autorecover files missing

Question

I am working on a Mac 10.7.3 with Lion and Office 2011. Auto-recover is on (I like it on--Word crashes several times a day).

I have repaired permissions and checked the file path to auto-saved documents.

The autosave folder is full of Word Work files and the occasional auto-saved file (they are named thus, plus numbers etc and dates). The folder itself is time-stamped to indicate that something was auto-saved at 6:40, but the latest document in the folder is a word work file dated 3:35. There is no auto-saved document from this afternoon, although I have been working for ten hours and there should be several. I'd settle for the 6.40 one, though...

Word work files will often open, but I can only save to them once and then they stop saving.

Where might I find my auto-saved files?

Will Word crash as often as it does if I turn auto-save off, or have it save less often?

What else might be causing it to crash? Most of the documents I work on are fairly simple Word layouts, with no weird fonts and few or no graphs and images.

I bought a whole new computer and upgraded everything because my Leopard crashed often. Now I find the same problem with Lion. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

I know this is super late but I saw your question when I , just today, lost my 60 page report due to Office crashing.  I thought i could help others. 

I called the support line, which took hours and got a great guy named simon that helped me recover my report.

I have my computer to set to autosave every 5-10 minutes.  In hindsight I will now click the save icon every paragraph.

I also looked in my autorecovery file and didn't see anything but then Simon took me a different way and the docs were there.

Click "Finder" icon (looks like a face with a split down the face and usually found at the end of your dock)

Click " Go"

Click "Library"

Click " Application Support"

Click " Microsoft"

Click " Office"

Choose Office 2011 auto recovery

You should see the docs that were supposed to be saved if you have your settings to "autosave" throughout the day.

Hope this helps.

Misty

Answer 2

... And you did do exceptionally well :-) Just have a look at some of these postings which basically offer nothing more than "HELP!!!". As I suggested, though, AutoRecover is one of the most misinterpreted features of any software on the planet, but it isn't you, it's the industry & language in general that feeds into that confusion. I could write 10 more paragraphs on that issue but it wouldn't help your situation, soooo...

I can't say that it is the cause but your very first point is most likely the main contributor to the crashes:-)

Unlike many, I believe Track Changes to be a useful, reliable & stable feature -- if used responsibly. Having it perpetually active in any given document, however. is a recipe for disaster, especially if the same portions of the document are revised multiple times. Compound that with the tracking of every keystroke (errant as well as intended) , the correction of same, formatting changes, repositioning & sizing of objects, anything that may cause pagination to change frequently [like cut & paste], etc. it is inevitable that a document - more sooner than later -- gets tangled up in its own underwear. Corruption is also endemic to Tables, especially if they are lengthy, complex and/or nested. Tracking changes exponentially increases the likelihood of misbehavior frequently followed by a complete collapse of the document.

I'm not suggesting that you not use Track Changes, but I'd respectfully suggest that you re-evaluate how & when you use it. Others would recommend avoiding it altogether and use the Compare Documents feature, instead. Either way, the tracking needs to be turned off regularly & the tracked changes need to be Accepted/Rejected so that the document can catch its breath. If a document has to be revised heavily & a history of the variants needs to be maintained, consider saving different versions of the document. The Always create backup copy feature in Word> Preferences> Save can be quite useful for that purpose.

To address current issues, the first point is to save using the current .docx format if you aren't already doing so. It's far more efficient & stable than the former .doc format.

Next, have a look at this web page for some methods for clearing up corruption in existing documents. Make a copy, turn Track Changes off, Accept/Reject all changes, then follow Procedure #2. Work with that copy for a while & see if conditions improve.

It may also help to follow the guide here to clear up any font issues that may be contributing to the situation: **Font Weeding.**

Regards,

Bob J.

Answer 3

Look in the Word menu and choose About Word. The current version is 14.2.2. Use Help > Check for Updates if your copy is not up to date. A lot of work has been done to fix Track Changes crashes and scroll speed. It sounds like you have not installed the updates.

Answer 4

Thank you for the response. And I thought I was doing well getting the words file and folder correct! 

I am an obsessive saver, so it is likely that the auto-recovery never kicks in.

As to crashes--I have followed all four steps above, and still have problems. I have no fancy enhancements to Word, being a strong believer in the KISS principle and knowing my limitations.

Crashes happens across various Word documents, some more than others. I have tried in the past to determine what triggers them, with little success.

I work almost exclusively in Track Changes, so it is always on.

Crashes occur when the sidebar is showing

Crashes occur when I use the 'Show Styles Guides' option (love it, but have decided not to use it)

Crashes occur when I write a lengthy note in Track Changes comments

Crashes occur when I am happily typing away in the main document

Crashes occur more often in long documents than in short ones

Crashes happen more often in documents with tables than in those without

Crashes happen more often when I am working with a custom template

I can't point at any one of these as being the cause. They may just be there at the time, like the cat by the overturned goldfish bowl.

Answer 5

Pardon me for seeming pedantic, but the terminology you've used interchangeably suggests that some degree of clarification will help insure that we're on the same page :-) Much of the issue you've described is the result of the crashes, though, so once that's resolved the rest should no longer be of concern -- we'll come back to the crashing shortly.

The first point to make, though, is that you'd do well to completely sever any connection you might be tempted to make between the term autosave & the term Microsoft. None of the Microsoft programs have an autosave feature -- one that saves your changes automatically to your working file. What MS apps do have is a feature called AutoRecover, but it is not nor is it intended to be autosave... More on AutoRecover further on.

Second, Word Work Files are not for user access nor are they associated with the AutoRecover feature. As you work with a document, Word creates these temporary [as indicated by the .tmp extension] files for its own purposes. Under normal circumstances Word deletes these files when they're no longer needed, both on the fly as well as when you close the document file to which they pertain. In short, the only reason you're seeing them is because of the crashes -- Word doesn't have the opportunity to remove them so they get left behind.

As mentioned above, AutoRecover [Save AutoRecover Info] is not what the term autosave implies for several reasons.

• AutoRecover under no circumstances saves anything to the working document file, itself. AutoRecover files are created in a separate folder altogether.
• Regardless of interval settings, AutoRecover does nothing until the document is Saved by the user at least one time. IOW, if you open a file or create a new document then work "for ten hours" no AutoRecover file will be generated during that time. Once you give the Save command the 'timer' starts. If you neglect to save again within the specified interval the AutoRecover file will be created for you. It will be updated every n minutes thereafter if you fail to save again, but each time you Save, the timer resets.
• If you're conscientious about saving as you work, it's entirely possible that no AutoRecover file will ever be created... If it's set for "every 10 minutes" but you save every 8 minutes there is no need for the file to be generated.
• Even when active, AutoRecover may not capture the latest changes made in your document. If the file is updated at a specific 10 minute point but you continue to work for another 9:59 & the power goes out the changes made during that time will not be captured.
• Unlike autosave, AutoRecover is strictly there to help recover as much as it can in the event of a critical failure. Similar to work files, though, AutoRecover files are deleted automatically when the pertinent file is closed properly.

Now, as for the crashes... There are some fundamentals to confirm before chasing symptoms:

1. Make sure Office is fully updated -- 14.2.2 is the current build
2. Confirm that OS X is fully updated as well -- Use the 10.7.4 COMBO from the Apple site
3. Run Disk Utility to repair disk permissions
4. Restart you Mac

If the crashing persists reply with any additional details you can supply, such as;

• Does this happen with all documents or only when working with certain ones?
• Are there any specific actions which seem to trigger the crashes?
• Do you use any utility apps intended to "enhance" or add functionality in OS X or Word?

Regards,

Bob J.