Microsoft Word now automatically saves new documents to the cloud

Microsoft is making a big change to how Word for Windows saves documents. The word processing app will soon automatically save new documents to the cloud, instead of Word users having to enable AutoSave and cloud storage options.

“We are modernizing the way files are created and stored in Word for Windows,” says Raul Munoz, a product manager on the Office shared services and experiences team at Microsoft. “Now you don’t have to worry about saving your documents: Anything new you create will be saved automatically to OneDrive or your preferred cloud destination.”

The change to Word for Windows is being tested with Microsoft 365 Insiders, and the software maker says the change will mean you never have to worry about losing any work and that documents can be accessed across Android and iOS devices or in a web browser.

New documents will be saved with a date instead of the existing format that adds a number to the end of a document file name. You’ll be able to change where new documents are created by setting default cloud locations, and you can also disable the option to create new files in the cloud automatically.

Microsoft has been increasingly pushing Word users to save documents to the cloud, with the AutoSave function that stores documents in the cloud by default. The software maker has also been using nag screens in Windows to convince people to enable OneDrive backup settings, which have proved unpopular with Windows users.

This latest option to create new files in the cloud automatically adds yet another step to saving files locally if you don’t use OneDrive or other cloud storage. Some Word users have already made their feelings clear about Microsoft’s fresh attempt to get more Windows users to use OneDrive in the comment section of Microsoft’s blog post. “It seems that every few years Microsoft adds yet another step that users have to jump through to get to their files,” said one poster. “It used to be very simple with the C drive being prominently displayed.”

:story: The Verge