Autosave doesn't work when using Word as Outlook email editor

[Eric]

I'm in Windows XP and using Outlook 2003, with Word 2003 as my email editor.

When I use Word for standalone editing I have the Word options set so that
Word autosaves my open files every 10 minutes. But this does not seem to work
in Outlook. When I had a system crash and had to reboot, Outlook and Word did
not recover the unsent emails that I was composing at the time of the crash.

How do I get Word to autosave/recover documents when I'm using it as my
Outlook editor?

Thanks.

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Eric -

You'd probably get a more accurate suggestion in an Outlook group because it
is just "borrowing" some of Word's capabilities, but I believe the root of
the problem is a misconception about AutoRecover in the first place.

I think it would be best if you completely abandon the association of the
term "autosave" with the AutoRecover feature. Even when using Word, itself,
there is no automating saving of your files. The AutoRecover feature simply
stores changes made since your last manual save in a temporary file so that
if the file/program/computer crash Word can attempt to recover the *unsaved*
changes from the temporary file. However, the AutoRecover feature doesn't
even kick in until you've actually saved the file at least once during any
given session with the file. IOW, with a new file there is no temporary file
from which to recover anything until the file has been Saved in the first
place, so since the email message wasn't saved there's no temp file from
which to recover anything.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Eric]

Thanks. You're right that autosave is the wrong word. I'm referring to the
AutoRecover feature.

When I check Word's Tools/Options/Save screen, I see "Save AutoRecover info
every [10] minutes". I see this both in standalone Word, and also when I edit
an email using Word as an email editor.

My experience of standalone Word is that when I'm working on a new file,
Word keeps saving AutoRecover information, so that if I have a system crash
and have to reboot, Word permits me to recover the file. This is true even
when I haven't yet saved the file for the first time.

I've designated Word as my an email editor in Outlook, and I see the same
setting "Save AutoRecover info every [10] minutes". But in Outlook, if I'm
working on an email and I have a system crash, I'm never presented with the
option to recover the file. That's the problem I'm trying to solve.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I can confirm that AutoRecover will recover any open document (Document1,
say), but this might not apply equally to email messages.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

Thanks. You're right that autosave is the wrong word. I'm referring to the
AutoRecover feature.

When I check Word's Tools/Options/Save screen, I see "Save AutoRecover
info
every [10] minutes". I see this both in standalone Word, and also when I
edit
an email using Word as an email editor.

My experience of standalone Word is that when I'm working on a new file,
Word keeps saving AutoRecover information, so that if I have a system
crash
and have to reboot, Word permits me to recover the file. This is true even
when I haven't yet saved the file for the first time.

I've designated Word as my an email editor in Outlook, and I see the same
setting "Save AutoRecover info every [10] minutes". But in Outlook, if I'm
working on an email and I have a system crash, I'm never presented with
the
option to recover the file. That's the problem I'm trying to solve.

Hi Eric -

You'd probably get a more accurate suggestion in an Outlook group because
it
is just "borrowing" some of Word's capabilities, but I believe the root
of
the problem is a misconception about AutoRecover in the first place.

I think it would be best if you completely abandon the association of the
term "autosave" with the AutoRecover feature. Even when using Word,
itself,
there is no automating saving of your files. The AutoRecover feature
simply
stores changes made since your last manual save in a temporary file so
that
if the file/program/computer crash Word can attempt to recover the
*unsaved*
changes from the temporary file. However, the AutoRecover feature doesn't
even kick in until you've actually saved the file at least once during
any
given session with the file. IOW, with a new file there is no temporary
file
from which to recover anything until the file has been Saved in the first
place, so since the email message wasn't saved there's no temp file from
which to recover anything.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac