How to Recover a Microsoft Word Document (If You Forgot to Save It)

It’s happened to the best of us: You accidentally shut off your computer before saving the Microsoft Word document you’ve been working on. Or your computer crashes, or the power goes out, or you let the battery run out on your laptop.

What happens if you forgot to save a Microsoft Word document? Is it lost forever? In this article, you’ll learn how to recover an unsaved Word document.

Understanding AutoSave and AutoRecover in Microsoft Word

It used to be common to lose a file when you forget to save in Microsoft Word. Fortunately, there are fail-safe features to minimize, if not totally eliminate, this. First off, you must learn how to recover an unsaved Word document.

AutoSave and AutoRecover are Microsoft Word features that prevent the loss of files even if you’re not saving every two seconds. If your computer crashes or shuts down unexpectedly while a file is open, you can recover the file you’ve been working on and not lose any of your hard work. 

As the name implies, AutoSave automatically saves a copy of your document every few seconds while you work on it. This happens in the background, and you don’t notice it at all.

But AutoSave is only available for Microsoft 365 subscribers who have the latest version of Word. And you’ve got to enable it by toggling the AutoSave switch on the upper-left corner of the screen. 

AutoRecover, for its part, is available even if you’re not a Microsoft 365 subscriber. It also saves files every 10 minutes (by default) in the background as you work.

The next time you launch Microsoft Word, it reopens files that were open before a crash or power failure. The files display in the Document Recovery pane. This means you don’t have to search for them on your computer. You can then save the AutoRecovered files. But if you choose to not save an AutoRecovered file, it’ll be deleted permanently.

By default, AutoSave is enabled when a Microsoft Word file is saved in OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint Online. AutoRecover is automatically enabled on all files, regardless of where it’s saved. If you want to confirm this or adjust the various settings, follow these steps:

Go to Word in the menu bar, then select Preferences.

In the Output and Sharing section, click on Save.

The Save options dialogue opens.

Make sure the following options are checked:

• Turn on AutoSave by default
• Allow background saves
• Save AutoRecover info

Use the drop-down menu to set how often you want Word to save the document.

If for any reason, the Document Recovery pane doesn’t appear the next time you open Word after unexpectedly shutting it down, you can still find AutoRecovered files. 

The easiest way to find AutoRecovered files is by going to Finder (if you’re on a Mac). Then, in the search bar, type autorecovery.

A list of AutoRecovered files appears:

Double-click on one to launch it, then save the file in a different location.

Retrieving a Document From the Temporary Files Folder

If you’re on a Mac, you may also find a copy of an unsaved Microsoft Word document through the Temporary folder. This is where your Mac temporarily keeps files. 

In Finder, go to Applications > Utilities > Terminal. Or launch spotlight then type terminal. Double-click on Terminal to launch it.

In Terminal, type open $TMPDIR.

This launches the TMP folder. Find the folder named “TemporaryItems” and double-click on it.

If you find the unsaved Word file you need, right-click on it, then select Open With… > Microsoft Word.

Once opened, save it to another location by going to File > Save as…

Now you’ve learned how to recover unsaved Word documents through several ways. When it comes to document recovery, Word offers several features that make it easy.

Recovering Previous Versions of a File Using File History

Perhaps you want to learn how to recover Microsoft Word versions. Sometimes you want to recover a previous version of a file because you or a collaborator made unwanted changes to it. In this case, you can use the File History feature in Microsoft Word. This feature keeps copies of the file every time it is saved.

To use File History, go to File > Browse Version History

The Version History pane opens. It lists the current version of the file on top and previous versions underneath. This pane shows the date and time the version was saved.

To recover a previous version, click Open Version.

That previous version opens on a separate window.

From here, you’ve got three options:

1. Save the previous version as a separate file. This enables you to have two separate files for the current and earlier version.
2. Restore to the earlier version. This overwrites changes made since this version of the file. If you’re not sure, save the open version as a separate file instead.
3. Compare the previous version with the current version. This shows you the differences between the two versions.

If you save your Microsoft Word files in the cloud, you may also be able to recover older versions of the document that way. For example, cloud services like OneDrive, Dropbox, and SharePoint Online have versioning. 

To recover a previous version on Dropbox, in Finder, right-click on the file name, then select Version History.

This launches Dropbox with a list of the versions of that Microsoft Word document. From here, click on Restore to restore an earlier version.

Learn more tips and tricks to get the most out of Microsoft Word with these tutorials:

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  What Is Microsoft Word (Definition)? What Is MS Word Used For? (+Top Features)

  

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How to Recover Deleted Word Documents

You may also be wondering how to recover deleted Word documents. You may have deleted a file but then need to recover it. Maybe you had saved the file before, thought you didn’t need it anymore and so you deleted it from your computer. But then you realize you made a mistake, and you need that file after all.

