Recover Unsaved, Deleted, or Lost Word Document on Mac 2022Summary: This post illustrates how to recover a word document on Mac that was not saved, (permanently) deleted, lost, or replaced with the AutoRecover feature, Temporary files, Recovered items, iBoysoft Data Recovery, etc. It also tells you how to recover the previous version of a Word document on Mac. Show
Although Macs have a built-in word processor for creating documents called Pages, users may find the Word processor of Microsoft Office for Mac more useful, especially in terms of collaboration. One of the best features of Microsoft Word is AutoRecover, which significantly reduces the risk of losing important Word files. If you were unable to save changes made to an important document due to a power failure or the Word application itself crashing, you must be eager to learn how to get an unsaved Word document back on Mac. Besides unsaved Word documents, you may also need to deal with files that have been accidentally deleted or lost in Word. This post covers various ways to help you recover files that are unsaved, deleted, lost, or replaced when using Microsoft's Word for Mac. How to get a Word document back on Mac:
Quick solutions to recover Microsoft Word documents on Mac
Here is a video tutorial to teach you how to perform unsaved Word document recovery on Mac.
Recover unsaved Word documents on Mac with AutoRecoveryThe AutoRecovery feature has been found in the Office suite for years, automatically saving open Word documents every 10 minutes by default. That said, you can't recover lost files within the last 9 minutes before closing the app when the default settings are in place. It's worth noting that AutoRecovery doesn't replace the Save button but works best for unplanned disruptions. For example, Mac crashed lost word document. Usually, all you need to do to recover an unsaved Word document on your Mac is to reopen Microsoft Office Word. Then, a Document Recovery window will pop up to help you grab the unsaved Word file you were working on before the Microsoft Word crash. If that fails, you can manually find the auto-recovered Microsoft Word documents on Mac. Now let's get through the details of how to recover a Word document that was not saved on Mac with AutoRecovery. If you are unsure whether AutoRecover is enabled, go to the Word > Preferences, and click Save under the Output and Sharing tab. Then check if the Turn on AutoSave by default checkbox is ticked. Where do I find AutoRecover files in Word for Mac?Method 1: Find AutoRecover files through Finder search.
Method 2: Locate AutoRecover files via the folder path.
Bear in mind that some missing files may be hidden. You can open Finder then press Command + Shift + Period to show the hidden files on Mac and then recover them. Recover unsaved Word document Mac 2021/2020/2019/2016/2011/2008:
To eliminate the possibility of getting your key ideas lost in the future, you can change the saving frequency to a shorter interval using the steps below. Steps to change how frequently AutoRecovery files are saved in Word: For newer versions:
For Office 2011:
If you disabled AutoRecover or the lost file is a result of clicking the Don't Save button when you closed the app, recovering unsaved Word documents from the AutoRecovery folder may not work. But you can take a chance with the method below, where we discuss how to recover unsaved Word document on Mac without AutoRecovery. Recover a lost Word document on Mac from the Mac's Temporary FoldermacOS stores temporary files to better serve people using applications like Word. It typically deletes the temporary files when the program terminates. However, it may not be able to when an app quits suddenly. So there is a possibility that the lost Word doc may still be found. How to recover unsaved Word document on Mac with Mac Terminal:
Have you succeeded in the unsaved Word document recovery on Mac? If you haven't been able to recover an unsaved Word document yet, don't give up and move on to the next solution outlined below. Recover a word document that was not saved on Mac from Recovered itemsSometimes, Mac will move the temporary files to the Trash bin when it restarts. Therefore, you can recover an unsaved Word document from the Recovered items folder in the Trash. How to get a Word document back on Mac from Recovered items:
Hopefully, you have recovered the unsaved word document on Mac using these simple tips. If it's still not working, you can recover word documents with Time Machine or try to restore the previous version of the lost files as we will explore next. If you deleted the Word doc on Mac, here are three ways to recover deleted files on Mac. Option 1: Recover deleted Word documents from TrashIf the Word document is moved to Trash, you can easily get it back within 30 days. How to recover a deleted Word document from Trash:
If the document was emptied from Trash or permanently deleted using the Delete Immediately command or the keyboard shortcut Option + Command + Delete, you can recover the file from a backup that likely already exists. Option 2: Recover lost Word files on Mac with Time MachineHere is how to recover deleted Word documents or lost Word files on Mac via Time Machine backup files:
