Recovering a Word file

Question

One of my Word files was deleted and I want to recover it.

Answer 1

To recover a deleted Word file, try these methods in order:

1. Check Word’s Document Recovery (if the app crashed)
   • Open Word.
   • If Word previously closed unexpectedly, the Document Recovery pane should appear automatically.
   • In Available Files, open the listed versions, review them, and save the ones that contain the needed content.
   • Close the Document Recovery pane after saving the required files.
2. Search for backup and AutoRecover files (Windows desktop Word)
   If the file was created/edited on a Windows PC with Word:
   • Open Word and go to File > Open > Browse.
   • In files of type, select All Files and look for:
     • AutoRecover files (.asd).
     • Backup files (.wbk).
   • Also search for backup files:
     • In Windows, select Start, type *.wbk, and press Enter.
     • If a file named Backup of <your filename> appears, double-click to open it in Word.
   • If using Microsoft 365, check these folders for backups:
     • C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word
     • C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles
       Replace <UserName> with the Windows account name.
3. Search for the document by name (Windows)
   • Select Start, type the document name, and press Enter.
   • If it appears under Documents (or Files), double-click to open it in Word.
4. Check the Windows Recycle Bin (if deleted from a PC)
   • Double-click Recycle Bin on the Desktop.
   • Look for .doc / .docx files matching the missing document.
   • If found, right-click the file and select Restore.
5. If the file was in OneDrive or SharePoint
   • If the document was saved or synced to OneDrive or SharePoint, use their recycle bins or restore features:
     • For SharePoint: see Restore items in the recycle bin that were deleted from SharePoint or Teams.
     • For OneDrive: see Restore deleted files or folders in OneDrive.
6. If the file was permanently deleted on Windows 10
   • On Windows 10 version 2004 or later, use the Windows File Recovery tool from Microsoft Store to attempt recovery of permanently deleted files.
   • For guidance, see Recover lost files on Windows 10.
7. If the document is damaged rather than deleted (Mac)
   If the file opens but content is corrupted:
   • In Word for Mac, go to Word > Preferences.
   • Under Authoring and Proofing Tools, select General.
   • Enable Confirm file format conversion at Open and close the dialog.
   • Select File > Open.
   • On the Open menu, choose Recover Text, then open the damaged document.

For future protection, store documents on OneDrive or SharePoint and keep AutoSave turned on so changes are continuously saved to the cloud.

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References:

• Recover your Word files and documents
• How to recover unsaved Word documents
• Recover files in Office for Mac