Thank you all for your input on this issue so far. Unfortunately, as
TheRedOak stated the problem continues with the latest update. Here is
my workflow: I have about 25 folders organized by job name. In those
folders various where work orders and what not reside. So when I'm in a
document and need to "Save As" it is quite disruptive that I need to go
through finder to find my current document's location from the last
place I saved a file rather then where I opened the current file. As for
this being "normal" I respectively disagree , Office 2007 acts exactly
as it should in respect to this issue.
So for a solution, I was thinking about coding an applescript that would
do this, but have not been able to find support on how to actually
accomplish it. I started with the code and I am stumped and have not
been able to find help. Microsoft's online newsgroup community for VBA
is exceptional, but I have not been able to find a equivalent community
for applescript.
Again, thank you all for you input so far.
Hi,
The Save As behavior you are describing is indeed different from Excel
2010 on Windows 7, where I just tested to see what happens. It is also
different from TextEdit on MacOSX Snow Leopard. TextEdit's Save As uses
the folder where the document was opened rather than the most recently
saved to location.
When I first became an MVP about 11 years ago I remember that this issue
was something that I brought up. I don't remember the rationale behind
the behavior, but Microsoft did have one at the time. Not that it
matters, because the behavior persists.
So what can be done about it? First, if you want to made a feature
suggestion to Microsoft, use the Help > Send Feedback feature in Excel.
Suggest that there be an option for Save As *Most Recent Save Location
and *Location where file was opened." That might help for some future
version of Excel, but there are some things you might do now that could
make your workflow easier.
I don't know your exact file/folder structure, so I'll throw a few
things into the ring and maybe a suggestion will be useful.
If you're working mainly with those same 25 folders all day, you could
create a new folder and put aliases to those folders into the new
folder. Then choose the new folder containing the aliases as the
preferred Save location in Excel preferences.
Alternatively, create a folder of shortcuts above with Bob's suggestion
of dragging your new folder containing shortcuts to the left side of a
Finder window. You can then click that folder in the Excel Save As
dialog and you'll only need one or two clicks to get to the desired folder.
A
nother approach is to create an Automator Action plug-in (you can not do
this if you have Home and Student edition of Microsoft Office). To make
an automator action for your purpose:
1. In the Applications folder open Automator
2. When Automator opens choose Workflow
3. In the Variables field type the word Excel
4. Drag the workflow called Save Excel Workbooks to the right panel
where it says Drag actions or files here to build your workflow
5. Choose Save workbooks as
Notice there are many options from which to choose. In particular, the
Where pop-up has several options for you to explore. Again, you might
use a folder containing shortcuts to make a desirable file path for the
plug-in to use.
When you're done with choosing options, use Automator's File menu and
choose Save As Plug-in. Change the lower pop-up to Plug-in for Script
Menu, then click the Save button. Your plug-in will now be available for
you to use from the Scripts menu in Excel. You would use the Scripts
menu instead of the File menu to save your workbooks via the plug-in you
create.
There's a detailed step-by-step set of instructions (with screen shots)
for making a different plug-in on page 559 of Office 2008 for Mac
All-in-One For Dummies, if you're looking for more details about making
Automator plug-ins.
-Jim
