{"id":24673,"date":"2020-01-09T00:53:29","date_gmt":"2020-01-09T00:53:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/?p=24673"},"modified":"2024-02-06T05:05:38","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T05:05:38","slug":"recover-word-document-macos-html","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/recover-word-document-mac.html","title":{"rendered":"How to Recover Deleted, Lost or Unsaved Word Document on Mac"},"content":{"rendered":"

Microsoft Word documents (DOC and DOCX) created using the native Word app or the Word for the web app that\u2019s available to Microsoft 365 users are the go-to choice for work, school, and personal document creation on Mac.<\/p>\r\n

But despite their popularity, Microsoft Word document formats are not immune to accidental deletion, loss, or failure to save. Understanding that such setbacks can cause significant stress and inconvenience, we set out to create a comprehensive guide to help you recover your missing Word documents by addressing as many scenarios as possible.<\/p>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The reason a Word document was lost<\/th>\r\nSolution<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
I have accidentally deleted an important Word file that is no longer in the Trash.<\/td>\r\nRecover Word document on Mac using Time Machine<\/a> or try a data recovery software<\/a> ✅<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
The document was recently deleted by the user.<\/td>\r\nSearch your Mac Trash<\/a> for the lost file.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
I had to force quit Word and need to recover files.<\/td>\r\nUse the AutoRecovery feature.<\/a><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Word froze and I did not save the document.<\/td>\r\nSearch in the Mac Temp folder<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0try AutoRecovery<\/a>.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Word crashed while I was working on a document.<\/td>\r\nUse AutoRecovery<\/a> or check your Mac Temp folder<\/a>.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
I need to recover an unsaved Word document, but AutoRecovery was not enabled.<\/td>\r\nTry searching the Mac temp folder<\/a> or\u00a0recovering from within the Word app<\/a>.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
I want to restore an earlier version of a Word document on my Mac.<\/td>\r\nYou can recover an earlier version of a file with a\u00a0Time Machine<\/a> copy or from a backup<\/a>.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
My Word document got corrupted, and I can\u2019t open it.<\/td>\r\nAttempt repairing it<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0restoring previous versions<\/a>.\u00a0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

<\/div>\r\n

<\/span>How to Recover Unsaved Word Document on Mac<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\r\n

Have you closed a Word document before saving it? Or perhaps Word crashes on your unexpectedly, causing you to instantly lose all your progress? Such unfortunate situations do happen, but this section offers multiple methods that can help you recover unsaved Word documents on your Mac.<\/p>\r\n

<\/span>Method 1:<\/span> Recover Unsaved Word Docs on Mac with AutoRecovery<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\r\n

Microsoft Word for Mac has an AutoRecovery feature that can help you recover unsaved Word documents. This option is turned on by default when you install the application and automatically saves a copy of open documents every 10 minutes.<\/p>\r\n

You can modify this setting to have the app save at a shorter or longer time interval if you like. If the application or your computer happens to crash while you are working on a Word document, you can recover\u00a0it to the state it was in when the last automatic save was performed.<\/p>\r\n

Steps to recover an unsaved Word document on Mac:<\/b><\/p>\r\n

Step 1.<\/b>\u00a0Open a Finder window on your Mac.<\/p>\r\n

Step 2.<\/b>\u00a0Select the entire computer as the location.<\/p>\r\n

That will be searched and enter \u2018AutoRecovery<\/b>\u2019 in the Search field. You will be presented with a list of files. It begins with \u2018AutoRecovery save of<\/b>\u2019\u00a0followed by the name of the Word document you are trying to recover.<\/p>\r\n

\"recover<\/p>\r\n

Step 3.<\/b>\u00a0Double-click on the file to be recovered. This will open the file in Microsoft Word.<\/p>\r\n

Step 4.<\/b>\u00a0Select the File menu<\/b> and choose Save As<\/b>. Pick a new name for the document and a folder in which it will be stored and click the Save button.<\/p>\r\n

\"save<\/p>\r\n

💡 This procedure should allow you to restore Word documents on a Mac as long as you have not turned off the AutoRecovery option<\/b>. This method will only work for files that are in the process of being worked on when they disappeared. Other methods must be used to recover Word document on Mac OS X systems if they have been deleted from your computer after they have been completed.<\/div>\r\n

<\/span>Method 2:<\/span> Recover Lost Word docs from the Mac Temporary Folder<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\r\n

