How can I get Word to save all .wbk documents in one folder?

[GoneFishing]

I distrust Word's AutoRecovery feature since it doesn't always work and it's
non-permanent. I prefer the old-style backups, which stores a backup in the
form of a ".wbk" file every X minutes.

The only problem with this is that the backup is stored in the same folder
as the normal file, making a mess of things. Is there a way to make Word
store all ".wbk" backup files in a single folder?


(I am running Windows XP Media Center Edition, Service Pack 2, on an HP
Dual-Core 2.8 Ghz package.)

 

[Jay Freedman]

You have a misunderstanding of how Word does backups.

- The timed backup *is* the AutoRecovery feature. It does not make
..wbk files.

- The "Always create backup copy" option in Tools > Options > Save
controls whether .wbk files are created. When it's turned on, each
time you manually save the file, the previous copy on disk is renamed
as the .wbk file. That's why it's always in the same folder as the
document, and no, there's no provision to put it anywhere else.

See http://www.gmayor.com/automatically_backup.htm for a macro that
will save the same document to two different folders each time you
manually save. However, even that will not save automatically at
intervals.

If you're sufficiently worried about backup to ask this question, you
should know about all the other Word-related files that you should
also back up to preserve your preferences. See
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/General/FilesToBackup.htm.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
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[Graham Mayor]

See http://www.gmayor.com/automatically_backup.htm for a macro that
will save the same document to two different folders each time you
manually save. However, even that will not save automatically at
intervals.

However the savereminder tool also linked from that page will automatically
save the documents - though personally I prefer to save manually.

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


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[Modemjunkie]

I have been posting a similar thiread to ....newuser.



Anyway, I tried your "save in two directories" macro and it works
well. Thanks,


What would be really nice is to add another couple of lines that would
then delete the newly created .wbk file from the directory from which
the macro was invoked. Then that directory would remain free of .wbks


In the meantime, I have put the new backup directory in an entirely
different path so I can periodically do a search in my docs directory
and all subdirectories for *.wbks and delete them all at once.


Thanks again.


Len

 

[Graham Mayor]

The wbk files are not true backups. They are copies of the previously saved
version (ie) what the document contained before you saved it. it is not a
good plan to automatically delete the wbk files. You may not need their
content very often, but when you do they are invaluable. Periodic deletion
of those known to be unwanted is a much safer option. It is not as though
disc space is expensive!

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


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[Modemjunkie]

The wbk files are not true backups. They are copies of the previously saved
version (ie) what the document contained before you saved it. it is not a
good plan to automatically delete the wbk files. You may not need their
content very often, but when you do they are invaluable. Periodic deletion
of those known to be unwanted is a much safer option. It is not as though
disc space is expensive!

--

No that is not the issue. The problem is that I work with dozens,
perhaps hundreds of files each week. Since the macro saves the
previous file to another directory, there is no reason I shouldn't be
able to safely remove the wbks in the primary directory.

I just want them out of there to cause confusion, some of which arises
when I clean a document and freeze it. When I edit one it seems to
create backups of backups and that gets really confusing.

Len