Saved spreadsheet, instead of Save as a copy. Need to restore previous Version.

Thank you for your prompt response.

I am using my education email address - but I do not think I'm listed as a business admin.

I have tried those tips, except for the recovery file app. Do you recommend?

Its hard, because it's not like the spreadsheet has been deleted, just been saved over. But it just has no history to recover even though there should be history.

Dear @Jasmine D,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Before giving you the best solution, could you please confirm these questions below to help me diagnose the issue more effectively: 

• Are you using a personal Microsoft account (@outlook.com/hotmail.com) or a work account (@company.com)?
• If you are using business account, are you the admin in your company?

According to your description, since OneDrive wasn’t signed in and Excel’s Version History/AutoSave wasn’t enabled, recovery depends on what your local computer may have kept. Here are some methods I recommend you try:

Method 1: “UnsavedFiles” cache - Recover Unsaved Documents
If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription, check the following folder locations for backup files:

• C:\Users<UserName>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel
• C:\Users<UserName>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles

Note: In these paths, replace <UserName> with your username.

If you don't find the missing file in these locations, open Word, and select File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Documents.

If you still haven’t found the file, try manually searching for AutoRecover files. To do this, select Start, enter .xlsb or .xlsx or .xlk in the Search box, then press Enter.

If you find any files that have the .xlsb or .xlsx or .xlk extension, follow these steps:

• Open Excel and then go to File > Open > Browse.
• In the files of type list to the right of File name, select All Files.
• Right-click the backup file that you found, and then select Open.

Method 2: Windows File Recovery Tool

If you are using Windows 10, version 2004 or later, you can try the Windows File Recovery tool. Windows File Recovery is available from the Microsoft Store. You can use it to recover files that have been permanently deleted. For more information about this tool, see Recover lost files on Windows.

Method 3: Restarting Word to open AutoRecover files

Excel searches for AutoRecover files every time it starts. Therefore, you can try using the AutoRecover feature by closing and reopening Excel. If Word finds any automatically recovered file, the Recovery task pane opens, and the missing document should be listed as "document name [Original]" or as "document name [Recovered]." If this occurs, double-click the file name in the Recovery pane, select File > Save as, and then save the document as a .docx file. To manually change the extension to .docx, right-click the file, and select Rename.

Note: In Microsoft 365 Subscription, when Excel starts, it searches for AutoRecover files. If any recovered files are found, Excel opens them by having a Message Bar. Select Save to save the recovered file. If there are many recovered files, Word usually opens the last-changed files, and puts the remaining files into the Recovery task pane.

Method 4: Searching for temporary files

Temporary file names have a .tmp extension. To find these files, follow these steps:

Step 1: Select Start, type .tmp > press Enter > Select the Documents tab.

Step 2: Scroll through the files to search for file names that match the last few dates and times that you edited the document.

Step 3: In Word, go to File > Open, and then select the Folders tab > Navigate to or search for the folder where you found the .tmp file, and then select the folder name to open the folder contents pane.

Step 4: At the top of the pane, select the name of the folder. This opens File Explorer.

Step 5: In File Explorer, change the file type (next to the file name field, near the bottom) to All files > Open the .tmp file.

If you don’t find the file, repeat steps 1 through 3, but search on the tilde character (~) instead of .tmp (temporary file names start with a tilde). Excel sometimes writes temporary artifacts alongside the file (Hidden lock file: ~$YourFile.xlsx)

• Backup file if enabled: YourFile.xlsx backup as .xlk
• Enable hidden items in File Explorer > View > Hidden items to see ~$ files.
• If you don't see Hidden Item option, you can enable it in File Explorer > Click on three dots (...) > Options > Choose View tab > Check "Show hidden files, folders, and drives" > Click OK

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.

Please understand that our initial response does not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

I'm looking forward for your reply.

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