Microsoft Word Mac Recover Unsaved File
You’ll try everything to recover your unsaved Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, isn’t it? Along the similar lines, the blog highlights, both manual and software approaches to recover unsaved excel file mac and deleted saved Office for Mac files in the best possible manner.
Losing Important Files is Never A Good Thing
Suppose you’re working on a high-priority multi-sheet Excel workbook (tracking sales record) and simultaneously preparing Word templates and PowerPoint presentations to give it a visual kick, and suddenly, out of nowhere, before saving all your files you accidentally end up closing all the windows or your Mac shuts down unexpectedly. Irrespective of how did that happen, there is a chance you can recover unsaved files.
Check the Trash
When files are deleted (not permanently) they can be found in the Trash. Go to Trash, locate the files and restore the required file from the trash.
If the saved files are emptied from the trash resulting in permanent deletion then restore the deleted files from the Time Machine backup. macOS users are fortunate to have Time Machine tool built-in with every Mac device. However, in case the backup is absent then leverage a data recovery tool for Mac to retrieve deleted files.
How to Recover Lost, Deleted or Unsaved Word Document on Mac Can I recover my Word document on Mac? Yes, you can. This article shows you the top 3 ways to help you easily and effectively recover lost, deleted or unsaved Word files on Mac. #1 Recover Unsaved Word Docs on a Mac with AutoRecovery. Microsoft Word for Mac has an AutoRecovery feature that can help you recover unsaved Word documents. This option is turned on by default when you install the application and automatically saves a copy of open documents every 10 minutes.
Due to sudden Mac shutdown, the unsaved files are lost, in such cases, chances are bleak that you’ll find the lost files in Trash, however, as the first line of action the least you can do is Check the Trash.
Methods to Restore Unsaved Office Documents on Mac
Restore unsaved PowerPoint file on Mac from the Temporary folder
You can restore unsaved files from the Temporary folder (“Temp” folder) as well. For instance, while working on a PowerPoint presentation your Mac crashes before saving it, then you can recover the unsaved PowerPoint file with the help of PowerPoint temp files.
Follow these steps to locate PowerPoint temp files:
- Go to Applications, click Utilities > Terminal
- In the Terminal windows, type “open $TMPDIR” and hit “Enter“
- The command opens Temporary files folder. Select the folder named ‘‘Temporaryitems”
- Under ”Temporaryitems” find the required Excel file and restore. Open the PowerPoint file with ‘TextEdit’ because a .tmp does not work with PowerPoint.
For example, the unsaved PowerPoint file will be named ‘PowerPointfile B$123.tmp‘
Restore Unsaved Word file on Mac from AutoRecover folder
AutoRecovery, a built-in feature for Word in Mac is on by default. This implies that your Mac saves (Incremental saving) the files without telling you to manually do so; however, the only consideration is that you ought to initially save the Word document. AutoRecovery saves files when Mac shuts down unexpectedly, for example, power failure.
*If you haven’t saved your Word document once, you’ll lose the unsaved files, whether AutoRecover was enabled or not.
To access AutoRecovery file, which is a hidden file, you need to locate hidden files and folders in order to restore unsaved Word file. With this done, open Finder and type AutoRecover in the Spotlight search box. Once you’ve found the file, open and save it again.
Also, you can find files under:
Users/<username>/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery
You can recover unsaved Office files for Mac with the Terminal command but have to apply your technical sophistication to prevent ambiguity. Furthermore, to recover saved files lost due to accidental deletion, unintentional formatting, and corrupt storage devices, Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac is the most effective method. This is because the software facilitates straightforward recovery process which not only retrieves lost files with ease but saves your times as well.
Method to Restore Deleted Saved Word & PowerPoint on Mac
Restore Deleted Files on Mac with Stellar Data Recovery Professional
With the help of Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac, you can recover deleted Excel, Word or PowerPoint in just four easy steps. You can easily get the trial version of the application for your Mac below:
- Install & Run the software on your Mac
- Make your selection i.e. select the data files and location from where you wish to recover deleted files
- Scan the specified location
- Preview and save the recoverable files
Again, the files must have been saved initially on the hard drive in order to recover them through the software. In addition to it, if you accidentally delete your data, format the hard drive, or lost files while downgrading/upgrading macOS, simply run the software to retrieve all missing files.
Read – Top 10 Mac Data Recovery Software
Best Practices – AutoSave
You should leverage AutoSave feature in Word, Excel, & PowerPoint to save files automatically; further, you can set its frequency. For instance, you can set AutoSave to save your files every 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or 15 minutes.
Set the frequency of AutoSave in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint:
- Open Word, Excel, or PowerPoint menu and click Preference
- Click Save; select Save AutoRecover info and enter how frequently you want to save the files
Conclusion
It is a good practice to save all your files and make backups periodically to prevent any untoward situation. This blog has put together some useful tips on how you can quickly recover Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files on Mac.
Furthermore, Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac software makes the process quite easier as you have to simply make selections and this Do-It-Yourself utility takes care of everything. In the end, you should turn to your backups to obviate such menacing situations.
-->Note
Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.
If you're looking for recent Word document recovery info, see:
- Recover your Office files (For versions through Office 2019)
For more on earlier versions of Word, see:
Resolution
To fix this problem, use the following methods in the order in which they're presented, as appropriate for your situation.
Method 1: Search for the original document
To do this, follow these steps, as appropriate for the version of Windows that you're running.
Windows 10 and Windows 7
- Select Start, type the document name in the Start Search box (.doc or .docx), and then press Enter. If the File list contains the document, double-click the document to open it in Word.
