as a solicitor I use an excel spreadsheet to record my billing activities.
Altho I backup every evening I fear losing the record during the day
(corruption, my error etc etc.)
The para below is from a Microsoft support doc. which should be quite clear
but try as I may I cannot find the option in the menu!

'This option can be accessed from the Save As dialog box by clicking General
Options on the Tools menu. By default, this option is not selected. When you
select this option in a file, it is set for that file only. To change this
option for all new documents, modify the template for the default startup
worksheet or workbook. '

Can anyone help please?

Reggie D.

Hi Reggie,

In Excel 2000 or 2003, click Save As...
You see the Save As dialog, which prompts you for a file name,
in the top right corner of the dialog you will see a Tools button that opens
a drop-down menu.
One of the menu items is 'General Options' - you will find the 'Always
create backup' checkbox here.

In Excel 2007 the Tools drop-down is at the bottom left of the dialog (for a
more consistent look and feel :^)

Note that all this does is save a copy of the file in the same folder as the
file, so if you have a workbook named 'Book1.xls' in the \My Documents\
folder, then enabling this option will also save a file named 'Backup of
Book1.xls' in the same folder. Not too useful if you have a hard drive
crash.

But, if you accidentally wreck a workbook and then save it, the original
file will contain the wrecked data, and the backup file will still be good
(it stays one save behind the original document).

A more useful method for backing up your document is to use AutoRecover.
This is turned on by default in Excel 2003 and 2007. I think you needed an
add-in for previous versions. By default, AutoRecover saves a copy of your
workbook every 10 minutes in a location like C:\Documents and
Settings\UserName\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\. You can (and should)
change the location to a different drive than that where you normally store
your work.

If you are on a corporate network, and you store your documents on a network
folder, then leaving the setting to the default location (on your C: drive)
makes sense. If you have a standalone PC, then consider using two disc
drives, store your work on one, and AutoRecover information on the other.

You can also set the AutoRecover storage interval to a time that suits you.

To get to the AutoRecove setting in Excel 2003, click Tools - Options -
Save (tab)
In Excel 2007 Office Button - Excel Options - Save

Ed Ferrero
www.edferrero.com

Ed,

Most useful; thank you. As I only have EXCEL 2000 is it still possible to
use Autorecover or do I have to upgrade to "003 or 2007?

Reggie D.

"Ed Ferrero" wrote:

Hi Reggie,

In Excel 2000 or 2003, click Save As...
You see the Save As dialog, which prompts you for a file name,
in the top right corner of the dialog you will see a Tools button that opens
a drop-down menu.
One of the menu items is 'General Options' - you will find the 'Always
create backup' checkbox here.

In Excel 2007 the Tools drop-down is at the bottom left of the dialog (for a
more consistent look and feel :^)

Note that all this does is save a copy of the file in the same folder as the
file, so if you have a workbook named 'Book1.xls' in the \My Documents\
folder, then enabling this option will also save a file named 'Backup of
Book1.xls' in the same folder. Not too useful if you have a hard drive
crash.

But, if you accidentally wreck a workbook and then save it, the original
file will contain the wrecked data, and the backup file will still be good
(it stays one save behind the original document).

A more useful method for backing up your document is to use AutoRecover.
This is turned on by default in Excel 2003 and 2007. I think you needed an
add-in for previous versions. By default, AutoRecover saves a copy of your
workbook every 10 minutes in a location like C:\Documents and
Settings\UserName\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\. You can (and should)
change the location to a different drive than that where you normally store
your work.

If you are on a corporate network, and you store your documents on a network
folder, then leaving the setting to the default location (on your C: drive)
makes sense. If you have a standalone PC, then consider using two disc
drives, store your work on one, and AutoRecover information on the other.

You can also set the AutoRecover storage interval to a time that suits you.

To get to the AutoRecove setting in Excel 2003, click Tools - Options -
Save (tab)
In Excel 2007 Office Button - Excel Options - Save

Ed Ferrero
www.edferrero.com

No Autorecovery in Excel 2000 but you do have the Autosave add-in which makes
incremental backups of your file as you are working on it.

Autorecovery doesn't do you much good for saving a backup file.

It only creates a temporary file which is deleted if Excel closes without
incident.

Do not use Autorecovery as a method of backing up files.


Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP

On Sat, 17 Nov 2007 04:56:00 -0800, Reggie D.
wrote:

Ed,

Most useful; thank you. As I only have EXCEL 2000 is it still possible to
use Autorecover or do I have to upgrade to "003 or 2007?

Reggie D.

"Ed Ferrero" wrote:

Hi Reggie,

In Excel 2000 or 2003, click Save As...
You see the Save As dialog, which prompts you for a file name,
in the top right corner of the dialog you will see a Tools button that opens
a drop-down menu.
One of the menu items is 'General Options' - you will find the 'Always
create backup' checkbox here.

In Excel 2007 the Tools drop-down is at the bottom left of the dialog (for a
more consistent look and feel :^)

Note that all this does is save a copy of the file in the same folder as the
file, so if you have a workbook named 'Book1.xls' in the \My Documents\
folder, then enabling this option will also save a file named 'Backup of
Book1.xls' in the same folder. Not too useful if you have a hard drive
crash.

But, if you accidentally wreck a workbook and then save it, the original
file will contain the wrecked data, and the backup file will still be good
(it stays one save behind the original document).

A more useful method for backing up your document is to use AutoRecover.
This is turned on by default in Excel 2003 and 2007. I think you needed an
add-in for previous versions. By default, AutoRecover saves a copy of your
workbook every 10 minutes in a location like C:\Documents and
Settings\UserName\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\. You can (and should)
change the location to a different drive than that where you normally store
your work.

If you are on a corporate network, and you store your documents on a network
folder, then leaving the setting to the default location (on your C: drive)
makes sense. If you have a standalone PC, then consider using two disc
drives, store your work on one, and AutoRecover information on the other.

You can also set the AutoRecover storage interval to a time that suits you.

To get to the AutoRecove setting in Excel 2003, click Tools - Options -
Save (tab)
In Excel 2007 Office Button - Excel Options - Save

Ed Ferrero
www.edferrero.com