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bfuchsFlag for United States of America

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How can I save all open docs into a given folder

Hi Experts,

There are many times where I want to restart my pc but have many open docs that are changed, and I dont have the time now to look at each of them to decide if save or not,

How can I have an option with a click of a button to save them all into one temp folder and at a later time decide what to do, while all original docs will close unsaved?
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aikimark
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Some VBA code could iterate the documents collection and invoke their SaveAs method, point to a temp directory.
Hi bfuchs,

I don't know if it would be a suitable option for you, but I think the easiest way to accomplish something similar could be to use a virtual machine running Windows and the programs you're working with. You can simply close that VM at any time in a way it stores its current state, so currently running programs aren't terminated at all and so they are still running with the previously opened (changed and unchanged) documents after re-starting the VM.

The advantage is it would work for each and every application you install in the VM, there's no need to implement solutions i.e. for different office documents or bitmap or anything else. Another advantage is if needed such a VM can easily be moved to another PC.

The disadavantages (probably) are performance and licensing:

- in case of i.e. Word or Excel the performance shouldn't be a big problem, other applications like i.e. Photoshop or and CAD software probably won't perform well.

- If you run a VM with Windows on a Windows host you need two Windows licenses, is usually will be the same with any other software you're using.

So: just take this as an idea, if you think it's pointless for your needs it's fine too, but in this case you should be more detailed about what kind of documents (so what programs) you want to use this way, this is extremely important to know because I'm quite sure for some programs it would be nearly impossible to realize such a functionality while it's possible for others.

Best regards,

ZOPPO
@Zoppo

What does that do for open threads (file handles) to those files?  I like your solution.  It is elegant.
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marsilies

Are they all the same type of document and are open in the same program (i.e. Word documents open in Word)?

The saving of changes is usually controlled by the program that has the document open, and each program has a different way of dealing with unsaved changes, whether putting them in a temp file (for "autosave" features like in MS Office) or keeping them solely in memory (like Notepad). So any "Save All" feature is going to have to be custom to each program.

Word has a "Save All" button built-in, but it doesn't save to a new file, but saves changes to the existing file. See here for info:
http://wordribbon.tips.net/T002561_Saving_All_Open_Documents.html

Word does allow creating a backup copy of each file though, so if you use that option in combination with the one above, you could quickly save all Word documents, but be able to revert to the backup later if needed.
http://wordribbon.tips.net/T008836_Specifying_a_Location_To_Save_Automatic_Backup_Files.html


Excel works different, and doesn't have a "Save All" option built in, nor "save backup" option. I did find a Macro to save all, but not a backup:
https://www.extendoffice.com/documents/excel/2971-excel-save-all-open-files.html

So each program is going to have its quirks.


Another option to consider is, if using Windows 8 or 10, you could enable the "File History" backup feature, which would then allow you to look at past saved versions of a file.
http://www.howtogeek.com/74623/how-to-use-the-new-file-history-feature-in-windows-8/
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Zoppo
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use google docs

it will automatically keep saving changes without need for saving
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ASKER

Hi Experts,

First thanks all for their input.

Some VBA code could ...
I'm ok with that option, can you post this code?
but in this case you should be more detailed about what kind of documents
Sure, I deal with MS Access files, Word, Excel and Notepad, however my main focus is on notepad as this is what I use for storing anything temporally.

Word does allow creating a backup copy of each file though, so if you use that option in combination with the one above, you could quickly save all Word documents
Not sure I got this, how do I set this up? also in my version of word (2003) I didn't see option to save all open files either?

use google docs
Not familiar with that, but is it that convenient as right click and open a new notepad doc on the fly?
if using Windows 8 or 10
Have Win7 Pro

@Zoppo,
I'm basically looking for a script or freeware that can accomplish that, or perhaps anything that is cost would not exceed $25, simple to install/use and above all, will not impact the way my pc currently works in any way.

Thanks,
Ben
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@marsilies,

OK I saw what you mean, the always create backup copy may be a good option for my Word docs, so instead of saving the changes to a diff location and look up for old version in current location, I will simply save all and have the backup for lookup's.
The only disadvantage of using this is that I end up always having two copies of all word files, regardless if needed.

Now about Notepad, this is what they offer
Notepad AutoSave constantly monitors the active Notepad instance and auto saves it every 30 seconds.
first this is not what I need here, as its not sure I want keep those changes, besides sounds like this will consume a lot of pc resources..

Thanks,
Ben
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Hi my experts, at least I got to know all options avail, at the moment I guess will start with the Notepad++ option as its free and no side affects involved, will take it from there..
Thank you very much!!