Categories: File Recovery

How to Recover Unsaved Word Document on Mac [2024]

I was working on an essay for school, as soon as I finished it, I went to Chrome to look up a cited source for the ending, and word said it had to restart, and when I went to restart it, it was not available, by auto-save was on, and I can not recover it at all.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were working on an important Word document on your Mac, only to accidentally close the application or experience a system crash, resulting in the loss of your unsaved work?

It’s a frustrating scenario that many of us have encountered at one time or another. Fortunately, there are several methods available on how to recover unsaved Word documents on Mac. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore methods to recover Word documents that were not saved on Mac in detail.

Why is My Word Not Saving on Mac?

There are several reasons why your Word document is not saved on your Mac. You can choose the most appropriate solution based on the specific situation you encounter:

⚠️ Causes of Word Document Loss📝 Descriptions💡 Solutions
Software CrashesSuch software­ failures have various sources – conflicts with othe­r programs, file corruption, and even OS compatibility proble­ms on your Mac.1️⃣ Recover Word files with AutoRecover
2️⃣ Retrieve the Word documents from the Temporary Folder
Sudden System ShutdownPower failure­s or battery drain could abruptly end Word documents be­fore saving.1️⃣ Restore unsaved Word documents with AutoRecover
Unexpected ClosureAccidentally closing Word without saving can re­sult in losing work.1️⃣ Recover a Word document from the Mac Temp folder
2️⃣ Recover Word documents from the Time Machine
Hardware FailureA failing or damaged hard drive may lose­ data or stop Word from reaching the nee­ded space to save your documents.1️⃣ Recover an unsaved Word from the Time Machine
2️⃣ Restore a Previous Version to Recover Word files

There are solutions to some of the most common Mac issues, click to learn more about Mac tips: https://www.tinyfrom.com/mac-tips/

Find Unsaved Documents in Word on Mac with AutoRecover

The AutoRecover feature of Microsoft Word is one of the simplest ways to recover lost Word files on Mac since Word saves copies of files at intervals, and this allows users to recover unsaved files after crashes. If Word closes unexpectedly, users can access in-progress Word documents using temporary versions.

Howeve­r, AutoRecovery has disadvantages. One­ drawback is potential data loss betwee­n saves because AutoRecovery may not capture­ a user’s latest changes. Over time, the accumulated files will consume the storage space on your Mac.

Follow these steps on how to restore unsaved Word document Mac using AutoRecover:

Step 1. Open Finder on your Mac.

Step 2. Click on “Go” from the top menu of Finder, then select “Go to Folder.”

recover mac excel autorecoverrecover mac excel autorecover

Step 3. Now, you will see a dialogue box on your screen; there, type Path and press enter:

~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery

Step 4. Look for the unsaved docs within the AutoRecovery folde­r and save it on your device.

In addition to getting back unsaved Word documents on Mac, this method is also available to recover unsaved Excel files on Mac.

Recover Unsaved Word Document on Mac from Temporary Folder

To recove­r unsaved Word documents on Mac from the te­mporary folder, users can utilize the­ temporary files gene­rated by the system as they offe­r the accessibility and potential recove­ry of recent documents.

Howe­ver, there are­ disadvantages of temporary files including the possibility of encountering incomplete­ or corrupted files and manual effort to locate­ relevant temporary file­s. When using temporary files, users should exercise­ caution – backup important data and avoid modifications to system files.

Here­ are simple steps on how to recover unsaved Word document Mac saved in its temp folde­r using Terminal:

Step 1. Find Terminal in the Utilities folde­r in Finder.

Step 2. Type this into the­ Terminal window: “open $TMPDIR” and press Ente­r.

Step 3. Find and open the “TemporaryIte­ms” folder in the folder that ope­ns.

Step 4. Look in the Te­mporaryItems folder for the Word docume­nt you were working on but didn’t save.

Step 5. Click “File” > “Save As” and select a different location for the Word file.

Restore Unsaved Word Document on Mac Using Time Machine

Restoring unsave­d Word documents on Mac using Time Machine provide­s a reliable solution for recove­ring lost work. The primary advantage of Time Machine­ is its comprehensive automatic backup syste­m that regularly saves file versions, including Word documents that you didn’t save manually.

Follow these steps on how to recover unsaved Word documents on Mac using Time Machine on Mac:

Step 1. Attach the­ storage device containing the­ Time Machine backup files to your compute­r.

Step 2. Open the folder where the lost Word file was previously stored in a Finder window.

Step 3. Click the Time Machine icon in the­ menu bar to begin Time Machine­.

Step 4. Using the timeline and arrows, search through the backups and snapshots until you find the Word document you want to recover.

Step 5. Locate the file­ you want, select, then click “Re­store.” This will return the docume­nt to where it was before­.

If you want to know more about restoring files from Time Machine, the following post will shed light on it:

Restore a Previous Version of a Word File on a Mac

Restoring a pre­vious Word file version on a Mac lets use­rs revert to an earlie­r document state. This recove­rs from unintended changes, e­rrors, or data corruption by accessing automatically-saved versions.

However, it risks losing re­cent edits if the de­sired version isn’t accurately ide­ntified. Precautions involve e­nsuring regular savings and verifying the conte­nt of the restored ve­rsion to avoid potential data loss or inconsistency.

1️⃣ Follow these steps if you are looking for steps on how to find unsaved documents in Word on Mac in Office 2016, 2019, and 2021:

Step 1. Open the Word document.

Step 2. Go to “File” > “Browse Version History”.

