Microsoft Word is a widely used application for creating text-based documents. I believe that many users will set up automatic saving when using Word to avoid various accidental data loss situations. But if you accidentally close Word without saving or deleting the file, how do you recover? The editor below will tell you how to recover unsaved Word documents on Mac.
Recover Word documents from Trash
Wondering how to recover Word documents on Mac? Check the trash first!
Here’s how to recover Word for Mac documents from your computer’s Trash:
1. Right-click the Trash icon in the Mac dock
2. Select "Open"
3. Open the "Trash" folder in Finder and find the Word document you are looking for
4. Select "Return" to the macOS Finder
- Note: If you're not sure where the file is originally stored, you can also drag and drop it to another folder on your desktop or Finder.
5. Find the Word document in the location where it was originally saved.
From here, you can edit, rename the Word file, or perform any other desired action.
Recover unsaved word document from autorecover
Microsoft has built a feature called AutoRecover into the application that can save Office documents every ten minutes or so. It can help avoid losing files.
You can access AutoRecover Saves, which may get you the version of the file you're looking for. Here’s how to recover lost Word documents Mac AutoRecover:
1. Open Finder on Mac
2. Select "Go" from the menu bar
3. Select "Go to folder..."
4. Copy and paste the following path: /Users//Library/Containers/com.Microsoft/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery
- NOTE: In this string, should be the username of your profile on your Mac.
You will then be directed to the "Containers" folder in the library. Scroll down until you see "com.microsoft.Word" and search for your document. But it could also be in another Microsoft folder within the container folder, so be patient!
Recover lost documents from temporary folder
You have a folder on your Mac that stores temporary items—the Word document you're looking for might be right there! Here's how to recover lost word document Mac Terminal may help you find:
1. Open Terminal on your Mac
2. Enter the following command: open $TMPDIR
3. Find the "Temporary Projects" folder in the list
If the Word document is located in this folder, just right-click or drag it to another folder, such as the desktop.
