XL: Temporary File Created When You Save a Document

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 3.0, 4.x, 5.x
• Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.0a
• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

You may receive one of the following errors when attempting to save a document in Microsoft Excel:

Cannot access read-only document <filename>

-OR-

Disk is full

-OR-

Document not saved

-OR-

Document not completely saved

-OR-

Document not saved. Any previously saved copy has been deleted

CAUSE

The process that Microsoft Excel uses to save changes to an existing file is interrupted.

MORE INFORMATION

When you save a file that you changed in some way on a Windows-based computer, Microsoft Excel saves the file with a temporary file name and places this file in the same folder as the original file. This creates a new file. The original file is then deleted and the temporary file is renamed with the original file name.

If this process is somehow interrupted, your file may not be saved properly or you may find one or more temporary files in the folder where you tried to save your file. In addition, you may receive one of several alert or error messages.

When you use Microsoft Excel to save a file that you changed in some way on a Macintosh-based computer, and the program unexpectedly quits, Microsoft Excel saves the file with a temporary file name. Temporary files are placed in an invisible folder called Temporary Items in the root level of the hard disk. When Microsoft Excel unexpectedly quits, this folder becomes visible. When you restart the computer, this folder is moved to the Trash and placed in a folder called "Rescued Items from <hard disk name>." You can then drag the file back to the hard disk to recover it.

The following information lists some of the possible messages you may receive and explanations as to why you may receive them.

• "Cannot access read-only document <filename>"
  
  The drive you are saving to is a network drive and you don't have sufficient privileges to save to that drive. Try saving to your local hard disk or to a floppy disk drive.



• "Disk is full"
  
  The drive you are saving to doesn't have enough space for the temporary file. Delete some files from the current drive and save to another drive or to a floppy disk drive.



• "Document not saved," or "Document not completely saved"
  
  The process was interrupted while creating the temporary file, either because you pressed the ESC key or because there was some hardware or software failure or other media problem. The original file is still intact and unless your computer or workstation failed, the version of the file containing your current changes is still open in memory. Save the file to an alternate drive. If your computer or workstation did fail, you can use the original file. (Note that any changes made in the last revision will be lost.)



• "Document not saved. Any previously saved copy has been deleted"
  
  The process was interrupted while deleting the original or renaming the temporary file. This problem will occur for the same reasons described in the scenario described in the "'Document not saved,' or 'Document not completely saved'" section of this article. In this case, your original file is gone (though the temporary file may be readable). If your computer or workstation failed, use the temporary file. If the interruption was caused by something else, the version of the file containing your current changes is still open in memory. Save the file to an alternate drive.

Additional query words: 4.00 tmp temp 4.00a 4.0, 4.0a, 5.0,

Keywords          : 
Version           : MACINTOSH:5.0,5.0a; WINDOWS:3.0,4.x,5.x,7.0
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb 

Last Reviewed: April 6, 1999