Losing an unsaved Word document can be incredibly frustrating, but with the right methods, you can often recover your work. This guide will take you through several steps to help you recover unsaved documents in Microsoft Word:
Method 1: Use the AutoRecover Feature
1. Open Microsoft Word and go to the File tab.
2. Click Open, then select Recent Documents.
3. At the bottom of the screen, click Recover Unsaved Documents.
4. Browse through the list of documents that Word has automatically saved. Open the document you need and save it immediately.
Method 2. Search for Temporary Files
1. Open “File Explorer” on your computer.
2. Search for files with the .tmp extension.
3. Look for filenames that match the pattern of “Word” or your document title.
3. Try opening these files with Word to recover your unsaved Word document.
Method 3. Check the Recycle Bin
1. Open the “Recycle Bin” on your desktop.
2. Look for your document if it was accidentally deleted.
3. Right-click the file and select “Restore” to return it to its original location.
Method 4: Use the Document Recovery Pane
1. Restart Word after a crash. The Document Recovery Pane should appear automatically, listing all recoverable documents.
2. If it doesn’t appear, go to the File tab> Select Info> Click on Manage Document> Choose Recover Unsaved Documents.
3. Browse through the list and open the document you need.
Method 5: Enable the Backup Copy Option
1. Open Word and go to the File tab> Select Options.
2. In the Word Options window, go to Advanced.
3. Scroll down to the Save section.
4. Check the box next to Always create backup copy. Word will now save a backup copy with the extension .wbk in the same location as your original file.
Method 6: Using OneDrive
1. Open OneDrive and navigate to your document.
2. Right-click on the document and select Version history.
3. Choose an earlier version of the document to restore.
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