Applies To
Excel for Microsoft 365 Word for Microsoft 365 PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 Access for Microsoft 365 Project Online Desktop Client Visio Plan 2 Excel 2024 PowerPoint 2024 Access 2024 Project Professional 2024 Project Standard 2024 Excel 2021 Word 2021 PowerPoint 2021 Access 2021 Project Professional 2021 Project Standard 2021 Visio Professional 2021 Visio Standard 2021

If you're looking to customize your experience when saving a new file via CTRL+S or pressing the Save button in the Quick Access Toolbar, here are some options to meet your needs.

Usually use the cloud, but sometimes need to save locally?

When you want to save locally use Save As instead, which, as before, triggers the legacy save dialog. You can easily add Save As to the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) or use the F12 keyboard shortcut.

The legacy Save As experience in PowerPoint

Don't use the cloud, but usually save to one location?

If you don't save your files to the cloud, and want to save to a default location on your local device, continue using the new dialog with a default local location.

From the location dropdown, you can set any recent location as your default location by right-clicking on that location or by pressing the application key on any of the locations shown.

A screenshot of how to set the default location in Word while saving a new file

Or, on the File tab, select Options and choose Save Check "Save to Computer by default" and set "Default local file location" to the desired location.

A screenshot of the PowerPoint Options dialog highlighting the section to customize the default location

Prefer a more classic folder browsing experience, like in Windows Explorer?

Use the classic Save dialog instead.

  1. On the File tab, select Options and choose Save.

  2. Select "Don't show the Backstage when opening or saving files with keyboard shortcuts".

A screenshot of the PowerPoint Options dialog highlighting the setting to not use the Backstage when saving with keyboard shortcuts

Want to use the Backstage to immediately browse all your folders or access different connected sites?

  • On the File tab, select Save.

Set a default working folder

The Documents folder is the default working folder for all of the files that you create in your Microsoft Office programs. You can choose a different default working folder.

Location of the default Documents folder

The folder that you select applies only to the program that you are currently using. For example, if you change the default working folder for Word, the default working folder for PowerPoint is still Documents.

Excel, PowerPoint, Project, and Word

  1. On the File tab, select Options.

  2. Select Save.

  3. In the first section, type the path in the Default local file location box.

    The Save options in Word, showing the default working folder setting

Note: In Word you can also select Browse to navigate to the folder you want to use.

Select a heading below for more information about that application

  1. On the File tab, select Options.

  2. Select General.

  3. Under Creating databases, in the Default database folder box, select Browse.

  4. Navigate to the default database folder, or type the path of the folder where you want to store Access database files.

When you set a default working folder in Visio, the folder that you designate for a particular type of file is the first place that Visio searches for any file of that type. If Visio fails to find a specific file in the designated folder, it searches in the My Documents folder for drawings and templates and in the My Documents\My Shapes folder for stencils. It searches in the Documents and Settings\user name folder for add-ins.

  1. On the File tab, select Options.

  2. Choose Advanced, and then select File Locations under General.

  3. For each file type to set a default folder for, select Browse Generic Ellipsis button

  4. Browse to the folder where you want to store that file type. You can have separate storage folders for each of the following types of files:

    • My Shapes

    • Drawings

    • Templates

    • Stencils

    • Help

    • Add-ons

    • Start-up

  5. Select OK twice.

Note: You can add more than one folder for each file type. If you do so, the first folder is the default working folder. If the first folder is not available (for example, a network share that may be temporarily unavailable), Visio uses the next folder in the list. Property report definitions that are saved to these locations are available in the Reports dialog box. Find links to more information about property reports in the See Also section.

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