WD2000: Frequently Asked Questions About "Allow Fast Saves" (197978)

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1. Q: What is the difference between a fast saved file and a full saved file?
   
   A: A fast saved file is a Word document in which the physical order of characters stored in the file does not match the logical order of characters in the document that the file represents. In other words, changes to the file are appended to the end of the file.
   
   A full saved file is a Word document in which the physical order of characters stored in the file is identical to the logical order of characters in the document that the file represents. In other words, changes to the file are incorporated into the contents of the file in the specific location where the change was made.
   
   NOTE: Files sizes can increase when the Allow fast saves option is turned on.
2. Q: How do I change the setting of the Allow fast saves option?
   
   A: On the Tools menu, click Options. Then, on the Save tab, click to select or clear the Allow fast saves check box, and then click OK.
   
   NOTE: By default, the Allow fast saves option is not selected in this version of Microsoft Word; however, the default setting is different in earlier versions of Word.
3. Q: When does Word perform a fast save?
   
   A: When the Allow fast saves option is selected, Word may perform a fast save when you save changes to your document. When you click Save (or on the File menu, click Save), Word may perform a fast save or a full save of your document.
4. Q: When does Word perform a full save?
   
   A: Word performs a full save of a document when any of the following events occur:
   • On the fifteenth (15th) fast save of a document. Word normally performs 14 fast save operations before it performs a full save.
     
     -or-
   • When you click Save and there are many edits performed in the document.
     
     NOTE: There is no way to determine or change the number of edits in a document. As changes are appended to the end of the physical document file, it reaches a point where the physical document needs to be re-written so that, once again, the changes to the file can be incorporated back into the contents of the file in the specific location where the changes were made.
     
     -or-
   • When you click Save and the Allow fast saves option is not selected (turned off).
     
     -or-
   • When you save the document in another format, such as Rich Text Format (RTF).
5. Q: Why should I let Word do a fast save?
   
   A: If you select the Allow fast saves option, Word appends any changes to the end of the document file rather than re-writing the entire file. The Allow fast saves option thus takes less time than a full save of the document. The difference in time is only noticeable when you are working on very large documents.
6. Q: When should I not use the Allow fast saves option?
   
   A: If you will be sharing a document containing sensitive information that has been deleted, you should force Word to do a full save of your document. To force Word to do a full save, turn off the Allow fast saves option, and then click Save.
   For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   

   211209 WD2000: Opening Word Document in Text Editor Displays Deleted Text

7. Q: When I am working on a document from a network location, why does Word seem to take the same amount of time to save the document, regardless of how I have the Allow fast saves option set?
   
   A: This functionality is by design. Fast saves cannot be performed over a network. If the Allow fast saves option is turned on, Word ignores this option when you save a document over a network.
8. Q: When I select the Always create backup copy option, why is the Allow fast saves option turned off?
   
   A: A backup copy of a document cannot be saved (created) when Word fast saves a document. When you click to select the Always create backup copy option, Word automatically turns off the Allow fast saves option. Consequently, when you select Allow fast saves, Word automatically turns off the Always create backup copy option, if it is selected.
9. Q: What is the Allow background saves option?
   
   A: This option saves documents in the background, so you can continue working in Word while you save (full save or fast save) a document. A pulsing disk icon appears in the status bar when Word is performing either a full save or a fast save in the background.
   
   NOTE: The Allow background saves option is selected (turned on) by default in this version of Word; however, this option is turned off by default in earlier versions of Word.