Save+As

What is the difference between "Save" and "Save As…"?
You should be using "Save" instead of "Save As…" just about every time you save. In fact, all seasoned computer users have memorized the keyboard shortcut for "Save" (**cmd+S** on the Mac or **ctrl+S** on Windows machines) because this is the one task that you do most often. Cmd+S is quick, painless, involves no thinking, and should become second nature to every computer user.

Save often! This can not be stressed enough. Saving your file often is simply good computer-use etiquette. Work is lost most often because a student has forgotten to save. Computers do crash and you will lose work unless you save often. Also, if you save regularly, you can revert to the last version saved instead of undoing your way out of a bad situation.

On the other hand, "Save As…" interrupts your work flow, forces you to think about the location of your files, and worst of all, requires a mouse click on the "Replace" button if you are overwriting your old version. You should use "Save As…" only if you wish to duplicate your file or wish to change the format (or version) of your file.

If you are changing the location of your file, you may also opt to use "Save As…" but it might be smarter to do that outside of the application after you have closed your file.

Note: Some applications will re-build your file when you "save as." For example Flash and InDesign will compact your file (make it smaller), but Photoshop and Dreamweaver will not.