Excel boasts an intuitive user interface and hundreds of powerful functions. It is a perfect tool for both beginners and advanced users. One can easily save and share Excel workbooks with their colleagues and friends.
A new Excel spreadsheet must be saved at a known location for future use. It is also true when you make specific changes to the Workbook.
Sometimes, you may want to have a copy of the existing Workbook with a new name. To do this, you can use the “Save a Copy” feature in Excel.
Welcome to this guide, where we will discuss how to save Excel spreadsheets in various file formats like XLSX, CSV, and PDF. Click on the following links to jump to the particular section of your interest.
How to Save a Workbook in Excel
Saving an Excel workbook is a piece of cake. It will take hardly a minute to save an Excel file. You can follow the steps discussed below or use keyboard shortcuts as well.
- Windows – “CTRL + S”
- Mac – “CMD + S”
Additionally, here are the steps to save a workbook in Excel.
- Go to the “File” tab
- You will see the following screen
- Click on the “Save As” button
- Choose the location where you want to save your file. For now, I am saving the file on my local drive
- Enter the name of the file in the empty field as shown below
- Click the “Save” button once done
The steps are pretty simple. You can choose from multiple locations to save the file.
- OneDrive: Save the file to Microsoft’s cloud-based storage. By saving the file here, you can open the worksheet on any computer with an internet connection.
- SharePoint: Save the Workbook to a connected SharePoint server. Just click on the “Share” button and select the SharePoint.
- This PC: Save the file to the local storage on your desktop.
- Browse: This option opens a dialog box where you can browse through different folders, drives, and network shares.
Q. What is another alternative to save your Workbook?
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, there are multiple ways to save an Excel file.
Hover to the upper-rightmost corner of the screen, and you will notice a save button, as shown in the following image.
When you click on the Save button, a dialog box will appear where you can provide the details to save your Workbook.
In case of already saved Excel files, leverage this button to save the current state of your Workbook. So, even if AutoSave is enabled, you can use this to ensure that changes are saved at a specific moment.
If you want to save the Workbook to a different location, you can click this button, and it will allow you to choose a new save location, such as another folder or a different OneDrive account.
Once you have entered all the details, click on the “Save” button.
There is a keyboard shortcut for the same purpose. Just press “Ctrl + S” on your keyboard to save your Workbook in no time.
How to AutoSave Workbooks in Excel
AutoSave feature can be activated only if your file is saved to OneDrive or SharePoint. To enable this feature in Excel, follow these steps:
- Open the desired Workbook for which you want to allow AutoSave feature
- Ensure your file is saved in OneDrive or SharePoint
- Look at the top-left corner of the screen, above the toolbar
- You will observe an “AutoSave” toggle switch
- Click it to turn on AutoSave mode
Once enabled, Excel will automatically save your Workbook every few seconds. It ensures your work is always backed up.
The AutoSave feature is available in Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel 2016, and later versions.
Excel Output File Formats
Microsoft Excel allows you to save your workbooks in different formats, depending on your needs. Here are some of the most commonly used formats:
| File Type | Extension | Description |
|---|---|---|
| CSV | .csv | Comma-delimited text file, often used to import or export data |
| Excel Workbook | .xlsx | The default XLM-based file format for Excel, in use since 2007 |
| Excel 97-2003 Workbook | .xls | Excel files from 2003 and older |
| Excel Macro-Enabled Template | .xlsm | Excel template that contains macros |
| Excel Template | .xltx | Excel template files |
| Portable Document Format, a format that preserves document formatting and allows file sharing | ||
| Web Page | .html | A Web page that is saved as a folder and contains an .html file and supporting files such as images |
FAQs: How To Save Excel File
Q. Why can’t I Save my Excel File?
Sometimes, you may encounter the message “Document not Saved.”
Excel shows this error message if an unforeseen event interrupts the saving process. It may be because you don’t have enough free space on your local drive, OneDrive, or SharePoint.
So, the first step is to ensure your storage location has sufficient free space.
Q. How to save Excel sheets as separate files?
If you are looking for a solution to create multiple copies of an Excel file, then there exist a couple of easy-to-use ways.
You can simply save the file, open the file location, and create a copy of the file. Make sure you appropriately rename the new file to avoid future conflicts.
Another quickest way is to use Excel’s “Save As” feature. It helps users save their workbooks as separate files.
Here are the steps,
- Go to the “File” tab from the main menu
- A new screen will appear on your screen
- Click on the “Save As” option, as shown in the following image
- Choose the location and provide the file name
- Select the file format you prefer in the dropdown as shown below
- Once done, click the “Save” button as shown below
Conclusion
That’s it! Saving a workbook in Excel is an essential skill.
You can save your files in various formats like XLSX, CSV, and PDF, depending on how you intend to use the exported data.
Feel free to comment below if you are stuck somewhere or having any particular issues while saving Excel files.
Also, for more such tips and tricks to use Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets like a pro, make sure to explore our blog section.