How To Find A Lost Word Document

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1. Find A Document By Date
2. How To Find A Lost Word Document That Was Not Saved
3. How To Find A Lost Word Document Windows 10
4. How To Find A Lost Saved Word Document
5. How To Find A Lost Word Document On Windows 8

Open Word application. Click File Open Recent. Click Recover Unsaved Documents option at the bottom part of the page. All unsaved files will be pulled up from your local storage. If the worst has happened and you don’t even remember the name of the file, there is still a way to find the file. If you’ve been working on the missing file recently, you should be able to see it in the Recent Documents section. If the file is a Word document, go to File Open Recent Documents. If a document ever goes missing, open your default document location. Browse or search for files that start with the name Backup of and have the extension wbk. If you find the appropriate backup of.

Note

Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.

Note

This article describes how you can recover a lost, unsaved, or corrupted Microsoft Word document.
If you're looking for information about how to recover recent Office documents, see the following articles:

• Recover your Office files (for Word versions through Office 2019)

Note

For more information about earlier versions of Word, see the following Knowledge Base article:

Quick resolution

Try the following options to help recover your lost, unsaved, or corrupted Word document. Select the image at the left or the option heading to see more detailed instructions about that option.

Additional resources

If you experience specific issues when you use Word, go to the following website to search for more information about your program version:

Detailed view of the options

The following section provides more detailed descriptions of these options.

Option 1: Search for the original document

1. Select Start, enter the document name in Windows 10 or enter the document name in the Search box in earlier versions of Windows, and then press Enter.
2. Take the following action, as appropriate:
   • If the File list contains the document, double-click the document to open it in Word.
   • If the File list doesn't contain the file, go to Option 2.

Option 2: Search for Word Backup files

Word backup file names have a '.wbk' extension. If you have the 'backup copy' option selected in Word, there might be a backup copy of the file.

Note

To locate this option:

• Word for Office 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013:Select File > Options > Advanced, scroll down to the Save section, and then select Always create backup copy.
• Word 2010:Select File > Options, open the Save tab, and then select Always create backup copy.

To find the backup copy of the file, follow these steps:

1. Locate the folder in which you last saved the missing file.
2. Search for files that have the .wbk file name extension.
3. If you find the backup file, right-click the file name, and then select Open.

If there are no .wbk files in the original folder, search the computer for any .wbk files. To do this, follow these steps.

1. Select Start, enter .wbk in Windows 10 or enter .wbk in the Search box in earlier versions of Windows. Then, press Enter.
2. Take the following action, as appropriate:
   • If the File list contains the backup file, repeat the steps in Option 2 to open the file.
   • If the File list does not contain the backup file, go to Option 4.

If you find any files that have the name 'Backup of' followed by the name of the missing file, use one of the following methods, as appropriate for the version of Word that you're running.

Word for Office 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013

1. File > Open > Browse. (In some versions of Word, select Computer > Browse.)
2. In the 'files of type' list to the right of File name, select All Files.
3. Right-click the backup file that you found, and then select Open.

Word 2010

1. On the File menu, select Open.
2. In the 'files of type' list to the right of File name, select All Files.
3. Right-click the backup file that you found, and then select Open.

Option 3: Check the Recycle Bin

Recovering deleted Word documents from the Recycle Bin

If you deleted a Word document without emptying the Recycle Bin, you might be able to restore the document.

1. Double-click the Recycle Bin on the Desktop.

2. Search through the list of documents to see whether the deleted word file is still there. If you don't know the name, look for file types such as .doc, .docx, and .dot.

3. If you find the desired Word file, right-click the file name, and then select Restore to recover the file.

If you saved files to a SharePoint site, see the Restore a SharePoint item from the Microsoft 365 site collection Recycle Bin section.

If you saved files to OneDrive, check the OneDrive recycle bin. For more information, see Restore deleted files or folders in OneDrive.

If you emptied the Windows Recycle Bin after you deleted files, the deleted Word file might have been permanently removed. If you are running Windows 10, version 2004 or later, you can try the Windows File Recovery tool, available from the Microsoft Store. For more information about the tool, see Recover lost files on Windows 10.

If you canot find the file by using any of these methods, go to Option 4.

Restore a SharePoint item from the Microsoft 365 site collection Recycle Bin

1. Open the Recycle Bin, and take one of the following actions, depending on the type of site that you are using:

   1. Modern Team and Classic sites (or subsites): In the left pane, select Recycle Bin.

   2. Modern Communication sites: Select Site contents, and then select Recycle Bin in the top navigation bar.

      Note

      If you don't see the Recycle Bin, follow these steps:

      1. Select Settings > Site settings. (If you don't see Site settings, select Site information > View all site settings. Some pages might require you to select Site contents > Site settings.)
      2. On Site settings, under Site Collection Administration, select Recycle bin.

