Doc deleted section after save

Question

I have just checked a Word document that I openly and check daily and found that a large chunk of my text is gone. I save the document manually every time I close it and have not written on it for some time. I have already checked the version history and cannot find the lost text. As it is for classwork, I am very concerned about what has happened to my document.

Answer 1

Hi @Lexie Fellows,

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

I understand how frustrating it can be when a large portion of content in a Word document suddenly disappears. Below are several steps you can try to recover your content and help prevent this situation in the future.

You mentioned that you’ve already checked Version History, but I’m not sure whether you checked it on a local file or a file synced with OneDrive. Please review both options below:

1. Check Version History 

If you saved your document to your OneDrive or SharePoint in Microsoft 365, you can return to a previous version of the document.

• Open the file > click File on the top right corner >Info >Version history
• You will see different saved revisions of the document organised by date.
• Open and restore an earlier version that might contain your content.

   2. Check OneDrive / Cloud Versioning

If your file is synced with Microsoft OneDrive:

• Go to OneDrive online (browser)
• Right-click the file > Version History
• Look for older timestamps than what appears in Word

1. Recover Unsaved or AutoRecover Files

If AutoRecover is enabled, Word may have saved a temporary copy.

• Open Word> Go to File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Files.

If needed, also find manually: File > Open > Browse, then search for the file with .asd or .tmp or .wbk extensions.

In case you are still able to find the file that has already saved via File > Open > Browse, you can select that file> click the down arrow next to Open> Open and repair

4. Check Recycle Bins

Check your computer’s Recycle Bin and restore any related files.

5.  Review Recent Documents: You can check the Recent Documents on Word and see if your previous work is listed there by

• Open Word> Go to File > Open > Recent.
• Open the most recent version of the document and check whether your changes appear.

For reference: How to recover unsaved Word documents - Microsoft 365 Apps | Microsoft Learn

Additionally, if you are not currently using Auto Recover, we recommend enabling it, as it can retain a copy of your file when Word stops responding, closes unexpectedly, or when a document is closed without saving. Steps:

• Open Word and select File > Options.
• Choose Save from the left panel.
• Ensure the following options are checked:

Save AutoRecover information every X minutes

Keep the last autosaved version if I close without saving

Set the AutoRecover interval to a lower value (for example, 5 minutes).

• Click OK to save changes.

You can access recovered files at: File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Documents

I also recommend turning on AutoSave (when using OneDrive) to help ensure your changes are saved continuously.

I hope the information above is helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out.

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