Microsoft Excel now has a built-in AutoRecover feature that has replaced the AutoSave add-in that exists in versions of Excel that are earlier than Microsoft Excel 2002. The AutoRecover feature saves copies of all open Excel files at a user-definable fixed interval. The files can be recovered if. To use a command-line switch to start Excel, follow these steps: Select Start, and then select Run. In the Open box, type either of the following lines (but not both): excel.exe /safe. Excel.exe /automation. AutoSave is a different feature which automatically saves your file as you work - just like if you save the file manually - so that you don't have to worry about saving on the go. On the Mac, AutoSave is available in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint for Office 365 for Mac subscribers. Oct 28, 2012 Mac Excel does not open data from a Windows Excel sheet- all cells have #Name? Instead of data I have Excel 2011 for Mac. My colleague in the office sent me an xlsx file attachment created from the output of a database. Feb 17, 2013 Question: Q: When I start up my mac, my word, excel and powerpoint applications open as well More Less Apple Footer This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only.
-->Note
Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.
Summary
Microsoft Excel now has a built-in AutoRecover feature that has replaced the AutoSave add-in that exists in versions of Excel that are earlier than Microsoft Excel 2002. The AutoRecover feature saves copies of all open Excel files at a user-definable fixed interval. The files can be recovered if Excel closes unexpectedly, for example, during a power failure.
This article contains an overview of the AutoRecover feature.
More Information
How to configure the AutoRecover settings
Microsoft Office Excel 2007 and Excel 2010
The controls to configure the AutoRecover feature are in the Save settings in Excel Options.
![Automatic Automatic](https://www.cisdem.com/resource/attach/file/images/autorecover-mac-min.jpg)
Note To open the Save settings, click the Microsoft Office Button in Excel 2007 or the File menu in Excel 2010, clickExcel Optionsin 2007 or Options in Excel 2010, and then click Save.
To configure the AutoRecover settings, follow these steps:
- Under Save Workbooks, click to select the Save AutoRecover info everycheck box to turn on the AutoRecover feature.
- In the minutes box, you can type any integer from 1 through 120. This box sets the number of minutes that will occur between saves.The default is 10 minutes.
- In the AutoRecover file location box, you can type the path and the folder name of the location in which you want the AutoRecover files to stay.The default location is as follows:drive:Documents and Settings*user_name*Application DataMicrosoftExcelNotes
- If the location that you type is local (on your hard drive) or is on a network drive, and if this location does not exist, you receive the following error message:Cannot access directory path.https://askboss.weebly.com/microsoft-wireless-keyboard-3000-with-mac.html. To determine the unique number that is associated with the message that you receive, press CTRL+SHIFT+I. The following number appears in the lower-right corner of this message:100100
- If you click to clear the AutoRecover file location box but do not enter a new location, AutoRecover files will continue to be saved to the location that you cleared. This will occur until you type a new location.The AutoRecover file location box remains empty until you type a new location.
- You can turn off the AutoRecover feature in an individual workbook. To do this, click to select the Disable AutoRecover for this workbook only check box under the AutoRecover exceptions for box. Make sure that the workbook name is selected in the AutoRecover exceptions for box.
Microsoft Office Excel 2003 and earlier versions of Excel
The controls to configure the AutoRecover dialog box are on the Save tab of the Options dialog box.
Note To open the Options dialog box, click Options on the Tools menu.
To configure the AutoRecover dialog box, follow these steps:
- Under Settings, click to select the Save AutoRecover info everycheck box to turn on the AutoRecover feature.
- In the minutes box, you can type any integer from 1 through 120. This box sets the number of minutes that will occur between saves.The default is 10 minutes.
- In the AutoRecover file location box, you can type the path and the folder name of the location in which you want the AutoRecover files to stay.The default location is as follows:drive:Documents and Settings*user_name*Application DataMicrosoftExcelNotes
- If the location that you type is local (on your hard drive) and if the location does not exist, you receive the following error message:Cannot access directory path.
- If the location that you type is on a network drive, you will not receive an alert until your first AutoRecover attempt. You receive the following error message:Microsoft cannot save AutoRecover info to path. Please check the network connection or change the location on the Save tab of the Tools, Options dialog.