What to do?

You still have several options. If you’re on a Mac, deleted files are saved in the Trash. You can find and recover deleted files there. Click on the Trash icon. This is usually located on the extreme right of your Dock.

In the Trash folder, find the file you want to recover. Right-click on the file then select Put Back. 

The file is recovered in the original folder it was saved.

If you’re on Windows, you’ll want to look in the Recycle Bin for deleted files. Select the file you wish to restore, then click Restore.

Using Data Recovery Software

As a last resort, you may want to consider using data recovery software. This is an application that’ll scan your computer’s hard drive for “deleted” files. It’ll recover them before your computer permanently overwrites them.

Some data recovery software can scan external hard drives, USB flash drives, SD cards, and other data storage media as well.400

Some of the most popular data recovery software include:

1. Disk Drill has both free and paid versions. A single license includes both Disk Drill for Mac and Disk Drill for Windows.
2. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard claims to have a 99.7% success rate with recovering data from a computer and external data storage devices. While it doesn’t have a free version, EaseUS does offer a free trial.
3. Stellar Data Recovery can recover any lost data, whether it was deleted intentionally or by accident. Available for Mac or Windows, it recovers data from different storage devices.

With any of the data recovery applications above, you can worry less about losing files through a computer crash, virus attack, or unintentionally deleting a file.

But the best way to have peace of mind about your data and files is to avoid losing them in the first place.

Best Practices in Saving Files

Follow these best practices when working with Microsoft Word files to reduce the chances of accidentally losing or deleting them:

1. Store Your Files in the Cloud

Cloud storage not only gives you features like automatically saving your files and version control. It also keeps your files safe and accessible even if your computer is lost or destroyed. Another benefit is that your files are available on different computing devices. Collaborating with others on a Word document is also easier when it’s in the cloud.

2. Save Often

If you must save your Microsoft Word file locally, remember to save frequently. Even if you’ve enabled AutoRecover in Microsoft Word, it’s still a good idea to manually save your file every couple of minutes. Definitely save your work after you’ve made a major change in the document.

3. Enable AutoSave

If you’ve got a Microsoft 365 subscription, turn on AutoSave to make sure your file is saved every few seconds. This also gives you version control on your Microsoft Word documents.

4. Use a Naming Convention for Your Files

A naming convention is a standard way of naming your files. It makes it easier for you to find the files you need based on their file names alone. Decide on a naming convention and use it consistently. Make sure your team members and anyone else you collaborate with are aware of your naming convention and stick to it. 

Here are a few tips to remember about naming files:

• Make it descriptive and meaningful. Make sure the file name accurately reflects the content of the file.
• Keep it short. Keep file names concise so they’re easier to read, remember, and type.
• Avoid special characters, spaces, and symbols. Use either an underscore or hyphen to separate words.
• Stay away from acronyms and abbreviations—unless they’re widely known and used by others who will be using the document.
• Include a date only if it’s meaningful. Sometimes the date is an important part of the file, or the file is part of a series (such as monthly reports). Or, if you’re saving different versions of the same document, then include the version name or date in the file name.

5. Back Up Your Files

Whether you use a cloud backup service or back up to a physical drive—or both—backing up your files means you always have a copy of them. This protects your data in case of a computer crash, theft, unintentional or intentional deletion, and disasters.

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Find Word Templates

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These include:

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You get unlimited downloads of all this with one flat monthly subscription.

Having all these design assets at your fingertips will streamline your Microsoft Word workflow. You’ll also be able to produce professional-looking documents, even if you’re not a graphic designer.

All Isn’t Lost (Most of the Time)

There are many ways to lose a Microsoft Word document. Your computer might crash before you’ve saved the document you’re working on. You may absentmindedly switch off your computer before saving. Or you might even intentionally delete a file to free up space on your computer—only to realize later that you need that file, after all.

Fortunately, there are also several ways to recover a Microsoft Word document, whether you’ve saved it or not. You’ve learned how to recover an unsaved Word document using the AutoSave, AutoRecover, and Version Control features. Or the operating system of your computer itself may provide similar features. And you also now know how to recover deleted Word documents with Trash (Mac), Recycle Bin (Windows), or data recovery software.

Of course, it’s better to avoid losing data and files to begin with. In this article, you learned several best practices for saving files that’ll make the need to recover files a thing of the past. You can have peace of mind knowing that your files are safe.

Finally, take advantage of an Envato Elements subscription to take your Microsoft Word documents to the next level. With all the Word templates and creative assets you need, you can focus on your Word document creation process.