According to Microsoft, AutoSave is the ‘greatest feature of all time’. That’s ‘over the top’ even for Microsoft and it only highlights the self-serving limitations of the current Autosave feature in Office.
“Autosave is the greatest feature of all time and you can use it across your M365 apps. That’s all.”
The ‘X’ (formerly Tweet) from Microsoft’s official @OneDrive account
You’re welcome to debate what the ‘greatest feature’ is, but the current, crippled implementation of AutoSave in Microsoft Office has no chance of even a nomination.
Oh and a note to Microsoft … you also have a product called ‘Office 2021’ which also has AutoSave. It’s not just Microsoft 365.
Autosave isn’t new in Microsoft Office, far from it. What Microsoft has done in recent years is cripple Autosave to serve its own sales agenda.
One reply put it neatly “yeah free auto save from Onedrive use only.”.
Microsoft Office has had versions of Autosave for a long time. Office 2000 has ‘fast save’, ‘background save’ and ‘Save Autorecover info’ options.
Crippled AutoSave
What Microsoft has chosen to limit Autosave to just OneDrive and Sharepoint documents only. In other words, they are using Autosave to push customers into using Microsoft’s online storage.
There’s no technical reason for this, it’s purely a marketing move to promote Microsoft’s online storage and make customers more reliant on their cloud.
The sales importance of Autosave is clear by the overly large Autosave label and toggle on the Quick Access Toolbar. And the dire warnings if you save a document elsewhere.
There’s no need for AutoSave to take up so much room on the crowded top line except that Microsoft needs to push OneDrive. The company ignores customer requests for a change to this intrusion – they make all the right noises but do nothing.
AutoSave is very useful but it could be a lot better if Microsoft served customers needs not their own.
About Microsoft Office AutoSave, AutoRecover and other save options
A new Word feature is really Microsoft’s insult to customers who won’t move to OneDrive
