There’s nothing more frustrating than losing a few minutes or even hours of work because you forgot to save your file. When you close your workbook, Excel checks to see whether it has changed since the last time you saved it. If it hasn’t been saved, you’ll be asked whether you want to save your workbook before you close it. If you want to save multiple versions of the same workbook, you can also create a copy of your file by saving it with a different name. Also, if you usually open workbooks that are saved in folders other than My Documents, you can change the folder that Excel displays by default in the Open and Save As dialog boxes.
Save a Workbook
Click the Save button on the Quick Access Toolbar.
Tip
A good rule of thumb is to save your workbook every time you make a change you would hate to have to make again.
Save a Workbook with a New Name
Click the Microsoft Office button.
Click Save As.
Navigate to the directory where you want to save your file.
Type the new file name.
Click Save.
Change the Default File Folder
Click the Microsoft Office button.
Click Excel Options.
Click Save.
In the Default File Location field, type the path of the folder you want to appear by default.
Click OK.
Close a Workbook
Click the Microsoft Office button.
Click Close.
If a dialog box appears asking whether you want to save any unsaved changes, you can do any of the following:
Click Yes to save the workbook to the same name and location.
Click No to discard all of the changes since the workbook was last saved.
Click Cancel to return to the workbook.
Exit Excel
Click the Microsoft Office button.
Click Exit Excel.
Caution
Make sure that you click the proper Close box. If you click the Close box at the top right of the Excel window, you’ll close Excel, as well as the document on which you’re working.