Troubleshoot why Excel doesn't salve changes

  • Article
  • 12 minutes to read
  • Applies to:
    Excel for Office 365, Excel 2019, Excel 2016, Excel 2013, Excel 2010, Microsoft Part Excel 2007, Microsoft Office Excel 2003

Notation

Part 365 ProPlus is existence renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.

As you work in a workbook, Microsoft Excel saves the file automatically. It gives the file a temporary file name, and puts the file into the aforementioned folder as the original version. When you manually relieve the workbook, the original file is deleted, and the temporary file is assigned the original file proper noun.

If this process is interrupted, the workbook might not relieve correctly. You might likewise find one or more temporary files in the folder where you lot tried to save your file. Additionally, you may receive i of several alerts or mistake messages.

The post-obit data can help you place possible causes of this problem, and proposes solutions to help you solve the problem.

Possible reasons why documents don't salve

Select the tab that applies to you, or go to the "Quick resolution" section.

  • 3rd-party add-ins
  • Permissions
  • Document not saved
  • Disk infinite
  • Antivirus software
  • File sharing
  • File naming

If you cannot salvage a workbook when yous run Microsoft Excel in Windows Safe style, the trouble may be caused by a third-party add-in or by a file from one of the Excel startup locations. Past default, startup files are loaded when you start Excel.

Some add-ins from third-party software vendors work together with existing Excel features by design, and some are intended to enable a seamless transition when you utilize a tertiary-party production. Typically, these tertiary-political party add-ins do not interfere with Excel functionality. Yet, some functions, such as saving a file tin can exist affected.

To test for and eliminate the possibility that a third-party Excel add together-in or file is causing a "salvage" trouble in Excel, endeavor to save the file in Safe fashion. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Exit Excel.

  2. Select Start, and point to Programs.

  3. Every bit Excel starts, printing and hold Ctrl until y'all receive a message that resembles the following:

    Excel has detected that you are property downward the Ctrl central. Do you want to start Excel in safe manner?

  4. Select Yep.

  5. Open up a new Excel workbook, and endeavor to salvage it. If that works, try again to salvage the problem file.

If the file now saves correctly, a custom add-in or a file that is located in an Excel startup location is near likely the cause. You must locate and remove the add-in or the file to eliminate the problem. After you determine which add-in or file caused the problem, contact the vendor for additional information or an update that resolves the problem.

For more information nigh Microsoft Excel safe mode, press F1 in Excel to open the Help menu, blazon safe mode in the Search box, and and then select Search to view the topic.

For more than information most how to determine the folders that Excel uses during startup, and additional options to disable this functionality, see the following articles:

  • Utilize startup folders in Excel
  • How to prevent files from opening automatically in Excel

Quick resolution

If none of the causes that are listed in this article utilise to your situation, or you still tin't save workbooks, try the following options to save your Excel files. To see more details about the steps, select the chevron image to the left or the option heading.

Salve the workbook past using a new file name

  1. On the File card, select Salvage As.
  2. Relieve the Excel workbook by using a unique file proper noun.

Move the original worksheets to a new workbook

  1. Add a filler worksheet to your workbook. To practise this, press Shift+F11.
  2. Grouping all the worksheets (except the filler). To practice this, select the first sheet, agree the Shift fundamental, and so select the last canvas.
  3. Correct-select the grouped sheets, and so select Motion or copy.
  4. In the To Book listing, select (New Book).
  5. Select OK.

Salve the file as a unlike Excel file type

  1. On the File menu, select Save As.
  2. In the Salve as Type listing, select a file format other than the current file format. If yous are using Microsoft Excel 2007 or a later version, save the file as .xlsx or .xlsm instead of as .xls.

Try to salvage the workbook to some other location

Try saving your notebook to another location, such every bit a local hard disk, a network drive, or removable bulldoze.

Try to save a new workbook to the original location

  1. Create an Excel workbook.

  2. On the File menu, select Save Every bit.

  3. In the Save As dialog box, follow these steps:

    1. In the Save in box, select the location in which the original workbook was saved.
    2. In the File proper noun box, type a name for the new file.
    3. Select Save.

Attempt to save the workbook in safe style

Restart Windows in safe style, and and so try to salvage the workbook to your local hard disk.

