How do I recover deleted excel file?

you know the file name and a win search doesnt find it?

Was it located on OneDrive or the local PC?

Was win file history turned on?

Any data backups?

There are many utilities that can sometimes recover deleted files, the better ones have a try befor you buy option.

Thanks for your quick response.  I do have the file name and have searched but cannot find it.  

I looked on OneDrive and my computer but nothing comes up with the search.

I'm not sure what win file history is.  Could you explain more?

Do you know of any recovery software that is put out by a reputable company?

Hi ScottinPT,

Sorry for the inconvenience it may have caused.

To try to recover the deleted files, there’re some suggestions you may take:

1. Reveal Temporary Files

Documents that have been corrupted or deleted sometimes leave behind temporary versions that contain most, if not all, the content of the original. These temporary files are typically hidden from the user, but it’s easy to uncover them once you know how.

Type File Explorer Options into the search bar and open the corresponding Control Panel result. Switch to the View tab and find the Hidden files and folders radio toggle in the Advanced settings section.

Change this toggle to Show hidden files, folders and drives, as highlighted above. Now, head to the folder where your corrupted or deleted file was saved and look out for file names that begin with a tilde and end with a .tmp extension.

Once you’ve found a file that matches your expectations in terms of file size and date modified, rename it and replace the extension with .docx for versions of Word post 2007 or .doc for earlier iterations. Open it up and see whether it’s the file you were looking for — and don’t forget to go back and change the radio toggle to Don’t show hidden files, folders of drives once you’re done.

2. Check the Recycle Bin

This may seem obvious, but it’s easy to overlook in a panic. Unless you’ve recently emptied it, your Recycle Bin will contain all files that have recently been deleted. That includes documents you’ve removed manually, as well as temporary files like the ones detailed in the above section of this article, so make sure your File Explorer Options are set to Show hidden files, folders and drives when you check in.

3. Use a third-party software to rescue the deleted files.

You have plenty of options if you’re willing to use a third-party solution to recover your work. But because these softwares have not been officially certified by Microsoft, as a support engineer, I cannot guarantee the security of your use of these files. I’m really sorry that I cannot recommend specific software to you.

Before you find yourself in a situation where your document is gone and you’re tearing your hair out to find a solution, go through your Microsoft Office settings and make sure that you’re protected to the best of the software’s abilities.

1. Open up an Office program and navigate to File > Options. First, head to the Save section and make sure that the Save AutoRecover information every ___ minutes dropdown is set to a small amount of time, and that the Keep the last autosaved version if I close without saving checkbox is ticked.

2. Next, head to the Advanced section and find the Save heading. Here, you’re going to check the box labelled Always create backup copy.

3. Save your Office files into OneDrive, then turn on AutoSave. AutoSave is a new feature available in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint for Office 365 subscribers that saves your file automatically, every few seconds, as you work.

With these options enabled, you’re giving yourself the best chance of having a backup of your work, or a version that you can recover, if something goes awry. All it takes is a few clicks, but it could save you lots of time and effort further down the line.

Appreciate your understanding.

Best regards,

Madoc

Hi ScottinPT,

Haven't heard from you for a while. Please leave a post if you need further assistance.

Best regards,

Madoc