- If you clear the AutoRecover file location box but do not enter a new location, AutoRecover files will continue to be saved to the location that you cleared. This occurs until you type a new location.The AutoRecover file location box remains empty until you type a new location.
- You can turn off the AutoRecover feature in an individual workbook. To do this, click to select the Disable AutoRecover check box under Workbook options.
When an AutoRecover event is triggered
When an Excel file is open and AutoRecover is turned on, AutoRecover does not save the file until the first change is made to the file, the AutoRecover save time interval passes, and Excel has been idle for some time (the default is 30 seconds). After AutoRecover saves the file, the file is only saved at subsequent save intervals if further changes are made.
When AutoRecover files are deleted
To keep from filling up your AutoRecover location with unneeded files, AutoRecover files are automatically deleted in the following situations:
- When the file is manually saved.
- The file is saved with a new file name using Save As.
- You close the file.
- You quit Excel, whether you choose to save the file or not.
- You turn off AutoRecover for the current workbook.
- You turn off AutoRecover by clearing the Save AutoRecover info every check box.
AutoRecover save timing
The AutoRecover timer checks for changed Excel files at the interval you set in the minutes box on the Save tab in the Options dialog box. The timer starts when you start Excel.
Note
In Excel 2007, the minutes box is in the Save category in the Excel Option dialog box. In Excel 2010, the minutes box is in the Save category under File, Options.
When the first save interval passes, Excel checks to see whether any open files have been changed. If Excel locates changed files, an idle timer starts. The purpose of the idle timer is to make sure that the user does not make entries in the worksheet while the save operation occurs. The idle timer restarts each time that the user makes an entry into the worksheet so the AutoRecover save file is not created until both the save interval passes and no entries are made for the duration of the idle time.
The default idle time is 30 seconds. To change the default idle time, use the AutoRecoverDelay registry key. To do this, follow these steps.
Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
- Quit Excel if it is running.
- Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
- Locate and then select one of the following registry keys, as appropriate for the version of Excel that you are running.For Microsoft Excel 2002:HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice10.0ExcelOptionsFor Excel 2003:HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice11.0ExcelOptionsFor Excel 2007:HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice12.0ExcelOptionsFor Excel 2010:HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice14.0ExcelOptions
- On the Edit menu, click New, and then click DWORD value.
- Type the following name for the new value:AutoRecoverDelay
- Press ENTER.
- Right-click the AutoRecoverDelay registry key, and then click Modify.
- In the Value data box, type a number between 1 and 600. This is the number of seconds before AutoRecover tries to save.
- When you are finished, click OK.
- Quit Registry Editor.
Note
Only manually performed actions in the program affect the idle timer. Formulas that automatically update the file do not affect the idle timer. Excel saves the file when the idle time is reached, between the automatic updates to the formulas.
File formats that are saved by AutoRecover
AutoRecover saves all file formats that can be opened in Excel. To maintain speed and simplicity, AutoRecover saves all files as the current Excel file format, regardless of the original file format opened. The file is saved as a hidden file with an arbitrary filename with the extension .xar (for example, ~ar18a.xar).
When you try to save a recovered file upon reopening Excel after it closed unexpectedly, the original file format and name is suggested as the Save file type. Excel stores the original file name and its related .xar file name in the registry for the purpose of recovery.
AutoRecover and multiple instances of Excel
When more than one instance of Excel is running and one instance closes unexpectedly, a new instance of Excel is automatically started and the AutoRecover files are opened. If all instances of Excel close unexpectedly, but the computer is still running, a single instance of Excel is started and all AutoRecover files are opened. In the case of a power outage, all recovered files are opened when you start Excel again.
Compatibility
All AutoRecover settings, except the Disable AutoRecover workbook option, are stored in the system registry. AutoRecover settings are compatible with files from previous versions of Excel is not an issue.
When the Disable AutoRecover workbook option is set, and the file is opened in an earlier version of Excel, saved, and then reopened in a later version of Excel, the Disable AutoRecover workbook option is not affected.
References
For more information about how to troubleshoot errors when you save Excel files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
271513 How to troubleshoot errors when you save Excel files
-->Note
Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.
