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How can I get my word document back if I can't find it anymore? (Word for Mac)

Anonymous
2023-09-30T23:34:35+00:00

I was working on a word document last night and my computer died over night and today I went to open up the document and I can't find it anywhere. I tried looking through my computer files and still can't find it. I also looked in my trash just in case, and it wasn't there.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For education | MacOS

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-10-01T03:48:42+00:00

    Dear respected GIORGIA HUGHES,

    Good morning! Thank you for posting to the Microsoft Community.

    We understand your scenario that Word documents have lost some content as for a PC shutdown. In this situation, you may try to recover your unsaved or lost Word document by following these steps:

    1. Open Microsoft Word and click on the "File" tab from the top left bar.
    2. Click on "Open..." and look for the document you were working on to select
    3. click the down arrow beside the Open button and click "Repair" or "Recover Text"
    4. Go to "Finder" on your Mac and then press Command+Shift+G
    5. Enter "~/Library/Containers/Microsoft Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery" and hit "Go" to get mac OS word temporary files.
    6. Open the "AutoRecovery" folder and locate the files starting with words - "AutoRecovery save of". Then, choose the one you would like to get back, rename the file and then, add the filename extension - ".doc".

    If above ways all failed to work, you can also try searching for the document by typing its name in the Spotlight on your Mac. If you still can't find it, it may be permanently lost. In the future, it's always a good idea to save your work frequently to avoid losing it in case of unexpected computer shutdowns. Especially turn on the Autosave feature: How do I turn on AutoSave? - Microsoft Support

    Appreciate your patience and understanding and thank you for your time and cooperation.

    Sincerely

    Mia | Microsoft Moderator

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