Full Guide: How to Turn on OneDrive AutoSave to Sync Files

On this page, you will know how to turn on OneDrive AutoSave and how to use it to sync your files. Besides, some other effective ways to save files to OneDrive are also introduced.

By @Zoey Last Updated October 8, 2024

Does OneDrive automatically save?

OneDrive is one of the best online storage for files, which is a nice choice for you to save your files and other types of data. Since you may create a lot of files on the computer, manual uploading methods will cost you much time and effort. Does OneDrive automatically save your files?

Exactly, there is an AutoSave feature in Microsoft 365 tool and you can turn on it to save files to OneDrive automatically. For a detailed guideline, you can refer to the following content about OneDrive AutoSave.

How to turn on OneDrive AutoSave

Once you have an active Microsoft 365 subscription and create files in Excel, PowerPoint, or Word tool, the AutoSave feature is available that can help you sync Excel files with OneDrive or save other types of files. Follow these steps, and you can perform autosave to OneDrive easily.

1. Here we take the Excel application as an example. Launch the Excel app on your computer, and click on New on the left panel. Choose Blank workbook in the right part.

2. On the workbook page, there is a switch referring to AutoSave on the top. Please turn it on.

3. You will receive a message saying “How do I turn on AutoSave?”. Click on OneDrive - Personal here.

4. Name your workbook. Then any modifications on this file will be saved to OneDrive automatically.

Another way to save files to OneDrive automatically

The AutoSave OneDrive feature above can be only available for Microsoft 365 subscribers. If you want to save many types of files to OneDrive automatically, you can consider using another method like a free cloud backup service - CBackup.

  • To let OneDrive auto save files for you, you can create a schedule OneDrive sync task in CBackup for free.
  • In addition to Excel, PowerPoint, and Word files, you can choose any type of file to save to OneDrive, like texts, pictures, videos, and even programs, hard drives, and the entire computer.
  • Many mainstream public cloud drives are supported to add to CBackup, including OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, and more.

Now, let’s discuss how to save files to OneDrive automatically via CBackup.

1. Download and set up the CBackup desktop client on your computer. Sign up for a new CBackup account and open the desktop app to log into your account.

Download CBackupWin 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP
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2. Go to the Storage section, and click on OneDrive > Authorize Now. Follow the easy guidelines to give CBackup authorization to access your OneDrive account safely.

3. Click on Sync Sync PC to Public Cloud on this page.

4. You can choose any type of file as the sync source. Then select a folder in your OneDrive account as the sync destination.

5. To save files to OneDrive automatically, please press Settings at the bottom. Then you can see s Sync Settings page. You can choose a time mode for your task. After setting up, click on Start Sync and CBackup will automatically save your files to OneDrive with the selected frequency.

★ Notes: In CBackup, you can try more backup and sync functions for free.
When there is insufficient cloud storage in your OneDrive account, you can increase OneDrive storage for free with the combine cloud storage feature in CBackup. It allows you to merge many cloud drive accounts into a combined cloud with larger space.
To protect your files better, you can back up files to OneDrive or other cloud drives via CBackup.
In addition to a public cloud drive, you can choose to save files to CBackup Cloud with 5GB of free cloud storage directly.

2 traditional ways to save files to OneDrive

There are some traditional ways to save files to OneDrive. You need to perform it manually, but you can choose any type of files to upload. If you do not need to bulk upload to OneDrive, you can consider trying them to save files selectively.

Way 1. Save files to OneDrive website

First, you can save files to OneDrive without any extra software. On the OneDrive official web page, you can upload files or folders from your computer to OneDrive.

1. In your browser, head to the OneDrive website. Log into your OneDrive account.

2. In the My files part, click on the Upload icon. You can click Files to save your files from your computer to OneDrive.

Way 2. Save files to OneDrive via folder

OneDrive also provides an official desktop client. If your computer is based on Windows 10 or Windows 11 operating system, it has been re-installed on your computer. If you are using an older version of Windows, please download it and set up by following the steps here.

1. After downloading, run the OneDrive desktop app. Enter your email address to sign into your account.

2. You will know the location of your OneDrive folder. If you do not want to put OneDrive folder in the default location, click on Change location to choose another path.

3. After the above, you can save any files or back up any folder to OneDrive by dragging and dropping them into this folder.

Written in the end

In this post, we have discussed how to use OneDrive AutoSave in detail. If you are a Microsoft 365 user, you can turn on it in your Office tool directly. If you want to save many types of files to OneDrive, you can consider using a free cloud backup service CBackup to help you. There is no limitation on file size and uploading speed in CBackup.