- If the File list does not contain the file, go to Method 2.
Method 2: Search for Word backup files
Word backup file names end with the .wbk extension. If the Always create backup copy option is selected, there may be a backup copy of the file.
Note
To locate this option:
- Word for Office 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013:Select File, then Options, and then Advanced. Scroll down to the Save section and select Always create backup copy.
- Word 2010:Select File, then Options. In the Save tab, select Always create backup copy.
To find the backup copy of the file, follow these steps:
- Locate the folder in which you last saved the missing file.
- Search for files that have the .wbk file name extension.
If there's no .wbk file in the original folder, search the computer for any .wbk files. To do this, follow these steps:
Windows 10 and Windows 7
- Select Start, type *.wbk in the Start Search box, and then press Enter.
- If the File list contains the backup file, repeat the steps in step 2 ('Search for files that have the .wbk file name extension') to open the file. If the File list does not contain the backup file, go to Method 3.
If you find any files that have the name 'Backup of' followed by the name of the missing file, use one of the following procedures, as appropriate for the version of Word that you're running.
Word for Office 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013
- On the File menu, select Open, and then Browse. (In some versions, select Computer and then Browse.)
- In the Files of type list (All Word Documents), select All Files.
- Select the backup file that you found, and then select Open.
Word 2010
- On the File menu, select Open.
- In the Files of type list (All Word documents), select All Files.
- Select the backup file that you found, and then select Open.
Method 3: Search for AutoRecover files
AutoRecover file names end with the .asd extension. By default, Word searches for AutoRecover files every time that it starts, and then it displays all that it finds in the Document Recovery task pane.
Use Word to automatically find the AutoRecover files. To do this, follow these steps:
Right-click the taskbar, and then select Task Manager.
On the Processes tab, select any instance of Winword.exe or Microsoft Word, and then select End Task or End Process. Repeat this step until you have exited all instances of Winword.exe and Word.
Close the Windows Task Manager dialog box, and then start Word.
If Word finds the AutoRecover file, the Document Recovery task pane opens on the left side of the screen, and the missing document is listed as 'document name [Original]' or as 'document name [Recovered].' If this occurs, double-click the file in the Document Recovery pane, select Save As on the File menu, and then save the document as a .docx file. Manually change the extension to .docx, if necessary, by right-clicking the file and selecting Rename.
If the Recovery pane does not open, manually search for AutoRecover files. To do this, use one of the following procedures, as appropriate for the version of Word that you're running.
Word for Office 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013
- On the File menu, select Open, and then Browse.
- If you don't see your document listed, select Recover Unsaved Documents.
Word 2010
- On the File menu, select Recent.
- If you don't see your document listed, select Recover Unsaved Documents.
If you can't locate an AutoRecover file in the location that is identified in the Folder name list, search your whole drive for any .asd files. To do this, follow these steps:
Windows 10 and Windows 7
- Select Start, type .asd in the Start Search box, and then press Enter.
- If the File list does not contain AutoRecover files, go to Method 4.
If you find any files that have the .asd extension, use one of the following procedures, as appropriate for the version of Word that you're running:
Word 2019, Word 2016, or Word 2013
- On the File menu, select Open, and then Browse. (In some versions, select **Computer **and then Browse.)
- In the Files of type list (All Word Documents), select All Files.
- Select the .asd file that you found, and then select Open.
Word 2010
- On the File menu, select Open.
- In the Files of type list (All Word Documents), select All Files.
- Select the .asd file that you found, and then select Open.
Microsoft Word Mac Recover Unsaved Files
Note
If you find an AutoRecover file in the Recovery pane that does not open correctly, go to 'Method 6: How to troubleshoot damaged documents' for more information about how to open damaged files.
Method 4: Search for temporary files
Temporary file names end with the .tmp extension. To find these files, use one of the following procedure.
Windows 10 and Windows 7
- Select Start, type .tmp in the Start Search box, and then press Enter.
- On the Show only toolbar, select Other.
- Scroll through the files and search for files that match the last few dates and times that you edited the document. If you find the document that you're looking for, go to 'Method 6: How to troubleshoot damaged documents' for more information about how to recover information from the file.
Method 5: Search for '~' files
Some temporary file names start with the tilde (~) character. To find these files, follow these steps:
Windows 10 and Windows 7
Select Start, type ~ in the Start Search box.
Select See more results.
Scroll through the files, and look for any that may match the last few dates and times that you edited the document. If you find the document that you're looking for, go to 'Method 6: How to troubleshoot damaged documents' for more information about how to recover information from the file.
For information about how Word creates and uses temporary files, see Description of how Word creates temporary files.
Method 6: How to troubleshoot damaged documents
For information about how to troubleshoot damaged Word documents, see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
More information
You can lose a Word document in certain situations. For example, the document may be lost if an error occurs that forces Word to close, if you experience a power interruption while editing, or if you close the document without saving your changes.
Note
The whole document may be lost if you have not recently saved the document. If you have saved your document, you may lose only the changes that you made since the last save. Be aware that some lost documents may not be recoverable.
The AutoRecover feature in Word performs an emergency backup of open documents when an error occurs. Some errors can interfere with the AutoRecover functionality. The AutoRecover feature is not a substitute for saving your files.
We do not provide any utilities to recover deleted documents. However, some third-party utilities to recover deleted documents might be available on the Internet.
Microsoft Word Mac Recover Unsaved File In Office 2007
For more information about AutoRecover, see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.