How to Recover Unsaved file or Documents in MS Word | Find the Original Document | Recover a Damage Document | Backup Copies of Document

In this article, We will learn how can you recover an unsaved file or document in MS word and can you recover a damaged file.

Problems often arise when working with documents. some reasons which cause the damage and loss of data are:

• Freezing of the Computer.
• Force Shutdown of the Word Text Processor.
• Exposure to Viruses.
• Power Outages,
• Windows Crash.

Fortunately for MS Office users, there are many ways to solve this problem – and they are all completely free. Let’s consider the most popular methods for recovering an unsaved Word document of different versions.

Note: Unfortunately, it is not always possible to get back the lost text. The lack of early saves or a crash in MS Office can lead to the complete loss of the document. In such cases, only a recovery program will help, we recommend an overview of the best tools. If that still doesn’t work, contact Microsoft support.

AutoSave Feature in Word:

Autosave is one of the useful features that come with the word processor in Word. The function can be reconfigured at the discretion of the user. The default settings are to save file changes every 10 minutes. This allows the chances of a failure to minimize the risk of losing all document data. 

How can you recover text using this function?

1. Reopen MS Word,
2. The “Recovery” tab will appear on the left side, do not close it.
3. Find the previously closed document and click on it. 
4. Please note: the time and date of the last automatic saving of information will be written under the file. 

This method works if the function is active in the text editor settings. Microsoft Word allows you to recover the information only the first time the software is started after an emergency shutdown. If the user for some reason did not do this, the text will be lost forever.

The autosave feature in MS Word later is enabled as follows:

1. Select the menu “File” – “Options“,
2. Next, go to “Save”,
3. Adjust the frequency of automatic saving.

If the user exited the program, forgetting to confirm the saving of the entered information, the text will be restored if it is forced to reopen it. The main thing is to strictly adhere to the following algorithm:

1. Right-click on an empty space on the Desktop,
2. Select “New” – “Microsoft Word Document”
3. Open the file that appears,
4. Go to the main menu of the program and click on “Open”,
5. In the tab that appears, click ” Open and Restore”.

Finding the Original Document:

If the user did not take care of saving the entered information, the system could independently save it in * .doc or * .docx format. you can find such files on your computer. by following below steps:

1. Press the Win + W keys (for Windows 8) or use the Start bar (for Windows 10).
2. In the search bar of the system, enter the title of the document.
3. You will see a list of files, the name of which contains the the keyword you entered.
4. Find the missing document and run the document to check its content.

Where are the Backup Copies of the Document Stored ?

Because By default, the automatic resave function is active, it is possible to find a backup copy of the
lost source. Such copies lie in hidden folders of the operating system, the contents of which can be examined only if you know exactly where to look for such a folder. 

Where can you find autosaved Word files?

1. Go to menu “File” – “Options”
2. Select the “Save” section,
3. Copy the path to the folder defined by the software for storing the catalog of documents used for recovery.

Another Way to Get the Backup:

• Go to “File” – “Details“,
• Click on “Document Management” and select the “Recover Unsaved Documents” option.

The program will redirect the user to a folder with text files available for opening in Word. In this way, you can find documents even if the autosave function was disabled (but now it can be turned on).

How to recover a Damaged Document:

 How to recover a Word document?

1. First, open the “File” menu,

2. Select the “Open” tab,

3. In the window that appears, look for the damaged file and click on it once,

4. Now, in the lower right corner, instead of the “open” function, select
“restore text from any file” and click
“Ok”.

Important Note: Unfortunately, this method allows you to extract from the document only its text part, without tables, graphs, figures, and other data. In this case, the original formatting will also be lost. Although the method does not provide complete recovery of previously entered documents, it allows you to maximally ease the user’s fate.

I hope you have Learned Something From here.