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Two documents are inaccessible after I updated Word

Cristina Bruns 0 Reputation points
2026-04-24T19:28:42.0833333+00:00

I updated Word as requested. Two documents I was actively using show up in Open Recent in Word, but when I try to open them it says this: This document is either deleted or currently inaccessible.

It lists the location correctly but when I open that folder the document is missing. Something happened to it when I updated Word. HELP!

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For education | MacOS

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Cristina Bruns 0 Reputation points
2026-04-27T16:12:05.3866667+00:00

Thank you for following up. Your comment was not helpful, nor was working with my institution's tech support person. What did help was almost 3 hours discussing my problem with Google's Gemini. It provided maybe 20 different attempts to locate the lost documents with detailed instructions that I followed for each attempt, and that last attempt was finally successful. As I understand it now, Word was not effectively connecting with Dropbox where I was saving those two important documents. Though I manually saved with nearly EVERY individual change I made over the two weeks of writing the draft, it was not actually saving the documents successfully. When I updated Word, the documents disappeared completely from all usual search methods including Finder, as well as from the intended folder in Dropbox where they had previously been visible. After those hours trying many different attempts, guided by Gemini, I finally located "ghost files" of the documents, under some random numbers instead of the names I gave them, in some deeply hidden library temp folder. I could only open the docs with Text Edit but that was enough to copy and paste the text into a new Word doc, saving the entirety of my draft. The problem with the update may have been aggravated by the Mendeley-Cite add-in I was using for citations. Ultimately it was a happy outcome in an otherwise torturous day. It also improved my view of A.I. dramatically. I describe the problem I had and its solution in detail here in case it's useful for the MS team. Thank you again for following up.

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  1. Charles Kenyon 167.2K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-04-24T23:03:51.2+00:00

    Updating Word will not delete documents. It might remove aliases under Recent files.

    Try using Finder to look for your file.

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  2. Chris Duong 8,825 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-04-24T20:33:19.5533333+00:00

    Hi @Cristina Bruns, 

    I hope you're having a great day. Thank you very much for providing the details. 

    The Open Recent list in Word only stores shortcuts to files you previously opened (not the actual files), so after an update, if a file has been moved, renamed, deleted, not fully synced from the cloud, or if Word has lost access to the folder on macOS, it may still appear in Recents but show the message “This document is either deleted or currently inaccessible,” and the Word update itself did not directly delete your documents. 

    Here are my recommendations, please try the following steps:

    1/ Search your Mac for the document 

    Press Command + F to open Finder 

    Search by: 

    • the exact filename (if you remember it), or 
    • file type: .docx / .doc, and optionally filter by Date Last Opened 

    This helps in cases where the file was moved or renamed but still exists on the Mac.  

    2/ Check the Trash (in case it was deleted) 

    • Open Trash (from Dock) 
    • Look for the missing Word files 
    • If found, right-click > Put Back 

    This covers accidental deletion scenarios where the file is removed from the folder but still recoverable locally.  

    3/ Recover from Word AutoRecovery  

    In the Finder menu bar at the top of the screen, click Go > Go to Folder… (or press Shift + Command + G) 

    Paste this path exactly: 

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

    Look for files named similar to “AutoRecovery save of …” and open the newest ones in Word, then Save As immediately to a known folder. 

    Note: If the document was never saved or AutoRecovery had not created a backup yet, no files will appear in this folder. 

    More info here: Recover files in Office for Mac - Microsoft Support 

    4/ If the files were stored in iCloud Drive  

    If the documents were in iCloud Drive, Apple allows recovery of deleted files from Recently Deleted for up to 30 days via iCloud.com. 

    You can do this from a browser by signing into iCloud Drive and checking Recently Deleted, then selecting Recover. 

    Reference guide: Recover deleted files on iCloud.com - Apple Support 

    This link is shared by community members for your convenience. It points to a third-party site that is not managed or verified by Microsoft. We can’t guarantee the quality, safety, or suitability of any content or software found there. Please review carefully and make sure you understand any potential risks before using it. 

    5/ If the files were stored in OneDrive  

    If these documents were saved in OneDrive, they may have been moved or removed during synchronization, or overwritten. In that case, you can try recovering them using: 

    • OneDrive Recycle Bin, or 
    • Restore your OneDrive (this allows you to roll back your entire OneDrive to a previous point within the last 30 days, for eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions). 

    Additional guide: Restore your OneDrive - Microsoft Support 

    Note: If you have already checked all available recovery locations and still cannot find the files, they may not be permanently lost yet. Because student and teacher accounts are managed by the school’s IT department, a school administrator may sometimes be able to recover files from OneDrive’s backend retention system (typically within 30~93 days, depending on school policy). In this case, please contact your school’s IT department or helpdesk and ask them to check on your behalf. 

    However, please be aware that if the files were permanently deleted and are beyond the retention period, even the administrator will not be able to recover them. 

    More info here: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support 

    As community moderators, we appreciate your understanding that we do not have access to the administrative tools or permissions required to investigate or modify these configurations. We also do not have the capability to initiate remote sessions for direct assistance. Our role is to guide users to the appropriate resources and support channels.  

    I hope this information is helpful. Should you have any further questions or need additional assistance, feel free to reach out.   

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have any extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".  

    Note: Follow the steps in our documentation to enable email notifications if you want to receive email notifications related to this topic.    

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  3. AI answer

    2026-04-24T19:29:01.44+00:00

    The documents are likely still recoverable using Word’s AutoRecover and unsaved-file recovery features on macOS.

    Try these steps in order:

    1. Restart Word to trigger Document Recovery
    • Close Word completely.
    • Reopen Word.
    • If Word closed unexpectedly during the update, the Document Recovery pane should appear and list any AutoRecovered versions of your documents.
    • Open each file shown there and immediately save it with File > Save As to a known location.
    1. Check AutoRecover folder on Mac If the files don’t appear in Document Recovery:
    2. In macOS, open Finder.
    3. On the menu bar, select Go > Go to Folder… (or press SHIFT+COMMAND+G).
    4. Enter this path, replacing <username> with the Mac account name:
      • /Users/<username>/Library/Containers/com.Microsoft/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery
    5. Look for files with names or timestamps that match the missing documents.
    6. Open them in Word and immediately save them to a regular folder (e.g., Documents or OneDrive).

    Notes:

    • The AutoRecovery folder is hidden, so using Go to Folder is required.
    • If the documents were closed earlier with Don’t Save, their AutoRecover versions may have been deleted.
    1. Use Word’s general unsaved-document recovery If still not found:
    • Open Word and use the standard unsaved-document recovery options described for Word (searching AutoRecover files, backup files, and temporary locations). On Microsoft 365, AutoRecover locations and the Recover Unsaved Documents feature are designed for this scenario.
    1. If the files were on OneDrive or SharePoint
    • If the documents were stored in OneDrive/SharePoint, check their version history or recycle bin in those services, as recent versions may be recoverable there.

    To reduce future risk, store working documents on OneDrive or SharePoint and enable AutoSave so that updates and crashes are less likely to cause data loss.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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