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21 May 2013

Opening & Saving files in Microsoft Office 2013 the way you used to

One of the changes introduced in Microsoft Office 2013 is what happens when you want to open or save a file. In Office 2013, when you choose to open a file either via the Open icon or by selecting Open from the File menu, you will be directed to the Backstage View rather than the traditional view of files and folders, as shown below.

File > Open now looks like this:

Microsoft Office 2013 open files screen.

As indicated by the red arrow, you can proceed to select the file you wish to open by clicking the Computer link.

If you want to save a file for the first time, or rename a document using the File > Save As function, again you will be directed to the Backstage View rather than the traditional view of files and folders, as shown below.

File > Save As now looks like this:

Microsoft Office 2013 save as screen

As indicated by the red arrows, you can proceed to select the folder you wish to save to by clicking the Browse button, or by selecting a folder from the list of current and recent folders on the right hand side.

Note: At the time of writing, the Save As icon behaves differently, and always seems to give you the traditional file and folder view - which can be confusing.

Restoring the old way of doing things

If you would prefer to be directed to the traditional Save/Open screens, as used in earlier versions of Microsoft Office, here's what you need to do:

1. Select the File tab and then Options at the bottom of the list.

2. At the next screen, select Save in the left hand column and then tick the checkbox for Don’t show the Backstage when opening or saving files, as indicated by the red arrows in the diagram below.

3. Select the OK button at the bottom.

Microsoft Office 2013 save options.

Now, Office 2013 behaves differently when opening and saving files:

If you're still confused and just want things to be simple, and as they used to be, our advice is to tick the "Don't show the Backstage" option as described above, and then stick to using the icons whether you want to open, save or save as.



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