Lost changes in an Excel file after saving

Question

I spent several hours updating an Excel file, adding a large amount of data and multiple new worksheets. Although I saved the file several times, the updated version appears to have disappeared. When I reopened the file, it only showed the original version. The updated file is not listed in Recent Files, and searching my computer only finds the original file that I used as a template. Is there a way to recover the missing Excel file or restore the changes I made? The data is very important.

Answer 1

Hi Ward Melissa

You can consider trying the recommendations from AI's response first including checking Recover Unsaved Workbooks, reviewing the Document Recovery pane, and using Version History if the file was stored in OneDrive or SharePoint. I recommend working through those suggestions first, as they cover the most common recovery scenarios available in Excel.

As an additional troubleshooting step, you can search your PC for recently modified.xlsx,.xlsb, or.tmp files. In some cases, Excel creates temporary or backup copies that may not appear in Recent Files or in the original save location. It may be helpful to sort the search results by Date Modified and look for files created or updated around the time you were working on the workbook

If those steps do not locate the missing workbook, could you provide a bit more information to help better understand your situation?

• Was the file stored in OneDrive/SharePoint or on a local drive?
• Did Excel close normally, or did the issue occur after a restart, sign-out, or other unexpected event?

I look forward to your response.

---

Note: Please follow the steps in the forum documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.  

Answer 2

Yes. The supported recovery paths are:

1. Check for an unsaved or auto-recovered version in Excel.
   • Open Excel.
   • Go to File > Info.
   • If the workbook had been saved before, look under Manage Workbook for a version labeled (when I closed without saving) and select it.
   • Select Restore to overwrite the current file with that recovered version.
2. If the updated workbook was never properly saved, try Excel’s unsaved recovery.
   • In Excel, go to File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Workbooks.
   • Open any matching file.
   • Use Save As immediately to save it to a known location.
3. If Excel closed unexpectedly at any point, check Document Recovery.
   • Reopen Excel.
   • If the Document Recovery pane appears, open the most recent recovered version based on date and time.
   • Then choose Save As to keep a copy.
4. If the file was stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, restore an earlier cloud version.
   • In the folder where the file is stored, right-click the file.
   • Select Version history.
   • Review the saved versions by date and time.
   • Restore the version from before the data disappeared.
   • This replaces the current version, so changes made after that version will be lost.
5. If the workbook now opens but appears damaged or reverted, revert to the last saved version.
   • In Excel, select File > Open.
   • Double-click the workbook name.
   • Select Yes to reopen it.
   • This reverts the workbook to the last saved version and discards later changes.

Important limits from Excel recovery behavior:

• Recent Files may not show the missing version even when a recoverable copy exists.
• The Unsaved Changes pane only shows changes that have not yet been uploaded to the cloud, and it does not show all edit types.
• If the file was in OneDrive or SharePoint, Version History is the best way to recover earlier saved content over a longer period.

If the workbook is found in Recover Unsaved Workbooks or Document Recovery, save it immediately with a different name to avoid overwriting the original while verifying the contents.

---

References:

• Recover an earlier version of an Office file
• Recover your Microsoft 365 files
• Video: Recover Office files
• Get help with unsaved changes in Excel
• Repairing a corrupted workbook