(Second post of this question, still need an answer... thanks)

Word 2003...
I've got 'Allow background saves' checked, but every 10 minutes (my
AutoRecover interval) the screen and keyboard 'freeze' while the document is
saved. On a large document, this takes several seconds and really puts a
hiccup in my data-entry rhythm. I do not have 'Allow fast saves' checked,
because I've got the idea that this will clutter the file with a lot of
bits-n-pieces temporary data. The Help file on this is not too clear; for
instance:

1) Does a Ctrl+S save do an global document save
even when 'Allow fast saves' is checked? The
Help file says to turn this off when doing a final save.
2) And, does a Ctrl+S save get rid of any temporary
bits-n-pieces files? How is the document best
restored to one complete file when the editing is
done?

Thanks and regards to all, -Jim

Hi Jim

Don't use "Allow Fast Saves" ever.

Doing ctrl-s invokes the same command as File Save. So there's no need to
worry about a 'real' save compared with a 'not-quite-real' save.

To speed up the saving process, you can try turning on "Allow Background
Saves" and/or turn off "Always create backup copy".

But backup copies (it really means 'always keep one prior version') and
auto-recovered documents have saved me more than once. I'd rather put up
with the 10 minute mini-breaks than risk losing my data: use the breaks to
do all those shrug-the-shoulders and look-at-the-horizon exercises one is
supposed to do!

Hope this helps.

Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP.
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word


"Jim Wood" wrote in message
...
(Second post of this question, still need an answer... thanks)

Word 2003...
I've got 'Allow background saves' checked, but every 10 minutes (my
AutoRecover interval) the screen and keyboard 'freeze' while the document
is
saved. On a large document, this takes several seconds and really puts a
hiccup in my data-entry rhythm. I do not have 'Allow fast saves' checked,
because I've got the idea that this will clutter the file with a lot of
bits-n-pieces temporary data. The Help file on this is not too clear; for
instance:

1) Does a Ctrl+S save do an global document save
even when 'Allow fast saves' is checked? The
Help file says to turn this off when doing a final save.
2) And, does a Ctrl+S save get rid of any temporary
bits-n-pieces files? How is the document best
restored to one complete file when the editing is
done?

Thanks and regards to all, -Jim

Thank you, Shauna;

The auto-recovery has saved my life more than once as well. As long as
an MVP recognizes and tolerates the 'mini breaks,' I know that there's
nothing wrong with my installation and I, too, can certainly put up with it.
You are the second person who has advised "Don't use "Allow Fast Saves"
ever." I'm still not sure why this utility was included if it is such a
threat, but I will take the sage advice of others and keep that box unchecked.

Thanks again,

Jim

Hi Jim

"Allow fast saves" was invented back in the days of very slow hard drives or
saving to floppies, when speeding up a save really meant saving several
minutes.

But it was always catastrophic, because it only did incremental saves. So
each change you made got save as a change, and the whole document wasn't
saved each time. I remember student friends of mine losing whole essays
because they had saved to a floppy, removed the floppy at just the wrong
moment, and effectively had a file that contained only the last tiny changes
they had made.

By the way, I really only notice the tiny delays as AutoRecover kicks in on
very large documents.

Hope this helps.

Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP.
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word


"Jim Wood" wrote in message
news
Thank you, Shauna;

The auto-recovery has saved my life more than once as well. As long
as
an MVP recognizes and tolerates the 'mini breaks,' I know that there's
nothing wrong with my installation and I, too, can certainly put up with
it.
You are the second person who has advised "Don't use "Allow Fast
Saves"
ever." I'm still not sure why this utility was included if it is such a
threat, but I will take the sage advice of others and keep that box
unchecked.

Thanks again,

Jim

Shauna,

Thanks much, NOW I understand. Actually, the document I'm working on
currently has oodles of photos and drawings; maybe that's why it takes 10
seconds or a bit more for an auto-recover save. With a 10-minute interval it
always seems to 'shut me out' at the most critical time, when I'm 'on a
roll.' Perhaps I'll extend the interval to 20 minutes. We've never had a
power failure in Southern Calif. since I moved here six or seven years ago.
In the Santa Cruz mountains, power was down every few days during the winter
months.

Jim

If you can get into the habit of pressing CTRL+S (save) every time you stop
to think, you could turn off the autorecovery altogether. Note autorecovery
is not a backup - see http://www.gmayor.com/automatically_backup.htm

--

Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site http://word.mvps.org


Jim Wood wrote:
Shauna,

Thanks much, NOW I understand. Actually, the document I'm
working on currently has oodles of photos and drawings; maybe that's
why it takes 10 seconds or a bit more for an auto-recover save. With
a 10-minute interval it always seems to 'shut me out' at the most
critical time, when I'm 'on a roll.' Perhaps I'll extend the
interval to 20 minutes. We've never had a power failure in Southern
Calif. since I moved here six or seven years ago. In the Santa Cruz
mountains, power was down every few days during the winter months.

Jim

And plugging the PC into a UPS does wonders for one's peace of mind!

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"Graham Mayor" wrote in message
...
If you can get into the habit of pressing CTRL+S (save) every time you
stop
to think, you could turn off the autorecovery altogether. Note
autorecovery
is not a backup - see http://www.gmayor.com/automatically_backup.htm

--

Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site http://word.mvps.org


Jim Wood wrote:
Shauna,

Thanks much, NOW I understand. Actually, the document I'm
working on currently has oodles of photos and drawings; maybe that's
why it takes 10 seconds or a bit more for an auto-recover save. With
a 10-minute interval it always seems to 'shut me out' at the most
critical time, when I'm 'on a roll.' Perhaps I'll extend the
interval to 20 minutes. We've never had a power failure in Southern
Calif. since I moved here six or seven years ago. In the Santa Cruz
mountains, power was down every few days during the winter months.

Jim