To Recover Unsaved Word Documents on macOS, Technology has taken the led in our lives in a way that it makes our life better. One important application that almost everyone uses is Microsoft word and it adds a lot to the world of technology. A tech-savvy can’t ignore the use of it. One of the common issues we face is that Microsoft word is losing the data before we save it. The losing of the document which is made of immense effort is not that easy to digest. But there are ways to keep in mind to find or recover the unsaved word documents on macOS.
On a Windows PC, iOS this is a common fault and we have already looked upon a guide telling how to restore unsaved word documents. This tutorial takes the path on various approaches to recover an unsaved Word document.
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How to Recover Unsaved Word Files on macOS (2021)
The unsaved missing word document may be so important and one looks for ways to get it back. However, there are few options for recovering an unsaved Word document on MacBooks and iMac.
Office 365v subscription or a licensed Microsoft Office key is mandatory for a Microsoft word to work on a Mac. This is available in retail shops or can purchase through online.
1.Use AutoRecovery to recover a Word document
The specialty of Microsoft Word is that it has an AutoRecovery feature. So, it can restore the files which are not saved and lost due to any reason. This functionality is enabled by default when you install Office apps on your Mac.
The feature of the Autorecover option is that it saves the files in a break of 10 minutes by default; we can also make the break according to our wish. Office deletes prior Autorecover files when you save a file manually. if you didn’t save your document, don’t forget to utilize the Auto Recover tool to restore the document. Let’s check how to do it.
- Open Finder on your Mac when Microsoft Word is open.
- Select Go and Go to folder respectively from the navigation bar. And also when you are in the Finder, press Command+ Shift+G.
- Please enter the following path and replace it with your username on the Mac
/Users//Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences
Let’s check one example,
Like if my username is “sajidshaik” then definitely its path will be/Users/sajidshaik/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences - Open Microsoft Word and locate the AutoRecover file.
- And last, to recover the previously saved version of the document, select File and Save As from the menu.
You are again given the option to edit your work after Microsoft Word will recover the lost work. Anyways, it’s not sure that word will recover the complete file because it relies on when your word document was last saved
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2.On macOS, use Temporary Folder to recover an unsaved Word document
If you mistakenly erased a file, your Mac’s operating system provides a temporary folder. if you check through the contents of the temporary folder for your Word document, you could discover it there. Follow the instructions below to inspect the contents of your temporary folder on Mac OS.
- Kindly launch the Terminal application on your Mac.
- And then enter the command as follows and click Enter key in the app.
open $TMPDIR - The next step is easy. Just ‘Look for your deleted file’ in the opened Finder Window. Another benefit is that you can use the search tool to search for the file name of a missing document.
- If the file is located, copy the file to your Desktop or another folder.
We should keep in notice that on macOS, there are some Temporary Folders. To find the files use the Finder’s Go to Location tool and enter the addresses given below:
/tmp
~/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems
If your deleted file isn’t in macOS’s temporary folder, it can be in one of the above-mentioned temporary folders.
3.Restore Previous Version of the Word Document
If you mistakenly erased text or information while working on the document, you should restore it from a prior version. In Word, here’s how you can accomplish that.
- Select File from the menu bar after the Word document is open.
- From the submenu, choose Browse Version History. We get leads to a panel with already saved versions.
- To restore the previous version, click the version you want to recover and select the Restore option.
If suddenly something like the word application crashes or your Mac shuts down due to some power issue or a low battery, the AutoRecovery option will be there to help you.
Just reopen the word application and the document will automatically show its
4.Using Time Machine Backup, Recover Unsaved Word documents
Since 2008, every Mac has had a backup program called Time Machine, which, once set up, creates incremental backups of your information. Follow these procedures to recover a lost Word document from a Time Machine backup:
- Your Mac should be connected with the backup disk which holds your Time machine backup.
- Go to the deleted files folder and open it.
- Choose the Time Machine option from the menu bar after selecting the Time Machine icon from the menu bar.
- Now just move to back in time and Locate the file by using the timeline present on the display that you want to recover.
- To restore a deleted file, select it and click Restore.
Please set up Time Machine for a better result and if you do not have it go with the last one.
5.On Mac, Recovering Deleted Word Documents from the Trash
No one can delete the word document in Mac permanently because the system doesn’t remove it as soon as we give the delete option like all other systems. The chances of missing the file are more only when you go to Trash and empty it. Otherwise, all the deleted files will be in the trash itself.
So Let’s see how to recover deleted Word documents from Trash.
- Just open Trash on your Dock.
- Locate the deleted file and right-click it.
- From the drop-down menu select put Back.
So after doing this the word document will be in its original position it was in before. Before removing a Word document, double-check the location where it was saved.
Warning: The options “Put Back,” “Delete Immediately…”, and “Empty Trash” are quite near. Check to see whether you selected the incorrect choice by accident
6.Recovering Unsaved Word Documents With Data Recovery Software
Once you browse through the Internet, you can come across plenty of Data Recovery Software(s). All of them are good enough to prevent viruses while recovering the lost documents.
iSkysoft Data Recovery can be spotted as an example of such a Data Recovery Software. it is one of the most effective data recovery tools available for Mac. The drawback is that you may lose some of your data while retrieving the files.
We know that in cases like this files move through various procedures and other fitments and most probably the data will be corrupted due to its large size. So don’t have high expectations.
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Beware next time
The above-discussed approaches will help you a lot. Adding to this keep in mind some precautions to prevent any file loss in the future.
- -In Word, activate AutoRecovery
- -Time Machine Backups should be done regularly (we use this hard disc for Time Machine backups).
- -Before emptying the trash on your Mac, always take a moment to ponder.
- -Make use of data security software.
As we earlier see, Regular data backups are very necessary.Whenever you use to write a word document never forget to save files at regular intervals. You can speed up this procedure by using the MS word Autosave function. if you have tried these approaches and have any doubts or suggestions please pin them on the comment box.