For occasions where you don't have a Time Machine backup or any other backup available, you can rely on iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac to restore deleted Word documents. Option 3: Recover deleted Word documents with iBoysoft Data Recovery for MaciBoysoft Mac Data Recovery software can recover lost Word documents or accidentally deleted files that users cannot otherwise retrieve from all Office versions, including Office 2019/2018/2011 and Office 365 in 2021/2020. It searches every bit of your Mac, including the hidden temporary folder. This Word Document Recovery software employs an advanced scanning algorithm to recover permanently deleted files that are still on your hard drive but invisible to human eyes. To improve the chances of getting the deleted Word file back, you are recommended to stop saving any files to your Mac as soon as possible. Then, start the recovery with these steps right away. How to recover a deleted Word document with iBoysoft Data Recovery software: 1. Download and install iBoysoft Mac Data Recovery software. It's advisable to install the app to an external storage device like a USB flash drive to avoid overwriting the disk where the deleted Word documents are stored. 2. Launch iBoysoft Data Recovery and select your Mac hard drive or the partition where your file was stored. 3. Click Scan. 4. Once the Scan is complete, use the filters or the search bar in the top-right corner to find the lost or deleted Word documents. 5. Press Spacebar to preview the file. 6. Select the file and click Recover to recover the lost Word document. 7. Finally, choose a new location to store your recovered Word document. Recover a previous version of a Word Document on MacIf you have OneDrive turned on, you can return to an older version quickly. Depending on the Word version you use, there are two ways to recover a previous version of a Word doc. Option 1: Restore old versions of Word documents on Mac with Restore
Option 2: Restore a previous version of a Word document with Browse Version History
Recover text from a damaged file in WordOccasionally, a Word document may be corrupted and refuse to open on Mac. Fortunately, you can retrieve lost Word docs due to corruption within Word. Steps to recover damaged files on Mac: On newer Word versions: On Office 2011:
How to recover a replaced Word document on Mac?When you replace a Word file with another one using the same name, the reference to the original word document is replaced with a reference to the new one. Nevertheless, the data on the original file remains on the hard drive until it is overwritten, leaving the opportunity for data recovery. You can recover a replaced or overwritten file on Mac by opening the current version and visiting the Version History to see whether the earlier version you need still exists. If that didn't do the trick and you recall backing up your Mac with Time Machine, you can restore the replaced Word document from Time Machine. Lastly, if you don't have any backup, try to recover with iBoysoft Mac Data Recovery software. Avoid losing Word files againHopefully, you have learned how to recover Microsoft Word document on Mac by following the best practices outlined here. Here are some tips you can follow to prevent losing files in the future:
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FAQ about how to recover a word document on MacA There are two ways to recover unsaved Word document on Mac without AutoRecovery. One is to check the Temporary folder by typing open $TMPDIR in Terminal > opening the Temporaryitems folder > drag files starting with ~Word Word to desktop > open the file in Word > Save the unsaved document to a preferred location. A Yes, you can recover unsaved Word document on Mac. If your Word has AutoRecover turned on, you can locate the unsaved Word document from the AutoRecovery
folder using the method described in this post. Can you get a Word document back if you didn't save it Mac?In Terminal, click open $TMPDIR, and you will be sent to the TMP folder, which keeps unsaved files. In the TMP files, find and open the document named "TemporaryItems." In it, right-click the unsaved Word files that you want to recover and click "Open with..." > Microsoft Word.
Where can I find my unsaved Word document Mac?How to find unsaved Word documents on Mac. Open Finder > Go > Go to Folder.. Enter ~/Library/Containers/com. microsoft. Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery.. Click Go.. Access the AutoRecovery folder.. How do I recover an unsaved Word document without autosave on Mac?Go to Finder >Application and launch Time Machine.. Open the folder where you store the Word file. Or you can go to Finder>All My Files, then find the Word file by choosing an arrangement type.. Find the Word document to recover. ... . Click “Restore” to get the previous Word document back on mac.. Can you recover a Microsoft Word document that wasn't saved?If you don't find the missing file in these locations, open Word, and select File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Documents.
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