Use the Save as shortcut in Excel by pressing F12 or Ctrl + S. Reach the function through the File Tab or Quick Access Toolbar.
Press the Ctrl + S shortcut to display the ‘Save as’ dialogue box. Once the file is saved, press the F12 function key to save the file again in the selected location.
Before we take a deep dive, don’t forget to check our list of Excel Shortcuts to speed up your work.
Windows Shortcut
Mac Shortcut
Differences between the “Save” and “Save As” Shortcut
The “Save” and “Save as” functions are available in the main shortcuts under the File menu in Excel. The File Group contains the most used shortcuts, like New, Print, Open, and Export. With help of Save and Save As shortcuts, you can keep your Excel files up to date, archive your work and avoid losing data.
Let us see the key differences between the Save and Save As shortcuts:
- The “Save As” shortcut enables you to export your Worksheets data into a different file format. For example, when working with an xlsx file, you can save and export your data into a CSV (comma-separated value) format using the Save as shortcut.
- The Save command overwrites your data! So, use the Save As to create a new file and keep your source data untouched.
- Using the Save As function, you can decide where to save your file and which format you want to use. It provides much better options than the Save command.
Save As Shortcut Excel Examples
Today’s article will show you how to use the Save As Shortcut in Excel in various ways. For example, use shortcut keys or adding the function to the Quick Access Toolbar. Furthermore, create a new tab on the Ribbon or create a custom Save As Shortcut using VBA.
How to Use Save As Shortcut in Excel?
The “Save” and “Save as” functions are available in the main shortcuts under the File menu in Excel. The File Group contains the most used shortcuts, like New, Print, Open, and Export. With the help of Save and Save As shortcuts, you can keep your Excel files up to date, archive your work and avoid losing data.
Here is the list of how to use the Save As Shortcut. OK, here we go!
1. Using the Excel Keyboard Shortcut for Save As
Step 1. Make sure that you have a final version of the Excel spreadsheet.
Good to know: After saving the Workbook, you can use the Undo command. But we strongly recommend you using before saving the file. What if undo is required? No problem, apply the undo command, then save the file again to apply changes.
Step 2. To open the “Save As” dialogue box, apply the press the F12 shortcut key.
Step 3. After pressing the Save As Shortcut, a new window will appear. Now you can add the following data:
- Filename: the name of the Workbook
- Save As type: Choose the file type. In the example, we are using the Excel binary format.
- Authors: You can add multiple authors
- Tags: Add a Tag
Step 4. Click the Save button.
2. Pin the Save as Function to the Quick Access Toolbar
Step 1. Locate the QAT (Quick Access Toolbar) and click on the small drop-down list.
Step 2. Click more Commands to customize the QAT
Step 3. To add a Save As Shortcut to QAT, pick the “All Commands” from the list. Choose the “All Commands” and add the “Save as” function to the Quick Access toolbar. Finally, click OK to close the dialogue box.
Step 4. The Save As Shortcut is available on the Quick Access Toolbar and ready to use.
3. Create a “Save as” Group on the Ribbon in Excel
As mentioned in the previous example, placing the “Save as” Shortcut to the QAT is easy. What if you want to use the Shortcut as Group command on the Ribbon? There is an easy way to do that!
Follow the steps below:
Step 1. Click File > Options to reach Excel Options
Step 2. Select Customize Ribbon. Pick the ‘Save As’ command from the list. Create a New Tab and rename it to Save As. Select the recently inserted Tab and click the add button. Finally, click OK to close the Excel Options dialog box.
Step 3. After clicking OK, the new Save As Tab is available on the Ribbon.
4. Apply VBA code to create a Save As Shortcut Trigger
If you want to append your Personal.xlsb macro collection with a Save As Shortcut macro, you can do that.
Press Alt + F11 to enter the VBA editor.
Insert a new module and add the following code:
Sub SaveAs()
ActiveWorkbook.SaveAs
End Sub
Workaround for Shared Files and Save As
Let us see a short case study. It will be useful if you are working with shared Excel Workbooks.
Sometimes a small team working on a project and uses the same spreadsheet together. In this case, the best practice is to using file sharing. By using this way, the source file keeps untouched because it is not editable.
In the example, the project manager has created a file and shared the file with the project members. Some project members have applied custom calculations and functions and saved the changes in the file.
If you have good enough VBA knowledge, you can fine-tune the code. Press Alt + F11 and implement the code below:
Sub CustomSave()
Dim fName, Tstamp As String
fName = Application.UserName & " - "
Tstamp = Format(CStr(Now), "yyyy-mm-dd hh-mm-ss")
ActiveWorkbook.SaveAs Filename:=fName & Tstamp
End Sub
Let me explain how the code works! You want to keep the original shared file untouched. The macro creates a unique name and combines it with a timestamp. Why is it useful? The operation creates a new file using the Save As command and remains the main file.
“Save As” Shortcut – Final words
- The Excel Save as Shortcut needs a unique name. If you don’t do that, you will face an alert: “The filename exists.”
- Place your macros to Personal.xlsb file. The standard Excel file type (.xlsx) has limits. From now the macro or shortcut is reusable.
- Using the Save As shortcut, you can place the same file into different locations. Thus, you can keep safe the original Workbook.
Recommended Articles
We hope that today’s guide on Save As Shortcut in Excel was useful. Choose your preferred method: use the F12 shortcut, place the command to QAT or Ribbon. We’ve just introduced some VBA code snippets to managed the shared Workbooks topic.
If you want to learn more about shortcuts, read our favorite articles below:
