If you've ever spent a lot of time working on a spreadsheet, only to have your computer crash before you've saved it - then you need Autosave. Although Microsoft Word automatically saves a copy of the document you're working with, Microsoft Excel is not quite so user-friendly. The Autosave feature in Excel needs to be installed manually. In spite of the extra time this takes, it's well worth it if you spend a lot of time making changes to your spreadsheets, or if you have fairly complicated spreadsheets.

To install Autosave:

1. Make sure that you have your Microsoft Office Professional disks available.
2. Close all programs.
3. Choose START, SETTINGS, then CONTROL PANEL.
4. Double-click on ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS.
5. Using the down arrow, scroll down to Microsoft Office 2000 Professional, select it and click on ADD/REMOVE.
6. The Microsoft Office installation program will begin. Choose ADD OR REMOVE FEATURES.
7. Click on the plus sign (+) next to Microsoft Excel for Windows, then click on the plus sign (+) next to Add-ins.
8. Click once on the icon (small picture) next to Autosave and select RUN FROM MY COMPUTER.
9. Choose UPDATE NOW.
10. When you are asked to insert your Microsoft Office Professional Disk, insert disk 1.
11. Choose OK.
12. After Microsoft Office 2000 Professional Setup has completed successfully, choose OK.
13. Choose CANCEL to close the Add/Remove Programs window - then close the Control Panel window.

After Autosave has been installed, it is automatically enabled. However, you may want to change some of the settings that it starts with.

To configure Autosave:

1. Open Microsoft Excel.
2. Click on TOOLS, then AUTOSAVE.
3. By default, Autosave is configured to automatically save the active workbook only - every ten minutes. It will prompt for an OK from you before saving.
4. You may want to uncheck the option of "prompt before saving" to eliminate the interruption in your work.
5. If you work with multiple workbooks at one time, you may also want to configure it to save all open workbooks.
6. Choose OK to save your changes.
7. To turn Autosave off, merely choose TOOLS, then AUTOSAVE and click in the box next to "Automatic Save Every".

If you are using an older version of Microsoft Excel, and still want to use the Autosave option, these instructions may not apply. Please feel free to call for assistance in installing this feature.