I have this intermittent problem. I do not know if it is with Word or my computer. I will create a document and then save it. I always assume it is saved to Documents and it usually is. However, sometimes when I look for it in my documents, it is not there. I then do “Search programs and files” and the computer tells me that it is there, but it is not. I do this repeatedly and even recreate the document and save it again. Neither one is in Documents, although the computer keeps insisting that they are.

The only way that I can find it is to do a computer-wide search and then it tells me it has been saved in a FLASH DRIVE. I did NOT save it to a flash drive, I would not even know how to do that.

Can anyone help me?

You need to be careful and note where documents are saved. When you open a document, Word assumes that this is the location for documents until you either close Word or use a different location.


Never open or save a document on a flash drive from within Word.

I do not understand. How can I edit a document on a flash drive if I cannot open it.

I am talking here about NEW documents which I create and then "Save". I have not control over the place to which they are saved. The computer does that automatically.

Copy it to the hard drive and open it there. Copy it back to the flash drive after it has been closed in Word. Flash drives are a common cause of document loss.

New documents when saved for the first time present the file save dialog so that you may name the document and choose the location to save it.

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Graham Mayor - MS MVP (Word) (2002-2019)
Visit my web site for more programming tips and ready made processes www.gmayor.com

Please read my original post. I am not having any problems with flash drives. I am having a problem where a new document is being saved.

I have Word 7. I do not have the option of choosing a location where to save a document. I have looked.

Word 7? Word 2007?

If I recall correctly, Word 7 is Word 95.
Word 2010 Is Word 14. Word 2007 is Word 12. (Sorry, Microsoft works in mysterious ways.)

This is the save dialog from Word 2007 for a new document.
00 deleteme 1.png

That you have not had a problem because of flash drives (other than this one) means that you have been incredibly lucky! Flash drives work fine, just not with Word! So long as Word has no interaction with the contents of a flash drive, things work well. If you do everything exactly correctly when using flash drive with Word, it works. However people seldom are perfect and when they forget to do things correctly, they lose work, usually important and time-sensitive work.

The dialog above is for a new document being saved for the first time. It is being saved, by default, to the location set in Word Options to save documents. However, if I had opened a different document, in a different location, previously in the same Word session, the save location would be the location for the document that I had opened. Word assumes you want to use your last used location within a Word session. Your dialog may look a bit different in Windows 7, but the location box will still be there.

Thank you. I tried that and it works, but how to I change it permanently, so all new documents go to Documents?

Office Button > Word Options > Save

I looked there and it already says "C:\Users\WA7PUG\Documents". What else can I do?

If that is not what you want, change it to the folder you want. That is what the Browse button is for.


Again, this is the save location in all Word sessions until you open or save a document in a different location.

To resave an already saved document, use the Save As dialog box, which you can display by pressing F12 (or FN+F12 on some keyboards).

Or you can move the document via Windows Explorer, which is often a better choice.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional