Store Word files on your PC instead of OneDrive

Microsoft Word often prompts users to save new documents to OneDrive by default, even though it also allows users to save files locally on a PC.

While cloud storage can improve redundancy and make files easier to access across devices, some users prefer local saving for privacy reasons, for offline access when travelling or during network outages, and to avoid versioning conflicts when documents fall out of sync.

The default destination can be changed from within Word’s settings. Users can go to File > Options, open the Save tab, enable “Save to Computer by default”, and click OK to apply the change.

After the setting is enabled, Word will default to “This PC” as the save location for new documents instead of OneDrive.