Specify Save Options

When saving a document, you can set some advanced properties. Aspose.Words provides you with the SaveOptions class, which allows more precise control of the save process. There are overloads of the save method that accept a SaveOptions object – it should be an object of a class derived from the SaveOptions class. Each save format has a corresponding class that holds save options for this save format, for example, there is PdfSaveOptions for saving to PDF format or ImageSaveOptions for saving to an image. This article provides examples of working with some options classes derived from SaveOptions.

The following code example shows how to set the save options before saving the document into HTML:

You can download the template file of this example from Aspose.Words GitHub.

The article describes a few properties you can control when saving a document.

Encrypt a Document With a Password

Use the password property to get or set a password for an encrypted document. Use the password property of the corresponding class to work with the selected document format.

For example, when saving a document to DOC or DOT format, use the password property of the DocSaveOptions class.

The following code example shows how to set a password to encrypt a document using the RC4 encryption method:

When saving a document to Docx format, use the password property of the OoxmlSaveOptions class.

The following code example shows how to load and save Docx encrypted with a password:

Not all formats support encryption and the use of password property.

Update the Document Creation Time

Aspose.Words provides an ability to use the created_time property to get or set the document creation date in UTC. You can also update this value before saving using the update_created_time_property option.

The following code example shows how to update the document creation time:

Update Last Saved Property

Aspose.Words provides an ability to use the update_last_saved_time_property property to get or set a value determining whether the last_saved_time property is updated before saving.

The following code example shows how to set this property and save the document:

Save Black and White Image with One Bit Per Pixel Format

To control image saving options, the ImageSaveOptions class is used. For example, you can use the pixel_format property to set the pixel format for the generated images. Please note that the pixel format of the output image may differ from the set value because of the work of skia.

The following code example shows how to save a black and white image with one bit per pixel format:

FAQ

Q: How can I set a password to encrypt a document when saving?
A: Use the SaveOptions class that corresponds to the target format (e.g., DocSaveOptions for DOC/DOT, OoxmlSaveOptions for DOCX) and assign the desired password to its password property. Then pass this options object to Document.save.
```
import aspose.words as aw

doc = aw.Document("input.docx")
options = aw.saving.DocSaveOptions()
options.password = "Secret123"
doc.save("output.doc", options)
```

Q: How do I update the document creation time before saving?
A: Set the created_time property of the document’s built‑in properties, or enable update_created_time_property on the SaveOptions object. The updated time will be written to the file when you call save.

import aspose.words as aw
from datetime import datetime, timezone

doc = aw.Document("input.docx")
doc.built_in_document_properties.created_time = datetime(2023, 5, 1, tzinfo=timezone.utc)

options = aw.saving.PdfSaveOptions()
options.update_created_time_property = True
doc.save("output.pdf", options)

Q: How can I prevent the LastSavedTime property from being changed on save?
A: Set the update_last_saved_time_property of the appropriate SaveOptions object to False before calling save. This tells Aspose.Words to leave the existing value untouched.
```
import aspose.words as aw

doc = aw.Document("input.docx")
options = aw.saving.OoxmlSaveOptions()
options.update_last_saved_time_property = False
doc.save("output.docx", options)
```
Q: How do I control the pixel format of images generated during saving?
A: Use ImageSaveOptions.pixel_format and assign a value from the ImagePixelFormat enumeration (e.g., ImagePixelFormat.FORMAT_32BPP_ARGB for a black‑and‑white image). The option is applied when saving to an image format.
```
import aspose.words as aw
from aspose.words.saving import ImagePixelFormat

doc = aw.Document("input.docx")
options = aw.saving.ImageSaveOptions()
options.pixel_format = ImagePixelFormat.FORMAT_32BPP_ARGB
doc.save("output.png", options)
```
Q: Which SaveOptions class should I use for a specific output format?
A: Each output format has its own derived SaveOptions class: PdfSaveOptions for PDF, HtmlSaveOptions for HTML, DocSaveOptions for DOC/DOT, OoxmlSaveOptions for DOCX/DOCM, ImageSaveOptions for PNG/JPEG/BMP, MhtmlSaveOptions for MHTML, etc. Instantiate the class that matches the desired format and configure its properties before saving.