Microsoft Excel users recently reported about Microsoft Excel document not saved error, where they document doesn’t get saved despite of all actions they try. Thankfully, Microsoft has acknowledged this issue on its official website.
Despite that the Microsoft stating, we have found numerous other reasons possible that could cause this issue and their workarounds. Follow the different solutions listed below and these will defiantly help you. We assume here that you have an activated copy of Microsoft Office and are also an administrator.
The troubleshooting steps would have the better understanding if you have an idea what could cause Microsoft Excel document not saved error. After analyzing different reports from different users noticing the issue and by combining our research, we manage to list out different solutions. These include:
- Process interrupted – you might interrupt with the saving process either intentionally or unintentionally. This is done by pressing ESC button or close icon present at the top-right side of the window,
- Network issue – if you are saving an MS Excel document over Internet, there might be a slow internet issue causing the trouble,
- Hardware problems – There could be a situation where you are saving the Excel file to external hardware like USB or hard drive and if the hardware is causing issue or the file is not getting trough, you get this error,
- Permission issue – In some cases, users are saving Excel file to a system directory where there is no permission. In that case, they would not be able to save the file and the error message will surface.
Below, we have mentioned different possible solutions that would work in different scenarios. But before doing that, you should try saving the existing Excel which is open on your system using dummy file. This is to save the contents of the file just in case:
- Open a new Excel file and navigate back to the file causing the trouble and pres Ctrl+ C to copy the entire contents on the file,
- Now, move back to the dummy excel file you created and click on the top-left cell and then press Ctrl+ V to paste the copied contents to the new file,
- Once done, click on File> Save as and then select a local location present on your system’s physical hard drive.
Once done, move to the below troubleshooting solutions.
Possible solutions for Microsoft Excel document not saved error
Solution 1: Check the interruption
If the case is that the Excel is itself interrupted from saving the file to the required destination, this is the required solution that you should follow. The interruption could be caused when you accidentally click on Esc button or when some software/ process prevent the saving process.
Here, you should require navigating back to the saving tab and try saving again without clicking any other key. If the problem persists, pres Win+ R. type taskmgr and hit Enter. Check for the potential services causing the disruption using Task Manager and if you find any such process – just end it and try again.
Solution 2: Check the Network Connection
It could be the case that the Excel file can’t be saving the document because of network issue. If you are on an organizational network, try sending a remote file from other peer’s computer. If the issue persists, this indicates that the problem is with the network connection properties and in that case you should contact IT.
Solution 3: Check the Hardware Components
Another method that you should try if up till the above mentioned solutions for Microsoft Excel document not saved error didn’t work is to make sure that the hardware is working properly. If you are saving a document to an external flash/ hard drive, then you should make sure that the connection is proper and seamless. Even if there is physical damage, you will receive the error message.
The Hardware components include the disk drive and if that disk drive is problematic, you have the issue with accessing and writing files to your storage. Here, you should require checking up with Microsoft Work or other relevant software and see if the issue occurs there as well. If not, this means that there is something wrong with the file location or with the Excel itself. If the issue occurs, you should dig deeper and check that there is no issue with the hard drive.
Fix 4: Check Permissions
It could be possible that you are saving the Excel File to a location where your current user doesn’t have permissions. You should check the directory and change the permissions:
- Press Win+ E to navigate to the directory where you are trying to save the file,
- Open the directory where this folder is present,
- Right-click on it and select properties,
- Go to the Security tab and click on Advanced,
- Next, click on Change button and change the owner of this folder to your computer account,
- Click on Advanced and then click Find Now,
- Select your account and press OK,
- Press OK again in the windows appears,
- Now, check the line that says Replace owner on sub containers and objects to ensure that the folders/ files within the folder also change their ownership,
- You can also check “Replace all child object permission entries with inheritable permission entries from this object” according to your preference,
- Click Apply and then close the properties window,
- Navigate to Security tab the then and then click on Advanced,
- On the permission window, click Add and then click on Select Principle,
- A similar window will pop-up like you did in step 5, Repeat it,
- Then, check all the permissions and hit Ok,
- Check the line that says “Replace all child object permission entries with inheritable permission entries from this object” and press Apply,
- Try saving the file again and see if the problem persists.
Fix 5: Launch Excel in Safe Mode
If nothing works, you should launch Office suite in Safe Mode. By this, it disables all plug-ins running in the application and launch only with the basic editor. This might help you in troubleshooting the error if the problem is caused by bad plug-ins. Here are the required steps:
- Press Win+ R, type excel /safe and hit Enter so as to launch Excel in Save Mode,
- Now, try replicating the data into it and then try saving in safe mode,
If problem continues, consider running OS in Safe mode so as to diagnose the issue caused by any app. If the problem is resolved here, enable all apps one by one to find the culprit and remove it.
Conclusion
That’s all! We have provided all possible solutions for Microsoft Excel document not saved error. Hope so, these methods work. if the problem remains, make sure you employ PC Repair Tool to check for Windows related issues to get their automatic repair.
