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Home Excel Excel Resources Save As Shortcut in Excel
 

Save As Shortcut in Excel

Madhuri Thakur
Article byMadhuri Thakur

What is the Save As Shortcut in Excel?

The Save As shortcut is a useful method that allows you to make a copy of your Excel file while preserving your original file. This way, you can save a new version of the file with a different name or save it to a different location on your computer. It’s especially useful when you must quickly make a duplicate copy of your work.

For example, let’s say you have a file called Employee Data saved on your Desktop and want to save another copy of the file with a different name. To do this, press the F12 key on your keyboard. That will open up a Save As dialog box. In the Filename field of the dialog box, type in Employee Data1 and then click the Save button.

Save As Shortcut in Excel

 

 

The Save As shortcut in Excel is really handy. It lets you save, edit, and rename a copy of your worksheet without changing the original. For instance, you can save it as a PDF to share with colleagues, and if you need to make changes to the document, you can use a PDF editor to edit it and avoid accidental changes to the data.

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How to use Save As Shortcut in Excel?

#1 Using the “F12” Shortcut Key

Suppose you have an Excel file with the name Student Data and want to create a copy of the file with the title Student Data Final. Let’s see how we can do it using the F12 shortcut key.

Step 1: Open the Excel file with the name Student Data. 

Using the “F12” Shortcut Key-File Name

Step 2: Press the F12 key on your keyboard. A Save As window appears on the screen.

Step 3: Enter the new file name (“Student Data Final”) and click Save.

Using the “F12” Shortcut Key- Student Data Final

Excel creates a copy of the original file with the name Student Data Final as shown below:

Using the “F12” Shortcut Key- Student Data Final Original

#2 Using the Quick Access Toolbar

Using the Quick Access Toolbar

Suppose you have an Excel file containing a list of candidates currently saved in your system’s “Documents” folder. To make a copy of this file on your Desktop, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the Excel file containing candidate details.

Using the Quick Access Toolbar-Candidate Details

Step 2: Click the Quick Access Toolbar drop-down. A context menu appears with a list of options.

Step 3: Click More Commands

Using the Quick Access Toolbar-More Commands

An Excel Options window appears.

Step 4: Click Quick Access Toolbar > Save As > Add > OK.

Using the Quick Access Toolbar-Quick Access Toolbar > Save As > Add > OK.

Excel adds the Save As icon to the Quick Access Toolbar.

Using the Quick Access Toolbar-Save As icon

Step 5: Click the Save As icon.

A Save As window appears on the screen.

Step 6: Choose the new location (here, Desktop) and click Save. 

Using the Quick Access Toolbar-Choose the new location

It saves a copy of the file on the Desktop of your computer.

#3 Adding Save As tab in Excel Ribbon

Suppose your company manufactures various brands, and you have compiled this data in an Excel file. You want to share this data with your client in PDF format. Let’s understand how to do it using Excel’s Save as Shortcut key.

Step 1: Open the Microsoft Excel file containing the Brand details.

Adding Save As tab in Excel Ribbon-Open the Microsoft Excel

Next, Click the Quick Access Toolbar drop-down arrow, which lists a menu of options.

Step 3: Click More Commands.

Adding Save As tab in Excel Ribbon-More Commands

An Excel Options window appears on the screen.

Step 4: Click Customize Ribbon > Save As > New Tab

Adding Save As tab in Excel Ribbon- Click Customize Ribbon

It adds a New Tab (Custom) section with New Group (Custom) to the Main Tabs list.

Adding Save As tab in Excel Ribbon- New Tab (Custom)

Step 5: If you want to rename the new tab, click Rename.

A Rename window pops up for you to enter the new name.

Step 6: Enter the new “Save As” name and click OK.

Adding Save As tab in Excel Ribbon- Enter the new “Save As” name

Excel renames the new tab as Save As.
We want to add a Save As (option) group under the Save As main tab.

Step 7: To add the Save As option as a group, select New Group (Custom) and click Add.

Adding Save As tab in Excel Ribbon- Save as Option

Excel adds the Save As option as a group under the main tab Save As, as shown in the below image.

Step 8: Click OK.

Adding Save As tab in Excel Ribbon- Click Open

The below image shows Save As as a main tab consisting of the Save As option (icon) as a group.

Adding Save As tab in Excel Ribbon- Save As as Main Tab

Step 9: Click the Save As icon

The Save As window appears on the screen with the current file type.

Adding Save As tab in Excel Ribbon- Click the Save As icon

Step 10: Click the “Save As type” drop-down and choose PDF from the list.

Step 11: Click Save.

Adding Save As tab in Excel Ribbon- Click Save

It saves the Excel file in PDF format, as shown below:

Adding Save As tab in Excel Ribbon- Excel file in PDF Format

What is the difference between the Save and Save As option?

We use the Save and Save As shortcuts in Excel for saving workbooks, but there are some crucial differences between them. Here is a table that summarizes these differences:

Function

Save

Save As

Saving a new workbook Saves with the current name Let’s you choose the file format and location
Creating a backup copy Overwrites original file Let’s you make a copy with a new name
Saving changes to an existing workbook Saves changes to the current file Let’s you create a copy with changes
Saving in different formats Only saves in the default format Let’s you choose a different file type, such as PDF, CSV, etc.

Things to Remember

#1 Choose the correct format: If you want to save an Excel file with a new name, ensure you choose the right one, or it may result in data loss. For example, keeping a worksheet (.xlsx) in text format (.txt), some of the data and formatting might be lost.

Things to Remember-1. Choose the correct format

#2 Save a file in “.xls” format for compatibility: If you want to share an Excel file with someone who has an older version of Excel, save it in “.xls” format to avoid any data loss.

#3 Save a file with VBA code in “.xlsm”: If you have created an Excel file with VBA code, save it in “.xlsm” format, or you won’t be able to save the file or work in the worksheet.

#4 Maintain Character Limit: Excel allows a maximum of 255 characters, including spaces, to rename a file. However, use a descriptive and easy-to-remember name to avoid confusion and quickly locate the file.

#5 Save in PDF to Prevent Data Alteration: If you want to share an Excel workbook with others and do not want them to make any changes to it, consider saving the workbook in PDF format.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. How to save as PDF in Excel?
Answer: To save an Excel file as PDF, follow these steps:

  1. Press the F12 key on the keyboard. A Save As window will open.
  2. Click on the “Save as type” drop-down
  3. Choose PDF from the list and click Save.

FAQS-How to save as PDF in Excel

Q2. Where is Save As on Excel?
Answer: To locate the Save As option in Excel, follow these steps:

Go to File > Save As.

FAQs-2. Where is Save As on Excel

Q3. Is there a Save button on Google Sheets?
Answer: Google sheets do not provide a save button; instead, it saves the changes automatically without needing to press any button.

Q4. What format do Google Sheets save as?
Answer: Google Sheets saves your work online; the default file extension is “.GSHEET”.

Q5. What file type to save multiple sheets in Excel?
Answer: The ideal format for saving multiple sheets in Excel is (*. xlsx). All 2007 and later versions of Excel use .xlsx as the default file format for saving Excel spreadsheets.

Q6. Does CSV only save one sheet?
Answer: Yes, CSV is just a plain text file format that can’t store multiple Excel sheets or advanced Excel features like pivot tables.

Recommended Articles

The above article is a guide to using the Save As Shortcut in Excel, along with examples. To learn more about such helpful methods in Microsoft Excel, EDUCBA recommends the following articles.

  1. Excel Keyboard Shortcuts
  2. Advanced Excel Formulas and Functions
  3. Excel Shortcut to Select Row
  4. Excel Shortcut Paste Values

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