How to Change LibreOffice Auto-Recovery and Temp Paths

This guide explains how to customize the AutoRecovery save frequency and change the temporary directory paths in LibreOffice. Adjusting these settings helps protect your work against unexpected crashes by saving recovery information more often and allows you to manage where temporary cache files are stored on your system.

How to Configure Auto-Recovery Frequency

LibreOffice includes an automatic recovery feature that periodically saves information in case the application terminates unexpectedly.

  1. Open LibreOffice.
  2. Navigate to the options menu:
    • Windows/Linux: Click Tools > Options.
    • macOS: Click LibreOffice > Preferences.
  3. In the left-hand navigation panel, expand the Load/Save section and select General.
  4. Locate the Save AutoRecovery information every option under the Save settings.
  5. Ensure the checkbox is selected, then change the time interval (in minutes) using the up/down arrows or by typing a number. Setting a lower value, such as 5 minutes, ensures more frequent backups.
  6. Click Apply and then OK to save your changes.

How to Configure Temporary Directory Paths

Changing the temporary folder path is useful if you want to store cache files on a faster drive, a specific partition, or clear disk space on your default system drive.

  1. Open the settings menu:
    • Windows/Linux: Click Tools > Options.
    • macOS: Click LibreOffice > Preferences.
  2. In the left-hand panel, expand the LibreOffice section and click on Paths.
  3. In the Paths used by LibreOffice list, locate and select Temporary files.
  4. Click the Edit… button located at the top right of the list (or double-click the Temporary files entry).
  5. Browse your file system to select the new folder where you want LibreOffice to store temporary files.
  6. Click Select Folder (or Open).
  7. Click Apply and OK to finalize the configuration.