Hi Nesdon;
I assumed that this would be a common enough practice that it would not need
to be explained. I often use old files as templates for new files.
.... And I 'assumed' -- or at least hoped -- that you weren't one who
subscribed to such practice, "common" as it may be
As Michel points out,
this is one of the least desirable of workflows because it creates its own
problems. What you're experiencing is one, he points out another.
e.g. I have a syllabus in which I change dates and details for each new class.
I open the one from the previous class, make the changes, and save it with the
new class' date in the name. I often do this as well to keep track of various
revision levels and collaborations, where I save a single base document under
different names so I can restore earlier or varying versions.
It would definitely be advantageous to me to change this setting so that docs
are always defaulted to their original folders.
Well, that's part of what the problem stems from. As soon as you select Save
As you're no longer dealing with that document -- a *new* one is being
created. The expectation of the OS -- right or wrong -- is that the user
prefers to save it in the last location accessed. If you've switched to a
folder different than the one from which the document you're now working
with was opened, the OS & program is focused on that last folder. I'm not
sure how operationally prudent it would be to have the OS swapping back to a
different folder every time a new document is being saved.
Although I can appreciate your preference it seems to me that having it work
differently would create even more of a problem for other users. My point
being only that no matter how it's designed to operate it will be "perfect"
for some users & "horrible" for others.
Be that as it may, your conflict can most readily be resolved if you simply
get into the habit of doing your Save As immediately upon opening the source
file, regardless of whether you follow Michel's suggestion of creating
templates. That instantly puts the new file in the same folder as the source
file on which it's being based.
Another option that should work even better: As you open the original go to
the Open: button in the lower left corner of the Open dialog & select 'Copy'
rather than 'Original'. Doing so will give you the new document right off
the bat & the default Save location will be set to the same folder as its
'parent' document. It will remain so even if you go on to open files from
other folders before saving it. This averts the need for templates,
eliminates the possibility of overwriting the original (as long as you don't
give the new document the same name as another), and sets your default Save
location for the new document as you prefer.
HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac
