Designate a Default Save Location for Word 2007

The following steps will take you through the process of changing Word 2007's default location for saving your Word documents.

1. Open up Microsoft Word 2007 and click the Microsoft Office button. This button is the colorful Microsoft Office logo that is located in the upper left corner of the Word 2007 window.

2. Click the Word Options button located at the bottom of the window.

click to enlarge

3. When the Word Options window opens, select Advanced from the choices in the pane on the left side of the window.

4. Scroll all the way down until you see the General section. Then click the File Locations button.

click to enlarge

5. In the File Locations dialog box you will see a list of File Types. From that list, select the one called Documents. (Just click on it one time to select it.)

6. With Documents selected, click the Modify button.

click to enlarge

7. At the top of the Modify Location window, click the drop-down arrow to select the location that you want your files to be saved to. You can also select a location from the Organize panel on the left. The location that you choose here is where Word 2007 will default to when you save a Word document.

click to enlarge

There may be times when you need to save a Word 2007 document to a CD or even to a flash drive. In order to save to a CD or flash drive, just follow these steps:

1. Click the Microsoft Office button.
2. Select Save As.
3. Select Other Formats.
4. From the Folders list, select the media that you want to save to.

Your Word 2007 document has now been saved to the selected CD or flash drive.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

You have now successfully changed Microsoft Word 2007's default "save to" location. Now whenever you go to save a document, this location will automatically be chosen for you.

Also, remember to always save your documents frequently while working on them. Otherwise you risk losing data if the computer shuts off due to an unexpected power failure, if your computer freezes, or you have any other computer problems. After you have initially saved your document, you can simply use this keyboard shortcut to save your document as you work: CTRL+S.