Microsoft would like you to save your files anywhere you like, as long as it’s the My Documents folder. The Office apps are complicit in this Draconian conspiracy by opening the Documents location by default when you try to save or open a file. Well, you don’t have to stand for that. In Office 2007, it’s easy to specify any folder as the default save location, even if it is nowhere near Documents. Just do this:
- Click the Office button at the top of Word.
- Click Options, and then click Advanced.
- Scroll to the bottom, to the General section, and click File Locations.
- Choose Documents, click Modify, and then select the location you want to use as your document store.
If you’re still using Office 2003, the process is similar:
- Open the Tools menu and then click Options.
- Click the File Locations tab.
- Choose Documents, click Modify, and then select the location you want to use as your document store.
Personally, I totally use all the default locations for storing my files — Documents, Pictures, Music, and so on. But I know a lot of people like to color outside the lines. And it’s nice, I suppose, to have that option. Photo by dragontomato
