How Do I Recover Unsaved Word Document on Mac?

Recover Unsaved Word Document on Mac

Accidentally losing information and files can be a severe source of stress and frustration, especially when working on a project with an impending deadline. In the old days of typewriter and handwritten documents, losing a piece of work would mean hours of retyping or rewriting. However, in today’s digital age, the process of recovering lost work is much simpler and more efficient.

If you’re working on a Word document on a Mac system and are looking to recover a lost, unsaved document, there are several measures and precautions you can take to prevent heartache and preserve time. In this article, we explore the steps and processes you can undertake to recover unsaved Word documents using software from Microsoft Word, as well as other free programs you may wish to consider.

Step to Recover Unsaved Word Document on Mac

1. Locate the AutoRecover file folder
2. Open Finder and go to: /Users/[username]/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery 
3. If you have recently used Word, you should find the AutoSave file here.
4. Check for unsaved Word documents
5. Look in the folder and check for any documents with ".asd" and ".tmp" extensions. 
6. Open the document
7. Double click the file that you want to open.
8. It should open in Microsoft Word.
9. Save the recovered document
10. Once you open the document, save it with an appropriate name.

The first and most accessible line of defense against losing a document is familiarizing yourself with the auto-save features of Microsoft Word. In recent versions, it will back up your document as you go automatically as often as every 10 minutes. Although the document won’t be named until it is saved, these computer-generated drafts can be highly effective when it comes to recovering unsaved content.

To access the repository of auto-saves, open Microsoft Word and click on the conventional ‘File’ menu in the top corner. Select the ‘Recent’ option, and then click the drop-down titled ‘Recover Unsaved Documents’. Here, Word will generate a list of the document in question, with the last saved version displayed at the top of the menu.

By clicking the selection, you will be taken to a new document. As the content of the file is slightly skewed to the auto-save version, it is worthwhile scanning through the final draft for any errors or flaws. If you are still having difficulty locating unsaved documents, one possible solution is to use a program like Mac Data Recovery to explore the depth of your system’s memory storage.

Once you’ve downloaded the program, you will be presented with several options for scanning your Mac, including specific files and folders as well as the entire system. After choosing the correct directory, the system will return some results, which can include deleted documents. Be sure to scan through the list to ensure the correct document is chosen for recovery.

An up-and-coming solution for this kind of problem is cloud-based storage. Before a document is finalized, we suggest ensuring that have enabled the AutoSave feature for Microsoft Word. Doing this allows your document to be transferred and stored in the cloud, preventing any data loss.

Unfortunately, if you’ve left it too late and the document is still missing, our advice is to try contacting your provider. Nowadays, technology companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon have introduced specialized customer service for these kinds of issues, so you may be able to get your hands on the recovered document.

Finally, and perhaps the most important advice we can offer to protect against any further losses or disasters is to save your work regularly, ideally every few minutes. Before saving, it is also a good idea to double and even triple check that the document has been saved correctly in the right folder. This will all go a long way in forming a robust plan for preventing data loss and recovering lost documents. If you need more assistance then connect with Supportly App.