Your Mac\u2019s temporary folder may have the lost Word file you need. Try the following procedure to check the contents of the temporary folder:<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n\t
  1. Open Terminal<\/b>.<\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Type: cd $TMPDIR<\/kbd>.<\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Type: ls<\/kbd> to display the files. Look in the TemporaryItems<\/b> subfolder for your document.<\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Search for the lost file. If you find the Word doc you are looking for, protect it by saving a copy to a new storage location.\"search<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    <\/span>Method 3:<\/span> Restore a Previous Version of a Word File from Within the Word App<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\r\n

    Steps to perform the recovery:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\r\n

      \r\n\t
    1. Open the most recent version of the Word file you want to recover.<\/li>\r\n\t
    2. In Word go to File<\/b> > Browse Version History<\/b>.\"locate<\/li>\r\n\t
    3. You will see a panel displayed that shows all previously saved versions of the file.<\/li>\r\n\t
    4. Select the previous version you wish to recover and choose Restore<\/b> to complete the process.\"restore<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

      <\/span>How to Recover Deleted Word Documents on Mac<\/span><\/h2>\r\n

      It would be impossible to find a seasoned Mac user who hasn\u2019t accidentally deleted the wrong file at least once, so don\u2019t feel too bad if it happened to you too. Instead of crying over spilled milk, follow our step-by-step guide on how to recover deleted Word documents on your Mac to retrieve your valuable document quickly and efficiently.<\/p>\r\n

      <\/span>Method 1:<\/span> Recover Deleted Word Documents from a Trash Bin<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\r\n

      Files that have been deleted from the folder will no longer be visible in that location. They are, however, not totally removed from your Mac until you empty the Trash.<\/p>\r\n

        \r\n\t
      1. Open the Trash folder<\/b> by clicking its icon in the lower-right corner of your Mac\u2019s screen.\"open<\/li>\r\n\t
      2. Right-click on the file name and select \u201cPut Back<\/b>\u201d. This will return the file to its original location.\"recover<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

        <\/span>Method 2:<\/span> Recover Deleted Word Documents Using Disk Drill<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\r\n

        Word document recovery software<\/a> like Disk Drill can prove to be instrumental in recovering those important Word files that have mysteriously vanished from your computer. It employs deep scanning technology to find deleted files and file fragments that are still physically on your computer\u2019s storage but are no longer visible to the operating system.<\/p>\r\n

        🛑 Stop using your machine as soon as you find that files are missing<\/b> to prevent the system from overwriting the. Word files before you can recover them.<\/div>\r\n

        Follow these steps to recover a Word document on Mac:<\/b><\/p>\r\n

          \r\n\t
        1. Download and install the free version of Disk Drill<\/a>.\"Software\r\n
          💡 If your Word files are stored on the system drive, then we suggest you install Disk Drill on a USB stick to minimize the chances that the installation will overwrite your files.<\/i><\/div>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t
        2. Launch the application and select the disk on which your lost documents were last seen.<\/li>\r\n\t
        3. Click the \u2018Search for lost data<\/b>\u2019 button to start a scan of your storage device.\"search<\/li>\r\n\t
        4. Use filters to display specific types of files to speed up the search. If a preview of a selected file can be displayed, then the file can be recovered, but you need to upgrade to the Pro version <\/b><\/a>of Disk Drill to perform the recovery.\"restore<\/li>\r\n\t
        5. Click \u2018Recover<\/b>\u2019 and choose where you want to restore your lost Word files.\"Word<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
          💡 Do not use the original location as this may overwrite the files as they are being recovered.<\/i><\/div>\r\n
          <\/div>\r\n

          <\/span>Method 3:<\/span> Recover Lost Word Document Using Time Machine<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\r\n

          If you\u2019re using Time Machine to back up your Mac, you may be able the recover your lost Word doc from the backup media.<\/p>\r\n

          Steps to recover a lost Word file from a Time Machine backup.<\/p>\r\n

            \r\n\t
          1. Connect the storage device that contains the backup files created by Time Machine to your computer.<\/li>\r\n\t
          2. Open a Finder window in the folder that previously stored the lost Word file.<\/li>\r\n\t
          3. Launch Time Machine by clicking the Time Machine icon on the menu bar.\"Browse<\/li>\r\n\t
          4. Search through the snapshots and backups with the timeline and arrows to find the Word doc you want to restore.<\/li>\r\n\t
          5. Highlight the file you want to recover and click the Restore<\/b> button. The doc will be restored to its original location.\"Recover<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
            💡 If you are not already using Time Machine to backup your data, we strongly recommend you start as soon as possible.<\/div>\r\n

            <\/span>Method 4:<\/span> Try Different Backup Solutions to Recover a Lost Word Document on Mac<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\r\n

            There are many backup solutions that can be used to retrieve copies of lost Word documents on your Mac:<\/p>\r\n