One of the most popular text processors in the world is undeniably Microsoft Word. For most users, this program allows them to easily create text documents. However, many of us tend to forget to save our work.
Dec 24, 2018 - How to recover unsaved document in Office; How to avoid unsaved document. We'll be focusing this guide on Microsoft Word 2019, but the.
This is also the reason why the autosave feature exists. Such feature helps us avoid data loss. If you’re wondering how you can find, activate, and access the Word autosave location on Windows 10, well, you’d be glad you found this article! Today, we’re going to teach you how to open Word autosave location on Windows 10. Read through this post to know how you can retrieve files that you forgot to save. Method 1: Checking Word settings Of course, before you learn how to open Word autosave location on Windows 10, you must know how to activate the feature first. You can do that by following the instructions below:.
Launch Word, then click File. Select Options, then click Save on the left-pane menu.
Make sure that the ‘Save AutoRecover information’ option is selected. You can also choose your preferred time interval for automatic saving.
Go to the AutoRecover File Location field. Here, you will see the location of the autosave directory.
By default, it is set to C: Users user AppData Roaming Microsoft Word. However, you can always change that to your preferred location by clicking the Browse button. Once you’ve located the autosave location on your computer, you need to launch Word and navigate to the directory.
![Word Word](/uploads/1/2/4/7/124799259/537091898.jpg)
Look for the automatically saved file and double-click it to open it in Word. It is worth noting that the directory may be hidden in your computer, especially when it is located in the AppData folder.
You can quickly access the folder by pasting the location in the address bar of File Explorer. Of course, you can still manually access that folder. You just have to follow the path.
Remember to reveal the hidden items so you can see the AppData folder. Once you’ve done this, you will be able to access the Word autosave location without any issues.
Method 2: Checking the AppData folder As we’ve mentioned, the default autosave location for Word is the AppData folder. Microsoft Word can save the files in various locations, including C: Users Yourusername AppData Local Microsoft Word and C: Users Yourusername AppData Local Temp.
Most recent versions of the program use a different location. In some cases, unsaved files can be found in C: Users Yourusername AppData Local Microsoft Office UnsavedFiles. You will find various types of Word files in the aforementioned folders. Typically, the autosave files have a squiggly line or tilde before the file name.
They also have a.tmp extension along with a 4-digit number assigned to them. Here are some things to consider:. A Word document inside an autosave folder will look like this: wrdxxxx.tmp.
A temporary document file will look like this: wrfxxxx.tmp. An auto recovery file will look like this: wraxxxx.tmp. It is worth noting that complete auto recovery files will not have a.tmp extension. Instead, you will see them with a. Wbk extension. Once you find one of those files, double-click it.
Doing so will open the document in Word. Make sure you save the file after opening it. Method 3: Using the option for recovering unsaved documents If Word unexpectedly crashes or you accidentally close the program, don’t panic. You can still open the autosave location by following the instructions below:.
Open Word, then go to File. Select Recent, then click Recover Unsaved Documents. You will now be able to see the autosave location folder. Now, you can select the document you wish to restore. Another option for accessing the autosave location would be to navigate to this path: File -Info -Manage Versions -Recover Unsaved Documents Make sure you save the file once you open it.
![How do you recover unsaved word documents online How do you recover unsaved word documents online](/uploads/1/2/4/7/124799259/197535000.png)
Method 4: Checking the document directory In some cases, the autosaved files can be found in the same directory where you saved your file. However, these files are typically hidden. You can reveal them by following the steps below:. Launch Word. Go to File, then click Open. Click Browse then navigate to the directory where you saved the file. Make sure you change the File Type from ‘All Word documents’ to ‘All Files’.
You should be able to see the backup file. This file is easily recognizable because it will have ‘Backup of’ in its name. Open the file, then save it.
Method 5: Searching your computer for.asd or.wbk files Word automatically saves your files. However, there are some instances when it can be difficult to find the autosave location.
If you can’t find where this is, it would be ideal to search for the specific file extension. Autosaved Word files typically have a.asd or.wbk file extension. You can search for these files by following these instructions:. On your keyboard, press Windows Key+E. This should launch File Explorer.
