Microsoft Word is a popular text-based document creation program, especially among companies. Having documents saved automatically is the safest method to use Word. Most people do not keep their Word files properly.
Unfortunately, this may be made more difficult by failing to save a document while working on it. Closed Word without saving your work might be a mistake. As well as any other file that you fear is missing, I’ll show you how to recover an unsaved Word document on a Mac.
How can I keep my data from being lost?
Most of the time, the problem arises when you close Word without storing Mac file changes. In most circumstances, if you follow a few easy guidelines, you’ll be able to avoid the trouble.
- As soon as possible, save your Word document. It will switch it to Autosave, making it easier to restore data that hasn’t been saved.
- Autosave frequency can be changed to save changes as frequently as possible.
- With Get Backup Pro, you can always back up your most important files.
How To Recover Unsaved Versions Of Word Document?
- How To Recover Deleted Word Document (Recycle Bin)
- How To Recover Unsaved Word Document (Temporary Files)
- Recover from a Backup
- How To Recover Unsaved Word Document (Autorecover)
- How To How To Recover Word Document (Data Recovery Software)
- Recover From OneDrive
- Recover Word Documents after a Windows Crash
- How To Recover A Mac Word Document That Wasn’t Saved?
1. How To Recover Deleted Word Document (Recycle Bin)
The Windows Recycle Bin is the first place to check for any missing or deleted files. The Recycle Bin is a unique folder where the operating system saves removed objects.
It’s simple to recover your file if it’s still there. Follow these simple steps to discover if you can retrieve your deleted Word document from the Recycle Bin.
- Go to the recycle bin in the windows start option or from the desktop.
- Check to see if the word file you removed is still there.
- If you are not aware of the file name, then look for file types like DOC, DOCX, DOT, etc.
- To recover the Word file, select it and click “Restore.”
- The deleted Word data file may have been permanently deleted if you emptied the recycle bin after deleting files.
- You will not retrieve the deleted or lost Word document in this instance.
2. How To Recover Unsaved Word Document (Temporary Files)
How to Enable Autosave option in Word
Many of us had the experience of creating a Word document and then mistakenly closing it without storing it. You should enable AutoRecover to avoid a situation like this.
- Go to “File,” then “Options,” “Save” in Word.
- Select “Save AutoRecover information every * time.” “Keep the last autosaved version if I stop without saving” from the drop-down menus.
- To save the changes, click “OK.”
To recover unsaved Word documents, you must first enable AutoSave. If this feature is enabled, you can access the unsaved files by going to the following location:
- C:\Users\name\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles
You can also do it by following the steps outlined below.
- Click the “File” tab in the upper left corner of MS Word.
- Select “Recover Unsaved Documents” from the drop-down box after clicking “Manage Document.”
- In the dialogue box, look for your lost File. It should show up if it were a recent loss.
- Click the “Save As” option in the top banner to save the recovered Word document.
3. Recover from a Backup
To secure your data, you should back up your computer regularly. You can utilize File History, which comes with Windows. Also, another third-party backup solution for Windows machines.
I will explain how to recover a lost Word document using File History backups in this example. Simply follow these easy steps:
- Type restore files into the taskbar’s search box.
- Choose File History to restore your files.
- Use the arrow keys to go between different versions of the document you want to restore.
- To restore the word file to its original place, select Restore. If you want to save it to a different location, you can pick Restore.
4. How To Recover Unsaved Word Document (Autorecover)
Another option is to use AutoRecover to recover an unsaved Word document. The .asd file extension is used in AutoRecover file names.
Word searches for AutoRecover files by default every time it starts. Any data obtained in the Document Recovery task panel is displayed. Manually search for auto-recovered files if the Document Recovery pane does not open.
To do so, perform one of the processes below, depending on your Word version:
- Click “File” > “Options” in the Word application. Click “Save” in the left navigation panel. Copy and paste the AutoRecover file location path into File Explorer.
- Change the “Save AutoRecover information every x minutes” interval time in “Save AutoRecover information every x minutes” and click OK.
- Locate the unsaved document in File Explorer and copy the .asd file.
- Click “File,” then “Open,” then “Recover Unsaved Documents” at the bottom of your Word app.
- Copy the .asd file and paste it into the File Name box that appears. Recover the Word document by opening it.
- Word notifies you that an error has occurred. Repeat the procedures and click “Open and Repair” in the Unsaved Document box.
5. How To Recover Word Document (Data Recovery Software)
Data recovery apps use the way the Windows operating system handles data deletion. When you delete a word file from your PC, Windows eliminates the logical links.
It makes the file accessible and marks the space it took up as free. Data recovery software can mend logical connections. The document is accessible again if the original data has not been overwritten.
The procedure for recovering a deleted Word doc with Disk Drill is as follows:
- Disk Drill can be downloaded and installed.
- Choose the storage device where the deleted Word document was saved.
- Click the Scan for Lost Data button to begin looking for recoverable files.
- Examine the recoverable files. You can filter the scan results only to show you the Word documents you’re interested in.
- Select the files you require to recover and save them in a secure location.
- To get your lost files back, click the Restore button.
The majority of data recovery programs operate similarly. Other recovery solutions you might wish to look into for recovering deleted Word documents on Windows 10 include:
6. Recover From OneDrive
OneDrive is a Microsoft cloud storage service that allows customers to back up their files. It is included with Windows 10 and will enable you to conserve disk space by storing files in the OneDrive cloud and accessing them from any device. To retrieve a deleted file from OneDrive, follow these instructions.
- Log in using your Microsoft account on the OneDrive website.
- Select the Recycle Bin from the menu.
- Select the word files or folders that you want to restore.
- Select Restore from the drop-down menu.
7. Recover Word Documents after a Windows Crash
It’s not usually user error that causes Word documents to fail to save. Your system broke down unexpectedly, or Microsoft Word crashed. Word documents can be recovered if you seek them before other files take up their disk space.
- Reopen Microsoft Word when your system is back online. In most circumstances, the application recovers unsaved Word documents automatically.
- Click File, then Options, then Save if your document does not display in the AutoRecover list.
- Copy the file path for the AutoRecover file location and paste it into File Explorer.
- Copy the .asd file with the most recent modification date and time from your document’s name folder.
- Return to MS Word, choose File, Open, and Recover Unsaved Documents at the bottom of the recent documents list.
- To restore the copied file, paste it into the pop-up folder and open it.
8. How To Recover A Mac Word Document That Wasn’t Saved?
AutoRecover is enabled by default on Mac. Use the AutoRecover function to recover unsaved Word files on Mac using the two techniques listed below.
In Finder, Recover An Unsaved Word Document
- Open the Finder window after starting your Mac.
- In the search bar, type AutoRecovery. There will be a list of files named “AutoRecovery” in a Word document.
- Locate and open the Word document that needs to be recovered.
- Choose “Save As” from the “File” menu. Click the Save button after renaming the restored files.
Use Terminal To Recover An Unsaved Word Document
- You can retrieve the unsaved Word document from the temporary folder using Terminal.
- Go to “Applications,” then “Utilities,” then “Terminal” on your Mac.
- Find the “TemporaryItems” folder on the list by typing “open $TMPDIR.”
- Locate the file you require. To recover unsaved Word documents, open and save them.
Conclusion
When your computer goes down unexpectedly, it may be due to circumstances beyond your control. It could be due to a power or a technical issue. You may lose all your essential documents if you don’t save them. This guide can discover how to recover unsaved Word documents on Windows.