Recover an Unsaved Word Document
Word crashed, or you clicked “Don't Save” by mistake. There's a good chance your work still exists. Here's where Word hides its backups, and how to make sure it never happens again.
Don't panic, and don't keep working in Word
Word saves hidden backup copies every few minutes. Your best chance of getting work back is right now, before those copies are cleaned up. Reopen Word first: it often shows a Document Recovery panel on the left with your file. Click it and save it straight away.
RECOVERGet your document back
Work down the list until you find it.
- Open Word and go to File › Info.
- Click Manage Document and choose Recover Unsaved Documents. (Or File › Open and click Recover Unsaved Documents at the bottom of the recent list.)
- Open the file and immediately click Save As to save it somewhere you'll remember.
Press Win R, paste this and press Enter:
%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles
Also check %AppData%\Microsoft\Word. Files ending in .asd or .wbk are backups. Open Word, choose File › Open › Browse, set the file type to All Files, and open them.
- In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder (⌘ Shift G).
- Paste this and press Return:
~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery
Files named “AutoRecovery save of…” are your backups. Drag one to the desktop, open it in Word, and save it with a new name.
If the document was saved to OneDrive or SharePoint, every version is kept automatically. Open it in Word and go to File › Info › Version History, or select the file title at the top of the window and choose Version History. Open an earlier version and click Restore.
In File Explorer, search This PC for *.asd and then *.wbk. Also search for part of the document's name, and for files starting with ~ modified around the time you lost it.
Open Finder, press ⌘ F, and search for “AutoRecovery” or part of the document name, with Kind set to Document. Also check the Trash.
If you saved over a good version, rather than never saving at all:
Right-click the file in File Explorer and choose Properties › Previous Versions. If File History or a restore point was on, earlier copies are listed.
If Time Machine is set up, open the folder in Finder, click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar, and choose Browse Time Machine Backups.
If Word was closed with “Don't Save” and AutoRecover was off, there may be no copy left. Data recovery tools can sometimes find fragments, but results are hit-and-miss. Set up the protections below to avoid it next time.
PREVENTNever lose a document again
Turn on AutoSave
Save documents to OneDrive and flip the AutoSave switch at the top-left of Word. Every change is saved as you type.
Save AutoRecover more often
In File › Options › Save (Mac: Word › Settings › Save), set AutoRecover to every 1–5 minutes and keep “Keep the last AutoRecovered version” ticked.
Press save out of habit
Ctrl S on Windows, ⌘ S on Mac. It takes a second.
Back up your computer
File History on Windows or Time Machine on Mac lets you go back to older versions of any file.
FAQCommon questions
I clicked “Don't Save”. Is it gone?
Not always. Check Recover Unsaved Documents and the AutoRecover folder first. Word often keeps a copy for several days.
Does this work for Excel and PowerPoint?
Yes. Both have the same Recover Unsaved Workbooks or Presentations option under File › Info › Manage, and the same AutoRecover folders.
How long does Word keep unsaved files?
Unsaved drafts are usually kept for about four days, then deleted automatically, so act quickly.
What's the difference between AutoSave and AutoRecover?
AutoSave saves your actual file continuously, but only for files in OneDrive or SharePoint. AutoRecover saves emergency backup copies every few minutes, which are only used after a crash or if you don't save.