0.2 Files, saving, OneDrive and version history
You never lose work and you never email 'final_v7_REALLY_final'.
Before:nothing requiredUnlocks:01. Excel — First Steps07. Word — Core09. PowerPoint — Core11. Outlook & OneNote12. Copilot Across the Apps
Before any document is worth making, it has to be safe, so this early topic covers where files actually live, how AutoSave changes the rhythm of working, and how version history brings back yesterday's copy. The confusion to clear up is the difference between a file on this computer and a file in OneDrive: they look identical in the apps, but only one of them keeps versions and follows you to another machine. File formats matter here too, because knowing when to send a PDF instead of a live document, or a CSV instead of a workbook, saves whole rounds of email.
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Where files actually live: this computer, OneDrive, SharePoint
A file can sit on your own machine, in your personal cloud storage, or in a shared organisational library. Which one it is changes who can reach it, and what happens if your laptop dies. Most confusion about lost work starts here.
AutoSave, and what it changes about how you work
Automatic saving removes the habit of saving deliberately, which is a relief until you realise your experiment overwrote the original. Understanding what it changes about your working method is the point.
Version history: finding and restoring yesterday's version
Every saved version is kept for a while, so yesterday's state is recoverable without anyone having emailed it. This is the feature that makes files named after their version number unnecessary.
File formats: .xlsx/.docx/.pptx vs PDF vs CSV, and when each is right
The working formats keep your structure and formulas, a portable document freezes the appearance, and a plain comma-separated file keeps only the values. Sending the wrong one is how formatting or formulas quietly disappear.
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