2. At the bottom of the Recycle Bin page, select Second-stage recycle bin.

   Note

   You must have administrator or owner permissions to use the site collection Recycle Bin. If you don't see the Recycle Bin, then either you don't have permission to access it or it may have been disabled.

3. Select the check icon to the right of each document that you want to recover, and then select Restore.

If you restore an item that was originally located in a deleted folder, the folder is re-created in its original location, and the item is restored to that folder.

Option 4: Search for AutoRecover unsaved or corrupted files

AutoRecover file names have the .asd extension. By default, Word searches for AutoRecover files every time that it starts, and then it displays any files that are found in the Document Recovery task pane.

1. Use Word to automatically find the AutoRecover files. To do this, follow these steps:

   1. Right-click the taskbar, and select Task Manager.

   2. On the Processes tab, select any instance of Winword.exe or Microsoft Word, and then select End Task or End Process. Repeat this step until you have exited all instances of Winword.exe and Word.

   3. Close the Windows Task Manager dialog box, and then start Word.

If Word finds any automatically recovered file, the Document Recovery task pane opens on the left side of the screen, and the missing document is listed as 'document name [Original]' or as 'document name [Recovered].' If this occurs, double-click the file in the Document Recovery pane, select File > Save As, and then save the document as a .docx file. To manually change the extension to .docx, right-click the file, and select Rename.

Manually search for AutoRecover files

If the Document Recovery pane does not open, manually search for automatically recovered files. To do this, use one of the following procedures, as appropriate for the version of Word that you're using.

Word for Office 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013

1. On the File menu, select Open > Browse. (In Word 2013, select File > Open > Computer > Browse.)
2. Browse to the folder where you last saved your document, and look for files that end in .asd.
3. If you don't see your document listed, select File > Info > Manage Documents (or Manage Versions) > Recover Unsaved Documents.

Word 2010

1. On the File menu, select Recent.
2. If you don't see your document listed, select Recover Unsaved Documents.

Search for .asd files

Find A Document By Date

If you don't find an AutoRecover file in the location that is identified in the Folder name list, search your whole drive for any .asd files. To do this, follow these steps:

How To Find A Lost Word Document That Was Not Saved

Enter .asd in Windows 10 or enter .asd in the Start Search box in earlier versions of Windows, and then press Enter.

• If the File list does not contain AutoRecover files, go to Option 5.

• If you find any files that have the .asd extension, use one of the following procedures, as appropriate for the version of Word that you're using:

  Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013

  1. Select File > Open > Browse. (In some versions, you may have to select Computer and then Browse.)
  2. In the 'files of type' list to the right of File name, select All Files.
  3. Select the .asd file that you found, and then select Open.

  Word 2010

  1. On the File menu, select Open.
  2. In the 'files of type' list to the right of File name, select All Files.
  3. Select the .asd file that you found, and then select Open.

Note

In the Recovery pane, if you find an automatically recovered file that does not open correctly, go to Option 6 for more information about how to open damaged files.

Option 5: Search for temporary files

Temporary file names have a .tmp extension. To find these files, follow these steps:

1. Select Start, enter .tmp in Windows 10 or enter .tmp in the Start Search box in earlier versions of Windows, and then press Enter.
2. On the Show only toolbar, select Other.
3. Scroll through the files, and search for file names that match the last few dates and times that you edited the document. If you find the document that you're looking for, go to Option 7 to find out how to recover information from the file.

Option 6: Search for '~' files

Some temporary file names start in a tilde (~) character. To find these files, follow these steps:

1. Select Start, enter the tilde character (~) in Windows 10 or enter the tilde character (~) in the Start Search box in earlier versions of Windows), and then press Enter.

2. Select See more results.

3. Scroll through the files, and look for any that match the last few dates and times that you edited the document.

If you find the document that you're looking for, go to Option 7 to find out how to recover information from the file.

For more information about how Word creates and uses temporary files, see Description of how Word creates temporary files.

Option 7: How to troubleshoot damaged documents

For information about how to troubleshoot damaged Word documents, see How to troubleshoot damaged documents in Word.

More information

In certain situations, it's possible to completely lose a Word document. For example:

• An error occurs that forces Word to close.
• You experience a power interruption while editing.
• You close the document without saving your changes.

Note

The whole document may be lost if you have not recently saved the document. If you have saved your document, you may lose only the changes that you made since the last save. Be aware that some lost documents may not be recoverable.

If a file that was saved to OneDrive becomes corrupted or isn't found in the recycle bin, it is possible to roll back changes that were made to your OneDrive files. For more information, see Restore your OneDrive.