Once File Explorer is up, click the search bar in the top right corner. Type “.wbk” or “.asd” (no quotes), then press Enter. Your system will search for all.wbk and.asd files.
Right-click the file and select Open File Location. Doing so will open the Word autosave location. This will allow you to see all your automatically saved files. If you can’t locate any.asd or.wbk files, make sure to search for.tmp files. It is worth noting that.tmp files are not necessarily related to Word. So, some of them might be part of other applications.
You can go back to Method 2 to learn how to identify temporary files associated with Word. It is true that the Word autosave feature is quite useful. However, the autosaved files are still prone to corruption.
If they get infected by viruses, you will lose them entirely. So, to protect your autosaved files and your entire system, make sure you use a reliable security tool like. This program detects common and unusual threats and attacks that may damage your files and harm your computer. With this program, you can rest easy knowing that your PC and your files are sufficiently protected. Can you suggest improvements for this article? Share them in the comments below!
Microsoft Office is not only key to the working life of plenty of professionals, but also the private life of many people. Above all, the popular Word writing program is responsible for the development of the “paperless office” that has recently become standard for most companies. This is why important documents are now only available in electronic form on a computer hard disk. Generally speaking, this is safe practice. Digital documents don’t go missing any more than print documents – assuming there is a good organization system in place. An essential advantage of digital text documents is that, unlike paper documents, they can be edited, adapted, and reorganized at any time and with little effort.
However, there are also situations that may illuminate the disadvantages of exclusively storing your texts digitally. A system crash or a power cut can interrupt work on an important document, a program error can corrupt DOC files, or ind ispensable documents can be accidentally modified or deleted, all of which render hours or even days of work a complete waste of time. But don’t worry, Microsoft Word offers a number of solutions that can help you recover data you thought you lost. Additionally, the Windows operating system offers some helpful tools for such cases. In the case of your computer or Word crashing before you’ve had the chance to save your work, don’t panic just yet!
In most cases, there’s no cause for concern: Word has a built-in lifeline that allows you to undo the damage. “ AutoRecover” is a function that is activated by default in the newer versions of Word (from 2010). When activated, the program automatically saves all current data of a Word document every 10 minutes as a backup in an ASD file (advanced streaming format description).
This backup is usually saved as “AutoRecover of filename.asd.” The function can be found in the “Options” under the “Save” menu item. In the menu, both the boxes “ Save AutoRecover information every xx minutes” and “ Keep the last auto-saved version if I close without saving” must be ticked to activate the function. Here, you can also adjust the time interval and select the destination folder for the ASD files.
As soon as you save your current Word document and exit safely, the ASD file will be automatically deleted. “ AutoRecover” is therefore only used if a file is lost or damaged due to a serious error such as a system crash.
How to proceed in such a case depends entirely on whether you have saved the respective file in another version or whether you’ve saved it at all. With each start or restart, Word will automatically search for any existing AutoRecover files and display them in the “Document restore” area. If for some reason this is not the case, you’ll need to search the relevant document manually:. Click on “ Info” under “ Files” or the Microsoft Office button (depending on your version of Word). Under “Versions,” select the document titled “ Creation date(when closing without saving)”. Now click on “ Recover” in the bar at the top of the Word workspace. If the procedures described above don’t work, or if you are working with a version older than Office 2010, you can alternatively locate the respective ASD file manually.
Open the Windows Explorer (for example, with the shortcut Windows + E). Depending on the Office version, you can find the AutoRecover files in one of the following paths:. C: Users YourUsername AppData Local Microsoft Office UnsavedFiles. C: Users YourUsername AppData Local Temp. C: Windows Temp If your drive name matches the above information, you can also conveniently copy the destination paths into the address line of Windows Explorer. If in doubt, check the AutoRecover destination folder in the Word options.
It’s also possible to use your computer’s search function by entering “.asd” in the search bar and sorting the results by date. As soon as you’ve found the ASD file of your Word document, simply open it in Word and save it as a DOC or DOCX file as usual.
