The Save All and Close All Mystery

Can you solve a mystery for me? When I have a bunch of Excel files open and I’m ready to save them, I begin by clicking on File. Sometimes a Save All command is in the drop-down list; other times, it’s not. I don’t know what I do—or don’t do—that causes the Save All command to appear. Obviously, since the command is very useful, I’d like to be able to bring it up when I need it.

I must say I’ve never experienced a Save All command in Excel. I have in Word, but that’s another story I’ll get to later. I think you’re confusing Save All with Close All. If you have more than one file open in Excel and you press Shift+File, a Close All command will appear in the drop-down menu (see screenshots below).

If you press File without Shift…

But if you press Shift and File…

After you click on Close All, each file in order asks whether you want to save it (see screenshot below).

What I find mysterious is that, while Excel lacks the Save All function, Word has both Save All and Close All—both of which are evoked by holding down on Shift when clicking on File. I find the Save All command in Word so handy that I customize my File menu, adding the command permanently, a process explained in the above item.