# How compulsively do you hit "save" when working at your computer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 10, 2021, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720 "2021-04-10T03:20:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blabbermeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9a140/32.png) [@blabbermeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blabbermeister)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/1 "2021-04-10T03:20:34Z")
I’m still in 1980’s mode, pressing Ctrl-S after practically every sentence. Computers don’t crash all the time like they used to! And yet I can’t get out of the habit. What about you, are you a compulsive “saver” or do you wait until the end of the day, or only when you’re prompted? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![RollOutTheBarrel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rolloutthebarrel/32/1649_2.png) [@RollOutTheBarrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RollOutTheBarrel)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/2 "2021-04-10T03:25:34Z")
I’m like you: I hit Ctrl-S every time I pause in what I doing. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/3 "2021-04-10T03:41:57Z")
Every few minutes on average. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/4 "2021-04-10T03:48:43Z")
Every pause. They still glitch. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/5 "2021-04-10T03:56:10Z")
> [@RollOutTheBarrel](#): > > I’m like you: I hit Ctrl-S every time I pause in what I doing. Ditto. I mean, to the point when I have a power outage and Office offers the docs they backed up somewhere before the outage, I’m like, “nah, bro, I’m cool” and just close the recovery panel. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/6 "2021-04-10T04:14:23Z")
At work I save to the C: drive in preference to network drives because the network drives can be slow. However if I’ve done a ton of work on a workbook, document, or database I’ll put a copy on the network. Conversely, if the master copy started on the network, I’ll save a copy to the C: drive. Belt and Suspenders. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/7 "2021-04-10T05:28:36Z")
How do you know when a computer user is still in 1980’s mode? When said user saves by typing “Control-S” instead of clicking on File-\>Save Those were the days when Men were Men and used the keyboard, and only Quiche-Eaters used a mouse! ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/8 "2021-04-10T05:30:40Z")
Guilty. Still in ‘Jesus saves’ mentality as well as the blue screen of death. ---
**Author:** ![blabbermeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9a140/32.png) [@blabbermeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blabbermeister)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/9 "2021-04-10T06:00:59Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > When said user saves by typing “Control-S” instead of clicking on File-\>Save There’s a “Save” in the File menu? just kidding I’m annoyed that Word has hid the “Save All” command where you have to do advanced computer things to add it to the quick access toolbar. I guess it was too sensible for modern users 😛 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/10 "2021-04-10T07:53:12Z")
I can’t say I’ve ever gotten too much into the repeatedly saving habit. I’m more used to programs that have autosave features, and only use other programs for less important things. I try to find autosave plugins for stuff I do use. It doesn’t help that, in the past, I’ve actually been bit by saving too much, finding it hard to go back to an earlier version that was better. So compulsive saving would require constantly using Save As, or pausing my workflow to be 100% sure there’s no change I’ll need to go back to an earlier version. That said, I also am not in school, and don’t have a job that involves constantly making documents or other files on the computer. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/11 "2021-04-10T11:11:20Z")
I do this more today than I did a year ago, now that we’re all working at home, connecting remotely to the corporate network. Why? Because I have found, via painful experience, that Office365 really, really does not like having the VPN connection time out from under it on a document in progress. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/12 "2021-04-10T12:23:18Z")
I do more Excel than Word. I save after doing complex formulas that I don’t want to do again. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/13 "2021-04-10T12:31:07Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It doesn’t help that, in the past, I’ve actually been bit by saving too much, finding it hard to go back to an earlier version that was better. So compulsive saving would require constantly using Save As, or pausing my workflow to be 100% sure there’s no change I’ll need to go back to an earlier version. I would argue that if you can’t undo/redo and go back in time to earlier versions, that represents a defect in the autosave system. Possible workarounds include a filesystem that handles fine-grained versioning and history without depending on the application to keep track of things. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/14 "2021-04-10T12:52:17Z")
I constantly do it. Every seconds, it seems. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/15 "2021-04-10T15:18:31Z")
Never! Until I turn off the auto save feature that is. 🚘 🦺 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/16 "2021-04-10T15:22:46Z")
I teach my students “Save Early, Save Often”. Most don’t Some regret it. I always save after a major section, important point and if neither happens every 5 minutes. I used to always have autosave on as a default but not since MS Office has decided that it is better for me that everything I do should be in the cloud with OneDrive no matter how many times I turn it off. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/17 "2021-04-10T19:09:46Z")
The editor I use autosaves every 10 lines. Not to the file I am editing, but to a .aus file. When I save it changes the main file. Although one generation of .bak holds the original. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/18 "2021-04-10T20:17:25Z")
Having worked many years on various different CAD platforms, I learned the hard way to save constantly. Even when the program had auto-save, I would do it myself. These days, my posts here are usually the longest things I write, so I don’t generally bother with save. I think my email programs automatically save drafts periodically, so if something happens, I don’t lose it all. Still, as a retiree/drain-on-society, very little of what I do requires scrupulous saving. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/19 "2021-04-10T22:26:21Z")
Hardly ever, I like living on the edge! I usually save only when I am done with a major section of whatever I’m messing around with. And yes, that has very occasionally bit me in the ass. However I don’t make my living by writing documents. So those occasional tooth marks on my butt are generally trivial. If I actually did spend most of my time typing for my employment I’m sure I’d be just as anal as some of you. Having to re-do/recover/restart work does suck. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720/20 "2021-04-11T00:33:29Z")
> [@blabbermeister](#): > > There’s a “Save” in the File menu? There’s a File menu? 😁 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-compulsively-do-you-hit-save-when-working-at-your-computer/939720.md?page=2)