Saving what to where?

[Jim Wood]

I've got Word 2003 running under XP-Pro, and a fairly large document on the
screen. I'm working in the Print Layout View because I have a lot of
graphics sprinkled throughout the 50 or so pages and need to scoot them
around. All too frequently, the little 'save' icon (black floppy disc
symbol) pops up at the bottom of the screen, next to that little picture of
the book and pencil. While the disc icon is visible the keyboard freezes for
10 to 15 seconds.

I tried to find out what "background saves" are with the online Help
utility, but can't find a descripton anywhere. I have this turned off
anyway, and my auto-recovery is set for 15 minutes. Just what is being saved
so frequently, maybe every 3 to 5 minutes, and why? It really slows down
work.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

A "background save" allows Word to save the document while you continue
working. It happens only when you explicitly choose the Save command. If you
see the Save icon in the status bar at any other time, this would be an
AutoRecovery Save, and it should be happening at the interval you set.

 

[Jim Wood]

Well,

I'm beginning to think that my computer's haunted. The AutoRecover is
definitely set for 15 minutes, but that little icon pops up every 3 or 4.
What's more, it 'pulses,' changing size within the status bar up and down by
20% or so, seemingly mocking my attempts to complete this document. I have
not noticed this before and wonder if the .doc has some supreme violation
embedded within it. Certainly not something I can't live with for now;
thanks much!

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

If the save operation is preventing you from typing or editing while it's
pulsing, that would be due to your having background saves disabled
(ordinarily there is no good reason for disabling that), though that's not
an explanation of why Word is saving the document in the first place.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what to say. This happens in only one document? Do
you notice it just after you have moved a graphic? Could be that Word is
saving some sort of temp file. If you use Help | Detect and Repair, does
Word find anything to repair?

 

[grammatim]

When I've had a really big and complicated document open in Print
Layout View, it would pause to Repaginate after almost any operation.
When I switched to Normal View, it stopped doing that. Maybe that's
what's going on here.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

But repagination shouldn't make the Save icon in the status bar pulse, I
don't think.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

When I've had a really big and complicated document open in Print
Layout View, it would pause to Repaginate after almost any operation.
When I switched to Normal View, it stopped doing that. Maybe that's
what's going on here.

 

[grammatim]

There is something going on down there during the process, but it's
been a while since I've seen it.