Word deletes files after you save them – here's what you can do

For some users who write important work for school, study or work using Microsoft Word, the whole thing seems like a disaster: the files do not end up safely on the hard drive after saving, but are simply deleted.

Microsoft offers an alternative solution

That's how bad the error is in Word, which many users are currently reporting a reportFortunately no. But it's always annoying. After all, Microsoft has the problem Recognized and confirmed. There is a way to recover “lost” files.

Accordingly, Word files with uppercase file extensions (.DOCX, .RTF) are said to be affected by the deletion issue. The “#” in the header also seems to guarantee unwanted file deletion.

According to Microsoft, the issue occurs when users want to save a file after editing it — after trying to close Word and being prompted to save by the program.

How is a Word error triggered?

This means that anyone who closes Word when the open file has not yet been cached and then agrees to save it in the next save dialog could cause the error. According to Microsoft, version 2409 of Microsoft 365 is affected, however, the software company does not yet know why the problem occurs.

The good news is: the files are not completely deleted, they are just moved to the Trash. So, if you don't empty it in between, you'll find the file you thought you lost there.

How to prevent the problem

The error can also be avoided if users manually save their files before closing Word. If you want to be on the safe side, you can also click “Do not show backstage when opening or saving files using keyboard shortcuts” under File -> Options -> Save.

However, it's not clear why this of all things prevents Word files from ending up in the trash. Microsoft is currently still investigating the issue. The fix is ​​currently awaiting.