Additional resources

To avoid problems that prevent files from being saved correctly, nosotros recommend that you activate AutoSave. For more information, see What is Autosave.

If you lot experience specific problems when you lot use Excel, go to the following website to search for more than information virtually your program version:

Microsoft Excel Product Solution Center: Excel

Detailed view of the options

The following section provides more than detailed descriptions of these options.

You may have bug when you effort to save a Microsoft Excel workbook if one or more than of the following atmospheric condition are truthful:

  • Yous relieve an Excel workbook to a network bulldoze on which you have restricted permissions.
  • You lot save an Excel workbook to a location that does not have sufficient storage infinite.
  • The connection to the Excel workbook is lost.
  • There is a conflict with an antivirus software program.
  • You salvage an Excel workbook that is shared.
  • The 218-character path limitation is exceeded when you save an Excel workbook.

Workarounds to save Excel workbooks

To work around this problem and effort to salve your work before yous troubleshoot, apply the post-obit methods. Depending on the cause of the problem, you may be unable to recover the current file as-is. However, the following methods are typically successful. These methods are listed in club of format retention when you are trying to keep the original file formatting.

Note

The following methods may not save all the latest changes, formatting, and feature sets of the workbook that are specific to the version of Excel that y'all are using. The following methods are intended to let you obtain a usable, saved version of the file. These methods require you to save the file to your local hard disk drive by using a unique file proper noun.

Choice 1: Relieve the workbook by using a new file proper name

  1. On the File menu, select Save As.
  2. Salvage the Excel workbook by using a unique file proper name.

Option 2: Move the original worksheets to a new workbook

  1. Add a filler worksheet to your workbook. To practice this, press Shift+F11.

    Note

    This sheet is required because there must be at least ane remaining canvas in a workbook after you move all relevant data sheets.

  2. Group all the worksheets (except the filler). To do this, select the first data sheet, hold the Shift key, and and so select the concluding data sheet.

  3. Right-select the grouped sheets, and so select Movement or copy.

  4. In the To Book list, select (New Volume).

  5. Select OK.

    Note

    These steps should move the active (grouped) worksheets to a new workbook.

If your workbook contains VBA macros, copy the modules from the old workbook to the new workbook.

Option 3: Salve the file equally a dissimilar Excel file type

  1. On the File menu, select Save As.
  2. In the Salvage as Type list, select a file format other than the current file format. If you are using Microsoft Excel 2007 or a later version, save the file as .xlsx or .xlsm instead of as .xls.

Pick 4: Try to relieve the workbook to some other location

Endeavour to salvage the workbook to some other location, such every bit a local hard disk drive, a network drive, or a removable drive. If y'all are successful, the following are possible causes of the problem:

  • Antivirus software disharmonize
  • Restricted permissions
  • File name length
  • File sharing conflict

Option 5: Try to save a new workbook to the original location

To save a new Excel file to the original location, follow these steps:

  1. Create an Excel workbook.

  2. On the File card, select Salvage Equally.

  3. In the Save As dialog box, follow these steps:

    1. In the Save in box, select the location in which the original workbook is saved.
    2. In the File name box, blazon a proper name for the new file.
    3. Select Salve.

If you tin can salvage a new workbook to the original location, the following are possible causes of the problem:

  • File proper noun length
  • File sharing conflict

If you tin't save a new workbook to the original location, the following is a possible cause of the problem:

  • Insufficient drive infinite

If you take sufficient drive space, effort Option 3.

Option half-dozen: Try to save the workbook in safe style

Restart Windows in condom mode, and so attempt to save the workbook to your local hard deejay.

Notes

  • If you use a network location to save your workbook, try to restart Windows in safe way with network support, and then endeavor to save.
  • Windows condom mode cannot be used to troubleshoot problems in Microsoft Excel 2010 or later versions.

For more information about how to start Windows in safety mode, see Advanced startup options (including safety way).

If the workbook saves afterwards you restart Windows in safe manner, try once again to salve the file. To exercise this, select Save on the File carte.

If the workbook doesn't relieve after yous restart Windows in safe fashion, the following are possible causes:

  • Third-party add-ins
  • Antivirus software conflict
  • Restricted permissions
  • File name length

More than information

Still need help? Go to Microsoft Community.