To recover unsaved Excel files on Mac, the direct method is to use AutoSave and AutoRecover features that are provided by Microsoft. If they are enabled, it won't be a problem for you to recover excel file not saved Mac and restore previous versions in Excel 2008, 2011 and 2016.
You’ve just closed an Office document and accidentally clicked Don’t Save. Or maybe Word crashed or your laptop lost power before you remembered to save what you were working on. We’ve all felt that pain, but all is not necessarily lost. By default, Office applications automatically save temporary backup copies of your documents as you work and there’s a good chance you can recover them.
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. Also, you’d be well served to put some additional preventative measures in place before you actually run into this problem. Back up your computer regularly and consider turning on the file version feature in in Windows. That said, if you do run into a problem with an unsaved Office file, here’s how to recover it.
How to Recover an Unsaved Office File
For these instructions, we’re working in Word 2016, but the steps are almost identical in other Office 2016 applications like Excel and PowerPoint. Also, the recovery feature has been around for a long time, so if you’re using an older version of Office (going back to at least Office 2007), you’ll still be able to attempt recovery. You might just have to hunt around a bit for the actual commands.
Start by opening whatever Office application you were working in where your file didn’t get saved. Click the File menu.
On the File menu, click Info.
On the Info page, click “Manage Document” and then, from the drop-down menu, choose “Recover Unsaved Documents.” Note also that you have an option for deleting all unsaved documents should you want to do that.
The UnsavedFiles folder contains all unsaved files Office has created temporary backups for. Select the file you need and then click Open.
Office applications automatically save temporary backups of files at periodic intervals (every 10 minutes, by default), so your file should contain most of the work you lost.
Change How Office Applications Automatically Save Files
You can also change how each Office application saves these temporary files, including where the files are saved, how often they’re saved, and whether a temporary file is kept if you close a document without saving.
Back on the File menu, click Options.
On the Options page, click Save and then look for the “Save Documents” section. The top few options are what you’re looking for.
How To Get Back Unsaved Word Documents
If autosaving every 10 minutes seems like too long an interval (it does to us), bump that setting down to whatever you want. You can set it to autosave anywhere from every one minute to every 120 minutes. We’ve found that the background saving doesn’t really interrupt anything, so usually set it down to around two minutes. We recommend keeping the other two options at their default settings, unless you have a good reason to change them.
And that’s about it! The Office recovery feature won’t save you from every kind of mishap you might run into with your files, but it can sure come in handy during those occasional moments of panic.
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The upcoming macOS 10.14 Mojave is bound to delight Mac users when it comes out in autumn 2018. The new operating system aims to bring a ton of new features with more iOS apps and enhanced security being included in its release version. Many users hope that the macOS 10.14 Mojave will solve some of the compatibility issues of previous generations of macOS, like High Sierra.
One issue that we hope the Apple developers have already addressed is the possibility to retrieve lost word documents. Whether your Mac crashes or you accidentally close Word, losing a document can sometimes spell tragedy for your work or studies. That is why we compiled an easy guide that will show you how to recover unsaved word document mac even in the new macOS Mojave.
Method 1: Open Temporary Folder with Terminal
The first thing that you must avoid doing when you lose an unsaved word document is panic. A quick, impulsive action could destroy your only chance of recovering the file. If Word crashed, remember that the Apple Mac OS keeps a special folder for temporary files (TMP folder). Your last version of the document might still be available somewhere. Here is what you can do to retrieve the document on macOS Mojave:
- Go to the Applications section
- Open the Utilities folder and click on Terminal
- Put in the following command and then press enter: open $TMPDIR
- This will open the TMP folder
With a bit of luck, your unsaved word document should be in there. The Mac Terminal is one of the best features of Mac OS that helps users recover their lost files. The upcoming Mojave OS will include this crucial option that should save your progress in a document and retrieve it even if your file was frozen and you had to close the application.
If you cannot find your lost word document with the Terminal function in the temporary folder, you still have a few ways of recovering the file. One of the most used methods of retrieval involves using Microsoft Word to look through the previously written documents. The application has an Auto Recovery option that may very well be your savior for lost word files.
You can try locating the AutoRecovery function for your lost word document on macOS Mojave with these easy steps:
![Office For Mac 2018 Recover Unsaved Document Office For Mac 2018 Recover Unsaved Document](/uploads/1/2/6/1/126155886/197426876.png)
~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery/
- Find the file that starts with 'AutoRecovery' and contains the name of your word file
- Rename the file by adding “.docx” at its end
- Open the file. It should be the last saved version of your word document
- Access the File function and click on the Save As option. Save the file under a name and to a destination of your choosing.
Now that you have recovered your lost document, you can continue your progress while having a secure backup version. Remember to save the word file often, so if you lose it again, you will not have to redo too much of your work.
Time Machine is one feature guaranteed to be part of the upcoming macOS Mojave. This is Apple’s option for backing up your Mac, and it uses a different storage device, the iCloud Drive or a MacOS server to keep your files well-guarded at all times.
![Office For Mac 2018 Recover Unsaved Document Office For Mac 2018 Recover Unsaved Document](https://www.easeus.com/images/en/screenshot/data-recovery-mac/recover-document-step3.png)
Time Machine makes a backup copy of everything on your Mac for the past 24 hours. Therefore, if you have been working on a word document, you will have 24 different copies of it made every hour for the past day. If your word file freezes, and you cannot save it, you can easily go back and restore one of the previous version of it to continue your work.
Here is how to use Time Machine to take back your unsaved word documents:
- Open a Search window
- Type 'Time Machine'
- Click the Time Machine icon
- Use the Time Machine timeline to locate your lost word document
- Select the files you want to retrieve and click Restore
Method 4: Using Third-Party Software
Clicking the wrong button or exiting the file before saving can make you lose precious work in a word document. Even if you avoid these mishaps, a power outage is always bound to happen when you least expect it. For all these situations there is a safe and easy way of recovering your lost word document on a macOS Mojave. By using a third party software like Disk Drill, you have a good chance of retrieving almost all your progress in a word document.
Disk Drill has user-friendly features that are self-explanatory and simple to follow. You can discover the process of recovering a word document on macOS Mojave safely in just a matter of minutes. This app is an excellent way of keeping an easily accessible backup for your files, and to avoid losing your work progress on a file.
Office For Mac 2018
Losing a full day’s worth of work on a word document is terrible. Fortunately, there are safe and effective ways of retrieving your progress without too much hassle. By applying any of the methods presented in this article you can recover important unsaved files on macOS Mojave and have backup solutions should you experience a similar mishap in the future.