The AutoRecover feature in Word makes an emergency backup of open documents when an error occurs. Some errors can interfere with AutoRecover functionality. The AutoRecover feature is not a substitute for saving your files.

We do not provide any additional tools to recover deleted documents. However, some third-party utilities to recover deleted documents might be available from the internet.

For more information about AutoRecover, see the following articles:

Third-party information disclaimer

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.

Still need help? Go to Microsoft Community.

Mar 11, 2021 • Filed to: Recover & Repair Files • Proven solutions

How to recover unsaved Word document files? The Microsoft Word application get crashed and haven't saved the Document? Or accidentally deleted or lost your Word document? Well, do not panic. On this page, we will show you the best 5 ways to recover an unsaved Word document on a Windows computer.

The first thing you should search for your Word documents and get it back. Click Start > Search and type the name of your document (or at least a part of it) or simply *.doc(x) to get all your Word documents.

Part 1. How to Recover Unsaved Word Document

While you working and creating a Word document and then it closed accidentally without saving it. This situation will happen over time, but take a deep breath, you can get your unsaved Word document back. follow the next steps to recover an unsaved Word document by using Microsoft Word (Word 2010, Word 2013, and Word 2016).

Way 1. Recover Unsaved Word Document from Temporary Files

If you know well the address on your computer, you can go to the URL: C:UsersadminAppDataLocalMicrosoftOfficeUnsavedFiles. Or you can follow the next steps to go on:

• Open a Word document files, and click 'File Tab';
• Click Info > Manager Versions > the drop-down list;

• Click 'Recover Unsaved Documents', it will pop-up a window which lists all unsaved office files;

• Select your file and click the open button.

Way 2. Search for AutoRecover Files

You also can search for the Word backup files to recover unsaved Word documents. Search for auto-recovery files, as following steps to know where the document was saved. The next steps we will perform recover Word document files in Microsoft 2016, if you are using other Microsoft versions you can get more related solutions from Microsoft Support.

• On the File menu, click Options;
• In the left navigation pane, click the 'Save' section;

• You can change the automatic save frequency to save a recoverable copy. 'Save AutoRecover information every N minutes' and click OK.

Way 3. Recover Unsaved Word Files with Document Recovery

While the computer suddenly crashed and the Word document files haven't saved. Re-open the Word Document, the file would appear on the left side of Document Recovery. Double click on the files, you can get the unsaved Word document back.

How To Find A Lost Word Document Windows 10

Way 4. Get your Deleted or Lost Word Document from Recycle Bin

What if you accidentally deleted your Word document by clicking 'Shift + Deleted', you can go to the Recycle Bin to retrieve your Word document back.

• Open the recycle bin on the computer;

• On the location, find your Word document and right-click on the files, click 'Restore' to recover the deleted Word document.

Part 2. How to Recover Deleted or Lost Word Document with File Recovery

Recoverit Data Recovery- The Best Word Document Recovery Software

If you still did not manage to find the document you are looking for, here is our most powerful option. You should always save the best for last. If none of the previous methods work, you will have to use a data recovery tool. There are many free file recovery tools available, the best file recovery we recommend Recoverit Data Recovery, it can easily help you recover deleted or lost WOrd document files back.

The Best Word Document Recovery Software

Recoverit Data Recovery is a powerful deleted files program, it can easily help you recover unsaved Word document files on a Windows computer.
It can also recover other deleted and lost files from computer hard drive or other devices USB, SD, external hard drive, etc.

Video Tutorial on How to Recover Deleted Word Document

You can explore more from Wondershare Video Community.

Way 5. Steps on How to Recover a Deleted Word Document

Download and install Recoverit Data Recovery on your computer, follow the next steps to perform Word document recovery on a Windows computer.

Step 1Select the location where your Word document files lost and then click 'Start' to next.

Step 2 The Word Document Recovery will start scanning the disk to searching your deleted and unsaved Word document files.

Step 3 After the scan, you can preview all recovered Word document files, select the target one, and click the 'Recover' button to save.

How To Find A Lost Saved Word Document

Recoverit Word Document Recovery can easily recover unsaved and deleted Word document files back. But you should save all recovered files on other locations in the cause of data loss again. It also can recover unsaved Notepad++ file.

All in all, with these 5 ways, you will have a chance to recover deleted word documents from one of these methods. You can try out all of the methods mentioned above. If you don't want to spend time trying all the methods, the most efficient and easy way(Go Solution 5) is to try out a Word document recovery tool: Recoverit File Recovery to recover deleted Word documents. Download and try it for now.

How To Find A Lost Word Document On Windows 8

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