unneeded icons of these duplicate files. The problem is, I've
forgotten where to go to change back to the situation in which my Word files
were not automatically duplicating themselves.

Please help!

Thanks!

 

[Jay Freedman]

You may be referring to the "Always create backup copy" setting in
Tools > Options > Save. The files created by that option have names
that start with "Backup of" and have a .wbk extension.

Alternatively, you may be referring to the temporary files that Word
creates while you edit documents. See
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=211632 for an explanation of those,
and http://www.gmayor.com/what_to_do_when_word_crashes.htm for cleanup
instructions.

In either case, you won't see these files if you don't store documents
on the desktop and edit them from there. Store them in the My
Documents folder, or anywhere else except the desktop. If you want
instant desktop access to a document, create a shortcut to it
(right-click the document's file in Windows Explorer and select Send
To > Desktop).

Another good read is http://www.gmayor.com/automatically_backup.htm,
which will show you how to make Word back up documents in a folder
different from the one where the documents live.