How to Revert Word's New Automatic Cloud Save Settings

Microsoft is changing the way Word documents are saved in Windows. "Now you don't have to worry about saving your documents," the official announcement says, stating that new files will be saved to OneDrive as soon as you create them.

The new default means Word will work more like Google Docs, in that any document you create is shared to the cloud before you ever opt to save it. Close the document and you will be asked whether you want to keep or discard it, at which point you can also choose a name for the file.

I can imagine some people will prefer this setting, and Microsoft is certainly framing it as an unambiguous good in its announcement. Some people, though, prefer storing files-particularly those of a personal nature-on their own computers, away from the cloud. It's particularly true if you tend to use Word as a scratchpad, quickly writing things down that you don't need to keep around for long.

If you prefer local storage, don't worry: you can get back the traditional way of creating documents, in which they're not saved to the cloud until you choose. In Word for Windows, click File > More > Options, then head to the Save section. From here you can disable the Create new files in the cloud automatically setting.

Credit: Microsoft

After unchecking this option, files will only be saved to the cloud after you decide to save them. You can also choose a default saving location that's on your hard drive, avoiding the cloud entirely. It's a little more digging than I'd like, but it's nice that the option will still be available.

The new default saving scheme is currently enabled for Insider users with Version 2509 of Word for Windows installed, meaning most people aren't affected as of this writing (but will be eventually).