Microsoft adds autosave to new Word documents

"The update adds an option to "Create new files in the cloud automatically" in the Save tab in Word's Options menu. If checked, which it is by default, then Word will save the newly created file to a default location selected by the user. Rather than the usual Document n naming convention, Word will instead put a date on the filename."

"The name and location can be changed upon saving, and Word will also nag the user if any changes have been made before a new document is closed. Unsurprisingly, Microsoft is also keen to point out that once a file is saved, Copilot can access and analyze it (assuming the user has a Copilot Chat or Microsoft 365 Copilot license)."

"We should also note that, right now, not everyone is getting the new feature as advertised. There are a few known issues that will hopefully be resolved before release. Users with the "Show the start screen when this application starts" setting disabled won't have their first file automatically saved. Additionally, starting a new Word session while a current Word session is running will result in the new file not being saved automatically."

Microsoft Word for Windows adds a default option to create new files directly in the cloud, enabling AutoSave before the first manual save. The Save tab in Options includes a "Create new files in the cloud automatically" setting that defaults to on and writes new files to a user-selected default location such as OneDrive or another preferred cloud destination. New documents receive a date-based filename instead of "Document n," and users can rename or relocate files when they save. Word will prompt to save changes before closing. Saved files are accessible to Copilot with the proper license. Some known issues affect users with the start screen disabled and when launching a second Word session.

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