Save a Word Document

After creating a document, you will probably want to preserve the work you have done. You do that by saving your document. With Word 2013, you can save your document on a drive, on SkyDrive, or both.

Drives

Drives are hardware components. Generally speaking, desktop and laptop computers come with at least two drives: a hard drive (for storing large volumes of data) and a CD or CD/DVD drive (for storing smaller volumes of data for transporting from one computer to another). The hard drive is typically designated the C:\ drive, and the CD drive is typically designated the D:\ drive. If you have an additional internal drive, it may be designated the A:\ drive. If your hard drive is partitioned (divided into several parts) or if you have additional drives, such as a flash drive, they will be E:\, F:\, G:\, and so on.

Folders

The operating system uses folders to organize Word documents and other types of files on your drive. Your computer comes preconfigured with several folders such as Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos. When you save a Word file, Word attempts to save the file in the Documents folder by default. You can change the default location. To keep things organized, you can create additional folders within the Documents folder. For example, you may want to store all your letters in a Letters folder and all your reports in a Reports folder. Within each folder, you can create subfolders. For example, within the Letters folder, you can create one folder for all your letters to Mr. Jones and another folder for all your letters to Ms. Smith. Use the New Folder button in the Save As dialog box to create folders.

Save verses Save As

When saving a file, you have two options: Save and Save As. As I stated earlier, when you open a new document, Word names it Document appended with a sequential number. When you save the file for the first time, you must give it a name. When you choose the Save option to save a file for the first time, Word presents the Save As dialog box. Type the name you want to give the file in the File Name field.

Once a document has been saved at least once and thereby given a name, you can save the document by clicking the Save icon on the Quick Access toolbar or by selecting Save from the File menu. No dialog box opens because Word saves the file under the name you gave it previously. If you want to make another copy of your file, give the file a new name. Select Save As from the File menu. Word presents Save As dialog box, with the same options as when you saved the file for the first time. Give the file a new name. You will then have two files: your original file and your newly saved file. If you make changes to one of these files, the other file will not contain the changes.

File Types

Whenever you save a file, you need to assign a file type. Among other things, the file type determines what program you can use to open a file to edit it and how the file is formatted. The default file type for a Microsoft Word 2013 document is .docx. Assigning a file type of .docx allows you and others to view your document in Word 2007 and later.

If you are sharing your document with someone who is using an earlier version of Word, you can save your document with a file type of .doc. Features not supported in earlier versions of Word will be lost or degraded. To prevent the loss or degrading of features, the person you are sharing the file with can download and install the Microsoft Office compatibility pack so they can view and edit your .docx file. If their Office updates are up-to-date, they may already have the compatibility pack installed.

Another file-saving option is Portable Document Format (.pdf). Almost any computer system can read this file format. This helps with sharing your document because you do not have to worry about what type of computer the recipient has.

You can also save your file in .htm or .html format. These formats create a file that people can read in a Web browser. You can place .htm and .html files on the Internet.

Save a Document to Your Hard Drive

1. Choose the File tab. Word moves to Backstage view. A menu appears along the left side of the window.
2. Click Save.
3. Choose Computer.
4. Click Browse. The Save As dialog box opens, ready to save in the default folder, usually the Documents folder.

• The File Name field suggests a file name based on the first words in your document.
• The Save As Type field displays the default file type, usually Word Document (.docx).

5. Locate and double-click the folder where you want to save your file.
6. Type a new name in the File Name field if you do not like the suggested name.
7. Change the document type, if necessary (for example, if you are saving it for someone with a different version of Word). Click the down-arrow next to the Save As Type field and then click the document type you want.
8. Click Save. Word saves your document.

Save a Document in a Recently Used Folder

1. Choose the File tab. Word moves to Backstage view. A menu appears along the left side of the window.
2. Click Save.
3. Choose Computer. If you have previously saved a file, recently used folders appear on the right side of the window.
4. Click a folder name. The Save As dialog box opens, ready to save your document in the folder you selected. The File Name field suggests a file name based on the first words in your document. The Save As Type field displays the default file type.
5. Type a new name in the File Name field if you do not like the suggested name.
6. Change the document type, if necessary. Click the down-arrow next to the Save As Type field and then click the document type you want.
7. Click Save. Word saves your document.

Save a Document: Create a New Folder

1. Choose the File tab. Word moves to Backstage view. A menu appears along the left side of the window.
2. Click Save.
3. Choose Computer.
4. Click Browse. The Save As dialog box opens, ready to save your document in the default folder, usually the Documents folder. The File Name field suggests a file name based on the first words in your document. The Save As Type field displays the default file type.
5. Click New Folder. Word creates a new folder and displays a box where you can type a new name for the folder.
6. Type the name you want to give the folder. Word renames the folder.
7. Click the Open button. Word opens the folder you created.
8. Type a new name in the File Name field if you do not like the suggested name.
9. Change the document type, if necessary. Click the down-arrow next to the Save As Type field and then click the document type you want.

How do I change the default file location?

1) Choose the File tab. A menu appears along the left side of the window. 2) Click Options. The Word Options dialog box opens and a menu appears along the left side of the dialog box. 3) Choose Save. 4) Click the Browse button next to Default Local File Location in the Save Documents section. The Modify Location dialog box opens. 5) Locate and click the folder where you want to save your files. Click OK. The Modify Location dialog box closes. 6) Click OK. The Word Options dialog box closes and Word changes the default file location.