The Difference Between Save and Save As

This is a common question for new computer users. It may take you a while to understand the ideas; so, be patient with yourself on this one!

The answer goes deep into the computer. You need to save your information somewhere in the deep dark recesses of the computer so you can get it again when you need it. The computer stores information on various media. In the old days, the media was disks: floppy disks, Zip disks, the hard drive, CDs, DVDs, etc. Now-a-days, we are more likely to use USB drives and external hard drives. Whatever the media, it is sectioned off into little storage units. Each storage unit has an address. The computer finds what you stored by looking at the addresses.

When you first "Save" something on your computer, it needs a new storage place reserved because it has never been stored before. The computer finds a vacant place on the disk you choose, copies the information into the vacant place, and records the fact that that address is being used by your file. That's what keeps it from being kicked out and the place taken by something else - Windows says that place is taken and won't let anything else in that storage spot.

Actually, what you just did was a "Save As." Any time you put something in a vacant spot, it's a Save As, but the computer knows if it's the first time and does a Save As without you knowing it. Now, if you work on that file some more and want to add the new work to the same storage place, you do a Save (File -> Save). Each time you Save your changes, you add (or remove or change) what's in that storage unit.

Sometimes, however, you want to make a copy of something. For example, maybe you are working on your family photo album and your family web site. You have a picture of your new house to add to both places. You will need two copied of the photo: one for print and one for the web site because they need to be in different formats. You Save your photo (the first time) and get it all ready for the album. Then you Save As to a different copy and work on the photo for your web site. Now you have the two versions.