Writing an important document and suddenly… a power outage, a system crash, and your file disappears without a trace? Sound familiar? Fortunately, LibreOffice Writer has something that can save you, AutoSave and backup copies.

In this guide, we will show you how to enable these options in just a few simple steps—whether you are working on Windows, Linux, or macOS. Protect your documents once and for all!

Why should you enable AutoSave?
A sudden system failure, accidentally closing a document, or a power interruption can lead to the loss of hours of work. Automatic saving every few minutes helps prevent this.

How to enable AutoSave in Writer?

1. Open LibreOffice Writer.
2. Go to the menu:
   Tools → Options
   (On macOS: LibreOffice → Preferences)
3. Select from the left panel:
   Load/Save → General
4. Check the option:
   Save AutoRecovery information every…
   (Default: 10 minutes – you can set it to every 3 minutes, for example)
5. (Optional) Also check:
   Always create backup copy
6. Click OK to save the settings.

Where does LibreOffice save backup copies?
By default, backup files are stored in the folder:
C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\LibreOffice\4\user\backup

It is a good idea to regularly copy this folder or set up synchronization with a cloud service (e.g., Dropbox).

What is the difference between AutoSave and a backup copy?

AutoRecovery – saves temporary recovery data every few minutes; used in case of unexpected crashes.

Backup copy – saves a complete .odt file before each manual change (e.g., when clicking “Save”).

Tip: keyboard shortcut for quick saving
Use the Ctrl + S shortcut to save changes regularly. This is a good habit even when AutoSave is enabled.

Enabling AutoSave and backup copies in LibreOffice Writer is the best way to protect your documents. Thanks to this, you will not lose your work even in the event of a program error or power failure.