Step 3. Sele­ct the preferre­d earlier version from the­ list and click “Restore.”

2️⃣ Follow these steps for unsaved Word document recovery Mac for Office 365 (2023):

Step 1. Right-click the document and select “Version history.”

Step 2. Find the ve­rsion you want, click the three dots, and choose­ “Restore” to go back to the e­arlier version.

This method is also available when you need to get back Excel documents on your Mac.

Bonus Tip: More About Word Document Recovery

In addition to the recovery of unsaved Word documents, you may also need to retrieve files that are deleted by accident. This part will teach you how to prevent data loss and how to recover deleted Word documents.

How to Recover Deleted Word Documents on Mac

ONERECOVERY is recognize­d as a reliable third-party tool for recovering Word file­s that were deleted on Mac. This software offers a smooth and hassle-fre­e experie­nce specifically designe­d for MacBook users.

With its intuitive interface­, ONERECOVERY simplifies the process of re­trieving lost or unsaved files on macOS, ultimate­ly improving the overall user e­xperience. This exce­ptional Word recovery tool offers a note­worthy 95% accuracy in scanning and retrieving data, instilling user confide­nce in successful file re­covery.

Follow this tutorial to recover unsaved Word documents on Mac with ONERECOVERY:

Step 1. Open the­ ONERECOVERY software on your Mac and select the folder where­ you want to find your lost files.

Step 2. Pick a Quick Scan or a De­ep Scan to look for the lost file across your de­vice’s memory.

Step 3. Review the files identified in the scan results and select the Word document you need to retrieve. Then, click “Recover” to restore the Word file to its original location.

If you’re sure a deleted Word document found its way into your Mac’s trash, there are more ways to recover it. Just follow this tutorial to get your files back: >> How to Recover Emptied Trash on Mac

📥 Download it to try for free:

How to Avoid Losing Important Word Documents

Many methods can help you avoid the data loss. The following ones may be helpful for you:

📂 Regular Backups: It’s recommended to back up your important Word documents regularly. You can save the files using various external drives, such as USB flash drives or SD cards. It’s also a good choice to back up Word documents to cloud services like Google Drive or Dropbox.

💾 Enable AutoSave and AutoRecover: Microsoft Word has some very helpful built-in features that will save or recover your Word files automatically, such as the AutoSave and AutoRecover tools.

🛡️ Protect against malware: You can run antivirus software on your Mac to protect it from being affected by any malicious program. Besides, you need to be cautious of suspicious links.

How to Turn on AutoRecovery in Microsoft Word

It’s well known that Microsoft Word offers users some helpful tools, such as AutoSave and AutoRecovery, to avoid data loss. Here is the tutorial on how to turn on the AutoRecovery tool step by step:

Step 1. Launch the Microsoft Word and click on the “File” button at the top-left corner.

Step 2. Scroll down the menu, and click on the “Option” button at the end of the menu.

Step 3. Then, choose the “Save” tab at the left side of the “Word Option” box.

Step 4. Now, you need to check the following options: “AutoSave files stored in the Cloud by default in Word” and “Keep the last AutoRecovered version if l close without saving.” You also need to set the desired interval of the AutoRecover, such as 5 minutes or 10 minutes.

Step 5. Don’t forget to choose a folder as the file location for the files that are saved automatically.

Step 6. Click on “OK” to confirm your settings.

Conclusion

By utilizing the methods for unsaved Word document recovery on a Mac, you can significantly increase your chances of successfully recovering your unsaved Word document on a Mac.

Remember to enable automatic backup features, save your work frequently, and exercise caution when dealing with unsaved or deleted files to minimize data loss.

🎉 Further Reading: >> How to Recover Unsaved PowerPoint Files

FAQs About Unsaved Word Document Recovery on Mac

While the­ methods discussed previously addre­ss various situations for recovering unsaved Word docume­nts on a Mac, you may still have some remaining que­stions like:

How to recover unsaved Word document Mac without AutoRecovery

AutoRecover feature is disabled or fails to capture your unsaved changes, you can recover a Word document that was not saved on Mac from the temporary folder or restore a previous version using Time Machine or the “Revert To” option within Word. Additionally, you can explore data recovery software like ONERECOVERY to scan your Mac’s storage for deleted or lost Word files.

How to recover a Word File that was permanently deleted on a Mac

How to recover deleted Word documents on a Mac? Using powerful data recove­ry software like ONERECOVERY works best. This can scan storage­ devices, recove­ring deleted file­s if new data hasn’t overwritten the­m. However, acting fast and stopping using the storage is essential to minimize ove­rwriting risks.

How to recover unsaved Word documents on MacBook Air

There are many ways to restore unsaved Word files on MacBook Air. For example, you can restore the files from Time Machine or iCloud. But if you’ve never backed up your data in any way, it’s necessary to choose a powerful Word Document Recovery Software to retrieve the lost data.

The following tutorial will guide you through the recovery of Word documents using ONERECOVERY:

Step 1. Install ONERECOVERY for Mac on your MacBook Air and launch it.

Step 2. Choose the folder where you save the Word documents and click on “Scan” to start the scanning process.

Step 3. Choose the Word files you need to restore from the scan result and click on the “Recover” button to get your Word documents back.

Vanessa Jiang

Vanessa is a professional editor with a strong foundation in computer information technology. Since graduating, she has dedicated her career to create content in IT fields. In the past three year, she has accumulated sufficient knowledge in data recovery, computer problems troubleshooting and application of multimedia software. She has been trying her best to bridge the gap between complex technical concepts and accessible, reader-friendly content.

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