Symptoms
When you try to start Microsoft Excel for Mac, you receive the following error message:
Microsoft Excel has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
Cause
This error may occur if one of the following conditions is true:
- The Excel preferences are corrupted.
- Programs that are running in the background are interfering with Excel for Mac.
- Application files are corrupted.
- A user account profile is corrupted.
Resolution
To resolve this issue, try the following methods, in order, until the issue is resolved.
Method 1
Step 1: Quit all programs
You must quit all programs before you continue. To quit an application, select the application on the toolbar (top), and then select Quit. If you cannot quit an application or do not know how, hold down the Command and Option keys, and then press Esc on your keyboard. Select the application in the 'Force Quit Application' window, and then select Force Quit. Click Force Quit to quit the application.
When you are finished, click the red button in the upper-left corner and go to step 2.
Step 2: Remove your Excel preferences
- Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac applications.
- On the Go menu, click Home.
- Open Library. Note The Library folder is hidden in Mac OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
- Open Preferences.
- Drag com.microsoft.Excel.plist to the desktop. If you cannot locate the file, Excel is using the default preferences. Go to step 7.
- Open Excel, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Excel, restore the file to its original location, and go to the next step. If the problem is resolved, drag com.microsoft.Excel.plist to the Trash.
- Quit all Office for Mac applications.
- On the Go menu, click Home.
- Open Library. https://askboss.weebly.com/home/microsoft-office-11-for-mac.NoteThe Library folder is hidden in Mac OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
- Open Preferences.
- Open Microsoft, and then drag com.microsoft.Excel.prefs.plist to the desktop. If you cannot locate the file, Excel is using the default preferences. Go to step 13.
- Open Excel, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Excel, restore the file to its original location, and go to Method 2. If the problem is resolved, drag com.microsoft.Excel,prefs.plist to the Trash.
Method 2
Use the 'Repair Disk Permissions' option
You can use the Repair Disk Permissions option to troubleshoot permissions problems in Mac OS X 10.2 or later versions. To use the Repair Disk Permissions option, follow these steps:
- On the Go menu, click Utilities.
- Start the Disk Utility program.
- Click the primary hard disk drive for your computer.
- Click the First Aid tab.
- Click Repair Disk Permissions.
Note
The Disk Utility program only repairs software that is installed by Apple. This utility also repairs folders, such as the Applications folder. However, this utility does not repair software that is in your home folder.
Open Excel and check if the issue is resolved. If it is not, continue to Method 3.
Method 3
Create and use a new user account
![Open Open](/uploads/1/2/6/2/126209992/179890487.png)
To create a new user account, use the following procedure.
Note
You many have to reinstall Office if you log on with a new account.
- Click the Apple icon, and then click System Preferences.
- Click Accounts.
- Click the plus sign ('+') in the lower-left corner to open the new account window.NoteIf you are not the Administrator of the computer, click Click the lock to make changes. Log on by using your Administrator user name and password, and then click OK.
- Type the word Test for the user name, and leave the password box blank. Click Create Account. When you receive a warning, click OK.
- Click to select Allow User to Administer this computer. (If this option is not available, just go to the next step).
- Click the Apple icon, and then click Log Out name.
- Log on with your Test account.
Can't Open Microsoft Excel File
Open Excel and check if the issue is resolved. If you can save when you use a new user account, contact Apple support to troubleshoot your existing account. If you do not want to keep your existing account, you can rename the 'Test' account that you create in the following procedure, and continue to use that account. If it is not, continue to Method 4.
Method 4
Remove and then reinstall Office
For information about how to remove and then reinstall Office, see the following article:
Cannot Open Excel On Mac
Third-party disclaimer information
The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.
The information and the solution in this document represent the current view of Microsoft Corporation on these issues as of the date of publication. This solution is available through Microsoft or through a third-party provider. Microsoft does not specifically recommend any third-party provider or third-party solution that this article might describe. There might also be other third-party providers or third-party solutions that this article does not describe. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, this information should not be interpreted to be a commitment by Microsoft. Microsoft cannot guarantee or endorse the accuracy of any information or of any solution that is presented by Microsoft or by any mentioned third-party provider.