I lost a file i had saved but without a name and saw a WRL1296 code. where can it be?

Question

i was using a free version of Word 365 so i could use better fonts.
i saved all day cause autosave was NOT on, but didnt notice that my huge file (a book) did not have its usual title on. i have that file on my desktop but it opens to my last edited version from a day ago.

Answer 1

Files whose names start with ~wrl are a type of temporary files which are used by Word when you have the docx (or doc) document open for editing. These files are usually deleted when you close your document and exit Word.

Which specific version of Word (Office) do you have? Note that if you have a free version (Word on the web), you won't be able to save files locally at all. Your Office files will be in the OneDrive cloud.

Answer 2

The unnamed file is most likely stored as an AutoRecover/unsaved document or as a backup/temporary file. To locate the most recent version, try each of these methods in order on the same PC and account where it was created.

1. Use Word’s “Recover Unsaved Documents”
   1. Open Word.
   2. Select File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Documents.
   3. In the list that appears, look for a file with a recent date/time that matches when work was done (it may have a generic name, not the book’s title).
   4. Select it, choose Open, then immediately use Save As and give it the correct name and location.
2. Check the Document Recovery pane
   1. Start Word. If Word previously closed unexpectedly, the Document Recovery pane may open automatically.
   2. In Available Files, open each entry that matches the time work was done.
   3. When the correct version is found, save it with File > Save As.
3. Search for AutoRecover and backup files on disk a. Search for AutoRecover files (.asd)
   1. Open Word and go to File > Open > Browse.
   2. In the files of type list next to File name, select All Files.
   3. Browse to the usual working folders and look for files with extension .asd or names similar to the WRL code seen.
   4. Right‑click a likely file and select Open. If it is the missing book, save it immediately with Save As.
   b. Search for Word backup files (.wbk)
   1. On Windows, select Start, type *.wbk, and press Enter.
   2. In the results, look for files named Backup of followed by a name that might match the book or an unnamed document.
   3. Double‑click to open; if it is the right content, save it with a proper name.
   If the “Always create backup copy” option was enabled earlier, backups may also be in:
   • C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word
   • C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles
   Replace <UserName> with the Windows account name. Open any promising file and then save it properly.
4. Search for the document by content or type
   1. Select Start, type part of a unique phrase from the book or *.docx, and press Enter.
   2. Check the Documents results for files modified on the day the work was done.
   3. Open each candidate and save the correct one with the desired name.
5. Check the Recycle Bin
   1. Double‑click Recycle Bin on the desktop.
   2. Sort by Date Deleted and look for .doc or .docx files that might be earlier versions of the book.
   3. If found, select and choose Restore, then open and save under the correct name.

If none of these locations contain a newer version than the desktop copy, only the last saved version (from the previous day) is available.

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References:

• How to recover unsaved Word documents
• Recover an earlier version of a Word file
• Recover your Word files and documents
• Recover your Microsoft 365 files