SaveAs vs SaveAs2 in the Microsoft Office Word object model

calendar_today Asked Nov 5, 2010
thumb_up 11 upvotes
history Updated April 14, 2026

Direct Answer

It hasn't gone away, you've just got another way to save the document. Save2() takes an extra argument, CompatibilityMode. If you don't care about the compatibility mode then just…. This is a prose walkthrough, ranked #7th of 32 by community upvote score, from 2010.


The Problem (Q-score 9, ranked #7th of 32 in the Word VBA archive)

The scenario as originally posted in 2010

It looks like SaveAs has gone away in Office 2010 in favor of SaveAs2. What is going on here? Are there any important differences between the two? My fix has been to check for SaveAs2 first, and then fall back to SaveAs. Is this reasonable?

Why community consensus is tight on this one

Across 32 Word VBA entries in the archive, the accepted answer here holds strong answer (top 25 %%) status — meaning voters are unusually aligned on the right fix.


The Verified Solution — strong answer (top 25 %%) (+11)

Verbal answer — walkthrough without a code block

Note: the verified answer is a prose walkthrough. If you need a runnable sample, check Word VBA entries ranked in the top 10 of the same archive.

It hasn’t gone away, you’ve just got another way to save the document. Save2() takes an extra argument, CompatibilityMode. If you don’t care about the compatibility mode then just keep using Save(). If you do then check Application.Version to verify that you can call Save2() without getting an exception.


When to Use It — vintage (14+ years old, pre-2013)

A top-10 Word VBA pattern — why it still holds up

Ranks #7th of 32 in the Word VBA archive. The only pattern ranked immediately above it is “programatically convert word docx to doc without using ole automation” — compare both if you’re choosing between approaches.

What changed between 2010 and 2026

The answer is 16 years old. The Word VBA object model has been stable across Office 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 365, and 2024/2026 LTSC, so the pattern still compiles. Changes that might affect you: 64-bit API declarations (use PtrSafe), blocked macros in downloaded files (Mark-of-the-Web), and the shift toward Office Scripts for web-first workflows.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does this sit in the top quartile of Word VBA answers?
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Answer score +11 vs the Word VBA archive median ~4; this entry is strong. The score plus 9 supporting upvotes on the question itself (+9) means the asker and 10 subsequent voters all validated the approach.

The answer has no code block — how do I turn it into a snippet?
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Use the walkthrough above as a checklist, then open a top-10 Word VBA archive entry for a concrete starting template you can adapt.

This answer is 16 years old. Is it still relevant in 2026?
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Published 2010, which is 16 year(s) before today’s Office 2026 build. The Word VBA object model has had no breaking changes in that window. Three things to re-test: (1) blocked macros on downloaded files (Mark-of-the-Web), (2) 64-bit API declarations (PtrSafe, LongPtr), (3) any shift toward Office Scripts for web scenarios.

Which Word VBA pattern ranks just above this one at #6?
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The pattern one rank above is “programatically convert word docx to doc without using ole automation”. If your use case overlaps, compare both before committing.

Data source: Community-verified Q&A snapshot. Q-score 9, Answer-score 11, original post 2010, ranked #7th of 32 in the Word VBA archive. Last regenerated April 14, 2026.