Accidentally closed Word without saving on your Mac? Do you know how to recover unsaved Word documents on Mac? Depending on the unique features of Microsoft Word for Mac, you might be able to find your unsaved items in the AutoRecovery folder, Temporary folder, or Trash as Recovered Items. In addition, if you accidentally lost, deleted, or formatted your Word document, you can also use Word file recovery software to recover Word files on Mac.

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Solutions that Work Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
Recover Unsaved Word Document

#1. Recover from AutoRecovery folder... Full Steps
#2. Recover from TMP folder... Full Steps
#3. Recover from 'Recover' in Recycle Bin... Full Steps

Recover Deleted Word Document #4. Recover with a Word File Recovery Tool... Full Steps

How to Recover an Unsaved Word Document on a Mac

Microsoft Word has gained popularity on Macs, especially in scenarios where it offers more collaborative features than Pages. With Office 365, users can also create Word documents on their Macs. On one hand, Microsoft Word provides the standard DOC or DOCX file formats that are compatible across almost all operating systems. On the other hand, versions of Word like 2022, 2020, 2019, 2018…2011 have an AutoSave feature that lets you recover Word documents before they're saved.

Depending on the version of Microsoft Word for Mac you're using, there are three possible ways to help you recover an unsaved Word document. These methods also apply to recovering unsaved Excel files on Mac.

Mac version of Microsoft Word

#1. Recovering Unsaved Word Documents on Mac with Auto-Recover

Word for Mac has an “AutoRecover” option that is enabled by default. It saves a copy of your open Word files every 10 minutes. If Word crashes while you're working on a document, or your computer malfunctions, you can use the AutoRecover copy to restore any changes or additions you made to the document in Word for Mac that hadn't yet been saved.

Title: Guide: How to Recover an Unsaved Word Document In our daily work, we might occasionally experience unexpected Word closures or forget to save changes, resulting in lost unsaved work. Fortunately, Microsoft Word has built-in features to help you recover those documents. Here's a detailed guide on how to retrieve your precious text. 1. **Use AutoRecover** - Open Word. - Click the "File" tab, then select "Info." - On the right side, click "Manage Versions" and then "Recover Unsaved Documents." - A new window will open, listing all auto-saved files. - Browse the list, find your unsaved document, and click "Open." 2. **Check Temporary Files** - Close the Word application. - Use Windows search, type "%temp%", and press Enter. - In the opened folder, look for files starting with "~$" – these could be your unsaved documents. - Copy the file to your desktop or another secure location, rename it by removing the "~$" prefix and adding ".docx" (or the appropriate file extension). - Double-click the new file to open it in Word, then save it immediately. 3. **Use Backup Copies** - If you have enabled Word's "Save AutoRecover Information," there might be backup copies. - Open Word, click "File" > "Options" > "Save." - In the "Save" settings, ensure "Keep a backup copy if you don't save" is checked. - If so, reopen Word, click "File" > "Info" > "Manage Versions," then choose "Recover Backup." 4. **Use System Restore Point** - If all else fails, you can try recovering the file using a system restore point, assuming one was created before the file was lost. - Search for "Create a restore point" and select "System Properties." - Under the "System Protection" tab, click "System Restore..." - Follow the wizard's instructions, choose a restore point, and confirm the action. Please note that these methods aren't guaranteed to work 100%, so backing up your work regularly is crucial. Develop a habit of saving your documents often to prevent such issues.

Unlike recovering unsaved Word documents in Windows, the process of retrieving files from the AutoRecovery folder is different on a Mac.

Step 1: Open the Finder on your Mac and go to Go > Go to Folder.

Step 2: Type ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery, and then click Go.

3. Open the "AutoRecovery" folder and look for files that begin with "AutoRecovery save of." Select the file you want to recover, rename it, and add the ".doc" file extension.

Restore unsaved Word document from AutoRecovery folder

Step 4: Double-click the file. This will open the document in Word for Mac.

Step 5: Click on the "File" menu and then select "Save As." Type in a new name for your file in the "Name" field, choose a folder, and click the "Save" button.

#2. Recover Unsaved Mac Word Document from TMP Folder

Word for Mac saves a copy of an unsaved document in a "Temporary" folder, named "Word Workfile." The Mac also temporarily stores files here, but it might be difficult to find for many Mac users.

