Lost a crucial file and need to recover it? These tips will help you get your Office documents back in no time.
Few things are more frustrating than losing access to a document you've been working on for hours. If the file has been corrupted, deleted, or lost, it can feel like a huge waste of time and effort.
Fortunately, the files you've created using Microsoft Office may not be as lost as they first appear. You can apply various techniques to bring your work back to the limit. Best Free Data Recovery Tools for Windows Best Free Data Recovery Tools for Windows Data loss can happen at any time. We will highlight the best free data recovery tools for Windows to help you get your valuable files back. Read More
Here are some tips on how to avoid disaster if it seems like you've lost an important Office document.
Office 2016 comes with built-in features to help you recover your documents in case the software unexpectedly closes. This is the simplest method of getting your work back, so try this quick and easy procedure to see if it's successful before trying more complex methods.
As you can see above, I foolishly clicked Don't Save while exiting Microsoft Word and lost a considerable amount of work on my document as a result. Fortunately, the application will temporarily retain a copy of the file in case this happens.
To get it back, start Word again and open a document:a previous version How to restore your life to a more productive version How to restore your life to a more productive version What part of your life is weighing you down? Mental or physical, at some point you will have to examine the mess and find the basis for moving forward. Read More If you don't see the document retrieval panel as shown above, navigate to File> Manage document> Recover unsaved documents .
A window will appear showing the Office Unsaved Files folder. All the documents that the software managed to recover will be present as ASD files – automatic backups used by the Office suite. As you can see, they are not tagged, so you will have to use the date they were last modified or trial and error to determine if your document was rescued or not.
Documents that have been corrupted or deleted sometimes leave behind temporary versions that contain most, if not all, of the content of the original. These temporary files are usually hidden from the user, but it's easy to discover them once you know how.
Type File Explorer Options in the search bar Top 10 Free Search Tools for Windows 10 Top 10 Free Search Tools for Windows 10 Windows Search is only good for basic, casual use. If you search for Windows often, you might be better off with an awesome third-party search tool. Read More Switch to View tab and find the Hidden files and folders radio in the Advanced settings section.
Toggle this switch to Show hidden files, folders, and drives , as highlighted above. Now go to the folder where the damaged or deleted file was saved and look for file names that start with a tilde and end with a .tmp extension.
Once you've found a file that matches your expectations in terms of file size and modification date, rename it and replace the extension. 3 File Extension Tips Every Microsoft Office User Should Know 3 File Extension Tips Every Microsoft Office User Should Know There's a lot to learn about Microsoft Office, but these basic tips are simple and useful, and should be learned by everyone. Without exceptions. Read More Open it and see if it's the file you were looking for, and don't forget to go back and toggle the radio switch to Don't show hidden files, drive folders once you're done.
This may seem obvious, but it's easy to overlook in a panic. Unless you've recently emptied it, your Recycle Bin Make a Better Recycle Bin With These Great Tools and Tricks Make a Better Recycle Bin With These Great Tools and Tricks Most of us are very familiar with the Recycle Bin. We use it regularly, and it seems to be a feature that we can't do much to customize - deleted files go there and we can permanently... Read More This includes documents you've manually deleted, as well as temporary files like those detailed in the previous section of this article, so make sure File Explorer Options are set to Show hidden files, folders and drives when you register.
The Recycle Bin can be a lifesaver for users who work with Microsoft online services like OneDrive and Office 365. If you're using a personal account, deleted files can be recovered by going to the Recycle Bin and using the Restore function. However, if you have a company account, you may need to speak to an administrator to recover your files.
A lot of people use Microsoft Office, and a lot of people end up losing their documents. How to Recover an Unsaved Microsoft Word 2010 Document in Seconds. How to Recover an Unsaved Microsoft Word 2010 Document in Seconds. you were working on Maybe you accidentally closed an unsaved document. Here's how to recover your draft and restore your work. Read more . As such, you're spoiled for choice if you're willing to use a third-party solution to get your work back, but not all of these utilities are created equal. Here are two good packages to choose from.
Easy office recovery
Easy Office Recovery is a complete method to rescue your Office documents Access and recover corrupt Office files with these tips Access and recover corrupt Office files with these tips Is your important document damaged and you don't have a backup? Not everything is lost! You can try to repair the file or find a backup that you didn't know you had. Read More The software will scan your hard drive for missing or damaged files, and then offers a preview window so you can browse and find the document you're looking for, which can dramatically reduce the work involved in searching for these files.
However, the software has one big drawback:it's not cheap. A personal license will set you back $79.95, so you'll need to consider how much your lost files are worth. However, there are free alternatives that can provide a similar result.
Recovery
Recuva is a utility that offers its file recovery capabilities for free, and only requires a license for its preventative measures and some advanced features. Its UI is a bit cluttered How to Tidy Up Your Right Click Menu the Easy Way How to Tidy Up Your Right Click Menu The easiest way to have a right click menu filled with a bunch of shortcuts you don't need? Clear them up with this one tool! Read More
An advantage of using Recuva is that it can handle more than just documents created with the Microsoft Office suite, so should you lose music, photos, or anything else, you should be able to get them back with a minimum of fuss. . There's even a wizard to help inexperienced users through the process.
Before you find yourself in a situation where your document is missing and tearing apart to find a solution, review your Microsoft Office settings and make sure you are protected in the best possible way with the software's capabilities.
Open an Office program and navigate to File> Options . First, go to the Save section and make sure the Save AutoRecover information every ___ minutes the dropdown is set to a small amount of time, and Save the last autosaved version if I close without saving checkbox is checked.
Next, go to the Advanced section and find the Save title. Here you are going to check the box labeled. Always create a backup .
With these options enabled, you are giving yourself the best chance of having your work backed up. The Ultimate Windows 10 Data Backup Guide The Ultimate Windows 10 Data Backup Guide We've rounded up every backup, restore, recovery, and repair option we could find in Windows 10. Use our easy tips! and never despair over lost data again! Read More All it takes is a few clicks, but it could save you a lot of time and effort in the future.
Do you have any tips on how to recover Office documents? Or do you need help with a unique scenario? To offer or request assistance, head over to the comments section below.
