This article will show you how to easily solve the issue that an Excel document doesn’t save.
The “how to fix excel document not saved” is a guide that shows users how to easily fix an issue with Excel documents.
If you’ve been seeing the “Excel Document not Saved” problem on your computer, it might be due to a network drive or another issue preventing the software from accessing a certain place or file. We have mentioned the solutions/fixes and workarounds that you may use to totally repair it in this page.
Error: Excel document could not be saved
Before you begin, consider the following:
- If you’re saving the excel file to an external hard drive or USB, be sure it’s linked to your computer and accessible. There are no loose connections, and the data cable is securely connected to your computer and external hard drive.
- If you’re using a network to view the excel file, there’s a good chance you’ll see this error because your internet connection is down. It might be caused by a problem with your router or a problem with your internet service provider’s server. If the problem continues, restart your router and wait for it to settle before calling your internet service provider’s hotline.
- If you have many Excel files with the same name, this might cause a conflict and result in this issue, therefore rename your current excel file.
- If you’re using a network to access the Excel file, make sure you have the necessary rights to modify/update the file, and if you don’t, contact the original file’s creator/owner.
Fixing the Error: Excel document could not be saved:
Solution 1: Save the file as an Excel file of a different kind.
- Firstly, open the excel file in which you are facing the error, navigate to the “File” tab located at the top left corner of your screen, click on the “Save As” option from the left pane, and afterward select the “Browse” option.
Accessing Excel Save As Option - A window will appear in front of you, choose a file location where do you want it to be saved, and then select a different file type from the save as type section’s drop-down menu, afterward click on the “Save” option.
Select Excel’s Different File Type - Now go back to the location where you saved your excel file as a different file type, open it, and see whether the issue persists.
Move Your Workbook (Second Option)
- Open the excel file, right-click on the name of the worksheet located at the bottom of the screen and select the option “Move or Copy”.
Select Move or Copy Option - A window will appear in front of you, select the option “Move to End”, check the “Create a Copy” option and click “OK”.
Select Move To End Option - Check to see whether your excel file is saved correctly after deleting your previous worksheet.
Solution 3: Save the file somewhere else.
- Open the excel file, navigate to the “File” tab, click on the “Save As” option from the left pane, and afterward select the “Browse” option. Accessing Excel Save As Option
- A window will open in front of you; choose a different file location than the one now selected, then click the “Save” button.
Disable Excel Add-Ins (solution 4)
Because Excel Add-ins might get damaged as a result of a flaw that causes these types of problems, deactivating these add-ins may help you address your problem. To deactivate Excel add-ins, follow the steps outlined below:
- Open the excel file, navigate to the “File” tab, click on the “Options” from the left pane and afterward select the “Add-In” option.
Select Add-Ins Option - Locate the “Manage” section present at the bottom of the window, select “Excel add-ins” from the drop-down menu list and click the “Go” button.
Select Excel Add-Ins Option - Add-Ins window will appear in front of you, uncheck all the add-ins showing on the list and afterward click on the “OK” button.
Uncheck All Add-Ins
5th Option: Make a Duplicate File
- Open the excel file with the mistake, then press the “Ctrl + A” keys simultaneously, followed by the “Ctrl + C” keys simultaneously to copy the full excel sheet.
- To paste the full data from the previous excel sheet, go to the “File” tab, start a new excel workbook, and click the “Ctrl + V” keys.
- Navigate to the “File” tab, click on the “Save As” option from the left pane and select the file location of your choice. Accessing Excel Save As Option
Save the file as a macro-enabled workbook (option 6) (.xlsm)
Some users simply saved the file as a “Macro-Enabled Workbook (.xlsm)” rather than the standard Excel Workbook file type (.xlsx) that they had previously saved it as. They attempted to save it as an old Excel Workbook file format (.xls) at first, but encountered compatibility/fidelity issues with pivot table capabilities that were new to the (xlsx) version, so proceed with caution.
Automatically Resolve PC Problems
If you want to have your PC problems instantly corrected as well as diagnose, list, and correct any registry flaws, we suggest utilizing the Restoro Repair Tool, which can handle all of this with just one click. Trustpilot has given it a 5-star rating, so you don’t have to be concerned.
Solution 7: Restore the original location of the file.
- Create a new excel workbook, navigate to the “File” tab, click on the “Save As” option from the left pane, and afterward select the “Browse” option. Accessing Excel Save As Option
- A window will open in front of you; choose the same file location as the original faulty excel file, click the “Save” button, and verify that the new excel file saves properly at the same place.
Disable background processes (solution 8)
Background tasks may sometimes interfere with the active, currently executing processes, causing them to behave abnormally. This problem may also be resolved by limiting the activity of background running programs. Follow the instructions below to turn off the background running tasks:
Automatically Resolve PC Problems
If you want to have your PC problems instantly corrected as well as diagnose, list, and correct any registry flaws, we suggest utilizing the Restoro Repair Tool, which can handle all of this with just one click. Trustpilot has given it a 5-star rating, so you don’t have to be concerned.
- Press the “Alt + Ctrl + Del” keys simultaneously and click on the Task Manager.
Launching Task Manager - Navigate to the “Processes” tab and a list of tasks currently running in the background will appear in front of you.
Ending Additional Processes - Now, right-click on the prospective task that you believe is interfering with the saving of the excel file, choose “End Task,” and then try saving the file again.