Title: Guide: How to Recover Unsaved Word Documents on Mac Encoding: utf-8 When using Microsoft Word on your Mac, you might accidentally close a document or experience a system crash, resulting in lost unsaved work. Fortunately, Word has built-in features that can help you recover those unsaved documents. Here's how to recover an unsaved Word document on your Mac: 1. **Use Auto-Recover** - Open the Word application. - Click on "File" in the menu bar. - Select "Open." - In the "Recent Documents" section, look for a preview of your unsaved document. If it's there, click it to open and save. 2. **Check for Temporary Word Files** - Navigate to `~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.Word/`. The `~` signifies your home directory, usually represented by a "Home" icon in Finder. - Locate the `.tmp` file with the most recent date, which could be your unsaved document. - Backup this file just in case something goes wrong during the process. - Rename the `.tmp` file, changing its extension to `.docx`. - Double-click the newly named file to open it in Word and save it. 3. **Use Time Machine (if enabled)** - Make sure your Mac is connected to a Time Machine backup. - Open Time Machine by clicking its icon in the top menu bar or finding it in the Dock. - Scroll through the timeline to find a backup point before your Word document was unsaved. - Preview and open the Word document in Finder. - Click "Restore" to bring the file back to the present time. 4. **Try Third-Party Recovery Tools** - If the above methods don't work, consider using a data recovery tool like Stellar Data Recovery or tools Data Recovery Wizard. - Download and install the appropriate software, then follow its instructions to scan and recover your unsaved Word document. Remember, while these methods can be helpful, the best strategy is always to save your work regularly to prevent accidental data loss. Enabling Word's auto-save feature or manually saving periodically is wise.

Step 1: Click on “Applications” > “Utilities,” and then double-click on “Terminal.”

<Step 2> Type open $TMPDIR in the terminal, and press Enter. This opens the TMP folder, which is used for temporary files.

Step 3: Inside the TMP folder, locate and open the “TemporaryItems” folder. Right-click on the unsaved Word file you want to recover and select “Open with Microsoft Word.”

Step 4: Save the Word file elsewhere by clicking “File” then “Save As.”

Recover unsaved Word document from Temporary Items

#3. Recover unsaved Mac Word document from the Recovery Option

For Mac versions of Word, the program saves unsaved documents temporarily in a folder called “Recoverable Items,” which is located within the Trash. If there are no recoverable files, this folder will not appear.

Guide: How to Find Unsaved Word Documents on a Mac

Step 1: Click the Trash icon in the Dock to open it.

Step 2: Look for a folder named “Recovered Items” and open it. Find your unsaved Word file here. If it's not there, try the next solution.

How to recover unsaved Word documents on Mac – Recovered Items

#4. Recovering an Unsaved Word Document Using Word Recovery Software

Reliable Word File Recovery Software - Data Recovery Wizard tool has recently upgraded its Recover Unsaved Documents feature that allows you to recover unsaved Word files from Mac with just a few clicks.

Step 1: Run the Mac Data Recovery Wizard and hover the mouse over the device where the unsaved files were lost, then click “Scan.”

Select the location and click on Scan

Step 2: After the scan is completed, click on “Category” and then expand “Unsaved Documents”. Click on the specific file type that you didn't save – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Keynote, Pages, Numbers.

Click a file type.

Step 3: Double-click the unsaved file preview, choose the correct version, and click “Recover” to save the file to a secure location on your Mac.

Click the "Restore" button.

#5. Recover deleted Word documents using file recovery software

The above three methods only work if you were editing a file that disappeared before you could click “Save.” In other words, these methods only work on files that were in use when they were lost. If you had an existing Word document that you lost due to deletion, formatting the disk, or losing access, you'll need to take different steps to recover a Word document on Mac.

Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is a professional third-party data recovery tool for Mac that scans your hard drive, external drive, SD card, or USB flash drive to find all lost data that has gone missing from your Mac OS X/macOS. Whether you've emptied the Trash or not, the program will display deleted files when you scan the selected drive.

For a first try, we strongly recommend downloading its free version. It won't cost you a penny to search for the lost files. Also, since your issue is only about a few missing Word files, the 2 GB recovery limit should be more than enough. The scanning and recovery process is very straightforward, and we'll show you how it's done.

Guide: How to Recover a Word Document on Mac

Step 1: Select the location from where you lost your important Word document and click on the Scan button.

Select the location where your document was lost and click on the “Scan” button.

Step 2: The software will immediately start a quick scan and deep scan on the selected disk volume. The scanning results will be displayed in the left panel.

Scan the selected disk to find lost documents

Step 3: You can quickly filter the lost Word files via “Path” and “Type”. Select the target files and then click the Recover button to get them back immediately.

Click on the “Recover Now” button to retrieve the lost document on your Mac.

How to Increase the Likelihood of Recovering Unsaved Word Documents

After the horror of losing a Word document, you'll want to make sure it never happens again. To avoid losing your file altogether, you can:

Tip 1: Save Every New Document As You Start It

An unsaved Word document exists in your computer's RAM, not on your hard drive. As such, the likelihood of recovering an unsaved document is slim. This should emphasize the importance of saving a Word file at least once as you create it.

Tip 2: Change the Auto Save Interval

After you save a Word document, AutoSave starts working. To minimize the risk of losing your work, you can change how often Word automatically saves your files:

Step 1: Open Microsoft Word on your Mac.

Step 2: Go to File > Preferences, and click Save under Output and Sharing.

<Step 3> Check all the items under “Save Options” (recommended) and change the interval for auto-saving, for example, from every 10 minutes to every five minutes.

By following these two tips, you'll greatly reduce the chances of losing your Word documents. What if you accidentally deleted an important Word file on your Mac? Don't worry. Try to recover permanently deleted Word documents for free with Data Recovery Wizard for Mac.