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Introduction

Are you saving a workbook for the first time? Saving it as another name? Sharing it with someone who doesn't have Excel 2010? There are many ways you share and receive workbooks, which will affect how you need to save the file.

In this lesson, you will learn how to use the Save and Save As commands, how to save as an Excel 97-2003 compatible workbook, and how to save as a PDF.

Saving workbooks

When you create a new workbook in Excel, you'll need to know how to save it to access and edit it later. Excel allows you to save your documents in several ways.

Optional: You can download this example for extra practice.

To use the Save As command:

Save As allows you to choose a name and location for your workbook. Use it if you are saving a workbook for the first time or if you want to save a different version of a workbook while keeping the original.

1. Click the File tab.
2. Select Save As.
   Save As
3. The Save As dialog box will appear. Select the location where you want to save the workbook.
4. Enter a name for the workbook, then click Save.
   The Save As dialog box

If you are using Windows 7, you will most likely want to save files to your Documents library. For other versions of Windows, you will most likely want to save files to the My Documents folder. For more information, check out our lessons on Windows 7 and Windows XP.

To use the Save command:

1. Click the Save command on the Quick Access toolbar.
   Saving a workbook
2. The workbook will be saved in its current location with the same file name.

If you are saving for the first time and select Save, the Save As dialog box will appear.

To use AutoRecover:

Excel automatically saves your workbooks to a temporary folder while you're working on them. If you forget to save your changes or if Excel crashes, you can recover the autosaved file.

1. Open a workbook that was previously closed without saving.
2. In Backstage view, click Info.
3. If there are autosaved versions of your workbook, they will appear under Versions. Click the file to open it.
   Opening an autosaved file
4. A yellow caution note will appear on the Ribbon of the workbook. To restore this version of the workbook, click Restore, then click OK.
   Restoring a file

By default, Excel autosaves every 10 minutes. If you are editing a workbook for less than 10 minutes, Excel may not create an autosaved version.

If you do not see the file you're looking for—or if you're looking for an autosaved version of a file that has no previously saved versions—you can browse all autosaved files by clicking the Manage Versions button and selecting Recover Unsaved Workbooks from the drop-down menu.

To save as an Excel 97-2003 workbook:

You can share your workbooks with anyone using Excel 2010 or 2007 because they use the same file format. However, earlier versions of Excel use a different file format, so if you want to share your workbook with someone using an earlier version of Excel you will need to save it as an Excel 97-2003 workbook.

1. Click the File tab.
2. Select Save As.
3. In the Save as type drop-down menu, select Excel 97-2003 Workbook.
   Saving as an Excel 97-2003 Workbook file
4. Select the location where you want to save the file.
5. Enter a name for the file, then click Save.

To save as a PDF:

Saving your workbook as an Adobe Acrobat Document—which is called a PDF file—can be especially useful when your recipients do not have Excel. A PDF will make it possible for recipients to view the content from your workbook, but they will not be able to edit anything. If you are not sure what a PDF looks like, you can download our PDF example for this lesson.

1. Click the File tab.
2. Select Save As.
3. In the Save as type drop-down menu, select PDF.
   Saving as a PDF file
4. Select the location where you want to save the file.
5. Enter a name for the file, then click Save.

Excel defaults to saving the active worksheet only. If you have multiple worksheets and want to save all of them in the same PDF file, click Options. The Options dialog box will appear. Select Entire workbook from the Options dialog box, then click OK.

Challenge!

1. Open an existing Excel 2010 workbook. If you want, you can use this example.
2. Using the Save As command, save the workbook with the file name Trial.
3. Save the workbook as a PDF file.
4. Close the workbook.
5. Open another existing Excel 2010 workbook.
6. Save the workbook so it is compatible with Excel 2003.
7. Close the workbook.

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