Are you writing a paper but you somehow lost the paper? Do you want to recover unsaved Microsoft Word files? Because of various reasons (e.g. computer-system crash ) AutoRecovery may fail to save your documents. For instance, if you experience lower loss while you are writing your paper, your document may be lost.
You may use these methods if you are trying to locate your unsaved, lost, damaged and deleted MS Word files.
Here is how you can find them:
Method 1: TEMP Folder
Mac OS creates temporary files located in your computer’s Temporary or TMP folder. Your lost file may be located in this folder. To find this folder;
1-Launch Terminal (Applications > Utilities > Terminal)
2-Enter this command and press enter:
open $TMPDIR
3-This will open your tmp folder.
4-Now, open the folder named: “Temporaryitems”. Your document may be here.
Method 2: Look For AutoRecover files
You can locate AutoRecover files. Here is how:
1-Go to Finder > Go > Go to Folder and enter:
~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery
You may find your lost document here.
Note that not all documents may be recoverable. Save your documents while editing to avoid losing data.
See also: Mac White Screen: How To Fix Your Mac That Won’t Turn On
Perry Scott says
March 9, 2017 at 11:22 pmTHANK YOU!
Adele says
April 22, 2017 at 3:54 amThank you thank you thank you thank you!!!! I lost 8 pages of work on an assignment that is due in a few days and nothing on Google was helping me, then I found this page! The ‘Look for AutoRecover files’ section is the one that worked for me. You’re a life saver 🙂
Allison says
May 8, 2017 at 12:27 pmThank you SO very much! Your Method 2 worked for me and saved me many hours of lost work. Thank you!!
rami says
June 6, 2017 at 5:53 pmThank you so muchhh!!!!!!
Daniel says
October 3, 2017 at 1:09 pmI have to say, I was nearly in tears when Word crashed & EVERY tutorial did not work. This is the only site that had Method 1 which worked perfectly! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Tay says
November 29, 2017 at 6:58 pmI LITERALLY OWE YOU MY LIFE. THANK YOU!!!!!
Carnegie says
January 28, 2018 at 1:43 amYou are a god amongst us mere mortals. No other solution worked for me, and I had tried like 3 different file recovery programs. You saved my life
shadi says
February 16, 2018 at 8:31 pmor method 1 and 2 did not work for me. but before i lost my document it said it say i had no open a word doc i had just saved. it was on recently opened now it is gone
Eleanor says
March 6, 2018 at 5:00 amTHANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH just saved me over 10 hours of what was lost work!!!!! The AutoRecovery didn’t quite work but it got me to the containers–close enough–and I found it there!!! Seriously, thank you so very much for writing this article and sharing your knowledge.
Harry says
August 27, 2018 at 1:56 amTHANK YOU SO MUCH! I will literally never us word again, Google docs autosave online.
CourtG says
December 3, 2018 at 4:52 amYOU ROCK! THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!
I lost something on Microsoft literally the night it was due! The second option worked great!