By Jim Lundy
Over the weekend, I had a few problems with Microsoft Word 2011 running on OS X Lion that prompted me to check the settings for Word. Surprise, I found that Word 2011 is not set to automatically create a backup file of your documents, something that since the earliest days of Office many users have depended on. Note, I checked the settings on several different Macs (some that had Office recently installed), and found them to all have the same default settings.
To minimize the chance of data loss on an important document, here are the three steps to turn on the automatic creation of backup file.
Step 1: Click on Preferences in Word
Step 2: Click on the Save Button
Step 3: Turn on Always create a backup copy and set the frequency of saving.
Turning on these settings should give you the extra protection of a backup file. When working on important documents, always save versions. The auto backup file is an extra failsafe that one day will come in handy for you.