

To see if the deleted Word file is still there, look through the list of documents. On the Desktop, double-click the Recycle Bin. You might be able to recover a Word document that you erased without clearing the Recycle Bin. If you are unable to locate a backup copy of the document, try the next strategy. Double-click the file name to open it if you come across any files with the name “Backup of” and the name of the lost file. Select Start, type.wbk in the Search box, and then click Enter to locate the file’s backup copy. Note: Your username should be substituted for UserName> in these locations. Microsoft\Word\sC:\Users \AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles Check these two folder locations if you subscribe to Microsoft 365 for a backup file: Select File > Options > Advanced, scroll down to the Save section, and then choose Always create a backup copy to see if this option is enabled. Word backup file names end with “.wbk.” There might be a backup copy of the file if Word’s “backup copy” option is set. If the file is not found in the search results, proceed to the next method.

If the document is in the Documents list (or Files list in Windows 8.1), double-click it to open it in Word. Choose Start, type the name of the document (with Windows 8.1, type it in the Search box), and then hit Enter. In Windows, consider looking for the file: Part 1: How to Recover Unsaved Word Document with Microsoft Solutions 1. Part 3: FAQs about Recover Unsaved Word File.Part 2: How to Recover Lost Word File with Recovery Tool.Part 1: How to Recover Unsaved Word Document with Microsoft Solutions.The user interface may be a bit different between versions. Note: There are some differences between different versions of the Microsoft Office programs. You might just have to hunt around a bit for the actual commands. Also, the recovery feature has been around for a long time, so if you’re using an older version of an Office app, like Word 2016 or even Word 2007, you’ll still be able to attempt recovery. RELATED: Why Deleted Files Can Be Recovered, and How You Can Prevent It How to Recover an Unsaved Office Fileįor these instructions, we’re working in with the version of Microsoft Word included in Microsoft 365, but the steps are almost identical in other Microsoft 365 applications like Excel and PowerPoint. That said, if you do run into a problem with an unsaved Office file, here’s how to recover it. Back up your computer regularly and consider turning on the file version feature in Windows. Also, you’d be well served to put some additional preventative measures in place before you actually run into this problem. We’re not talking here about when you’ve actually deleted a file in Windows, though there are ways you might recover from that kind of mishap as well.