From now on, Word will create a backup copy every time you save a document with “Save As.” These copies will be stored as so-called WBK files in the same folder as the original document and will be titled “backup copy of Original Filename.wbk.” Each saving process is followed by an update. But remember, the backup copy is the next-to-last saved version of your Word document, and the latest changes are not included.
If you accidentally delete or replace an important paragraph and then click on save, you still have the option to restore the paragraph in question. Even if the file is damaged, there are methods for a successful recovery. First, you need to diagnose whether the problem really lies with the document itself, or perhaps with Word, or even your PC. When working on your document, be sure to pay attention to any abnormalities: incorrect layout, false formatting, or the unintended execution of the same command several times (for example, the repeated relocation of page numbers) are possible disturbances. In such cases, try to open th e file on another PC or on another version of Word to avoid further sources of error. If the document can’t be opened in the first place, and Word issues an error message such as “ Word has detected file corruption when opening file name,” the case is crystal clear.
During start-up, Word usually detects corrupted files automatically and attempts to repair them. If this does not happen, you can start the repair on your own authority:. Click on “ File” or the Microsoft Word button and then on “Open”. Select the relevant Word document in the “Open” dialog box.
Click on the arrow next to the “Open” button and select “ Open and repair” If this does not work, you should use the AutoRestore file or your backup copies. However, if the original file is of particular importance or if no ASD or WBK files are available, Microsoft offers. These include, for example:. Copying and pasting all contents of the document (with the exception of the last paragraph) into a completely new document.
Saving the document in rich text format (file extension “.rtf”) and then converting it back to a Word file. Changing the activated document template. Microsoft also has several solutions for this in its support section. The “Recover text from any file” convertor in the Word user interface is particularly helpful.
However, be careful: during recovery, all document formatting and all non-text elements (i.e. Graphics, drawing objects, fields, and others) will be lost. Under “File” or the Office button, click “Open”.
Click on the “Recover text from any file (.)” button under “File type”. Select the document you want to restore and click on “ Open”. After the recovery, you will notice that the document (mainly at the beginning) still contains so-called “ binary data text” which you have to delete before saving the file as a Word document Alternatively, you can try opening the corrupted file with another text program (such as OpenOffice), where all formatting will also be lost. Internet repair tools are also a possible remedy: the freeware can repair damaged Excel and PowerPoint files, ZIP, and RAR archives, as well as videos, images, music, and databases. Additionally, supported by Office 2016, offers a free trial version. Important files can sometimes fall victim to the overzealous emptying of recycle bins when cleaning up your PC. But even then, your annual report or your bachelor thesis has not really disappeared.
Even if files are no longer displayed on Windows, they are still on the hard disk until the entire storage area has been deleted. Only then is a Word document lost. If the entire storage area has not yet been deleted, you can use on-board resources from Windows 7 to perform the recovery:. Right-click on the folder in which the deleted file was originally saved before being moved to the recycle bin. Click on “Restore previous version”. The previously saved versions of the folder will be displayed as well as all files contained in them at the date of modification. By clicking “ Restore” you can retrieve individual Word documents as well as the entire folder.
There are also special recovery tools for recovering deleted Word documents such as. The freeware not only reconstructs files of various formats on the PC hard disk, but also data stored on SSDs, digital cameras, MP3 players, and other mobile devices that did not end up in the computer’s recycle bin.
For this purpose, the tool scans the respective drive and displays the data in a clear tree structure or in a list. You can also use filters and search assistants to search the results for special formats. Depending on the scenario, there are several ways to successfully recover a Word file – whether you’re dealing with a lost, damaged, or deleted document. However, it is always advisable to leave AutoRestore and backup activated. This way, you’re always on the safe side and save yourself a lot of trouble and unnecessary work. Scenario Solution method PC crash, Word crash, power failure Use AutoRecover Unintentional modification and subsequent storage of a file Create automatic backups Corrupted file If the file can be opened: Perform Word repair and copy text to another document If the file cannot be opened: “Restore text from any file” or use a repair tool Deleted file “Restore previous version” or use the recovery tool.