Solution 9: Run Excel in Protected Mode.
Excel in safe mode may fix your problem since all plug-ins are deactivated in this mode. To successfully start Excel in Safe Mode, follow the procedures below:
- Press the “Windows + R” keys simultaneously, a “Run” dialog box will appear, type the following command in the search box and then click “OK” button. excel /safe
Typing in Excel / safe Command - After that, Excel will open in Safe Mode. Run the file and then save it in Safe Mode.
Solution ten: Turn off your antivirus software for a while.
The antivirus program on your computer may check freshly produced files, and this scan may disrupt the excel file save process, resulting in this error. Follow the steps below to temporarily deactivate antivirus software:
- Locate your antivirus and right-click on it under the “Show Hidden Icons” option on the right side of the taskbar.
- Select the option “Pause Protection” or “Disable Antivirus” (the option may vary depending upon your antivirus).
Disable antivirus - The “OK” button will appear in a warning prompt box.
- After the antivirus has been deactivated, open the Excel file to see whether the problem has been rectified.
Solution 11: Verify the Hard Disk’s Health
A faulty hard disk drive and damaged sectors inside the hard disk might cause data to be lost. The built-in utility in Windows can tell you about the health of your hard drive.
The first method is to use the Windows Check Disk Utility.
- Open the “This PC” folder on your computer, right-click on the system drive in which the file is being saved, and click on the “Properties” option.
Selecting Drive’s Properties Option - Navigate to the “Tools” tab and afterward click on the “Check” button. A popup message will appear in front of you, click on the “Scan Drive” option.
Clicking Scan Drive Option - Now, the Windows Search Disk program will scan your hard drive for any faulty sectors and notify you if any are identified.
- Check to see whether the Excel document that was not saved has been corrected after performing the scan.
Using Command Prompt (Method 2)
- Click on the windows start button, type “cmd” in the search box, and hit “Enter” button.
Typing in cmd - Type the following command in the command prompt window and hit the “Enter” key:
wmic 
Typing wmic in command prompt
- Now type and hit “Enter” the following command:
diskdrive get status 
Typing diskdrive
- The Windows Search Disk tool will now scan your hard drive for any problematic sectors and alert you if any are found.
- Check to see if this resolves the problem with the Excel document not saving.
Solution 12: Make a change to the registry file
- Click on the Start icon, type “Registry Editor” in the search box, then press the “Enter” button and select the “Yes” button on the permission dialog box when prompted.
Typing Registry Editor - In the search field, type the following address and hit the “Enter” button:
ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesCSC 
Typing in the address in the registry editor
- Now, right-click in the registry editor window, select the option “Key” and type “Parameters” in the search box.
Creating parameters folder - Now, right-click on the newly created parameters folder, select the “New” option, and click on the option “DWORD (32-bit)Value”.
Selecting the DWORD (32-bit)Value option - Type “FormatDatabase” in the newly created file, press the “Enter” button, and afterward, right-click on this file and select the option “Modify”.
Creating FormatDatabase file - A new window will appear in front of you, type “1” in the Value data box and click “OK” button.
Typing in 1 in FormatDatabase - Close the registry editor window, restart your computer, and see whether the problem with the Excel document not saving has been fixed.
Solution 13: Change the permissions on the disk
- Open your computer’s “This PC” folder, travel to the location where the spreadsheet file is located, right-click on the folder where the excel file is saved, and choose “Properties.”
- Navigate to the “Security” tab, click on the ”Advanced” option located at the bottom of the window.
Accessing Security Tab - A new window will open in front of you, click on the “Change” option to change the owner of the folder.
Clicking Change Option - Click on the “Advanced” option and afterward, select the option “Find Now”. Search results will appear at the bottom of the window, locate your account name, click the “OK” button and again click on “OK” in the next dialog box.
Selecting User - Now check both options i.e. “Replace owner on sub containers and objects” and “Replace all child object permission entries with inheritable permission entries from this object” and afterward click on “Apply” and then on the “Ok” button to close the window.
Select Options - Once again open the “Properties” option of that specific folder, navigate to the “Security” tab and then click on the “Advanced” option. Accessing Security Tab
- Click on the “Add” option located at the bottom of the window and afterward click on the option “Select a principal”.
Clicking Select a Principal Option - A window will appear in front of you, click on the option “Advanced” and in the next window, click on the option “Find Now”, select your user account and click the “OK” button on both dialog boxes. Selecting User
- Now you’ll be able to select all the basic permissions from the list. Select all of them and click the “OK” button.
Selecting Permissions - Finally, check the option “Replace all child object permission entries with inheritable permission entries from this object”, click on “Apply” and then on the “OK” button.
Select Child Object Option - You should now have complete authority over that folder, and any permission concerns should be handled.
- Check to see if this resolves the problem with the Excel document not saving.
Workaround:
If you’re still having trouble, try making your file read-only, then saving with an alternative file name and overwriting the previous one when requested to save (and make the new one read-only once again). You won’t have to export all of your modules this way.
If you still can’t figure out how to solve the problem, please contact us for assistance.
The “document not saved excel network drive” is a common issue that many users have faced. This article will provide you with the complete guide on how to fix it.
Related Tags
- excel not saving changes 2021
- why won’t excel let me save on mac
- excel not saving formatting
- document not saved excel 2016 network drive
- excel not saving changes 2020
