Word documents on a Mac can be lost due to accidental deletion, system errors, or sudden software shutdowns. With features like AutoRecover, Time Machine, and other support tools, you can quickly recover important files.
If a Word document is lost on your Mac, you can check the Recycle Bin, use AutoRecover, or Time Machine to recover it. Let's explore some quick ways to retrieve files.
Method 1: Check the trash can.
In some cases, you might accidentally delete your Word document. Don't worry too much about this, as your document might still be in the Recycle Bin.
To check if your document file is in the Recycle Bin, double-click the Recycle Bin icon on the dock. You will then see all the files in the Recycle Bin. Find your document file, right-click it, and select Put Back . This will 'return' your document file to its original storage location, and you can continue using it.
Method 2: Using the AutoRecover feature
Word for Mac includes an autosave feature called AutoRecover, which is enabled by default. This means Word silently saves the document you're working on without you having to tell the software to do so. For this feature to work properly, you first need to save the document with any name, and then Word will automatically save the document every ten minutes.
If your document is lost due to your computer or software shutting down unexpectedly, you will be prompted to recover the document file when you reopen Word. If for some reason you are not prompted to recover the document, you can find the file in the AutoRecover folder.
To do this, for Word 2011 users, click File on the Menu bar , then search for Autorecover . If you use Word frequently, you'll likely have several different Autorecover files, so check that the date of the Autorecover file matches your document file. Once you've found the document file, click on it to open the document and save it with a new name.
Word 2016 users will face slightly more difficulty. The AutoRecovery folder is 'buried deep' in the system, requiring Mac settings to display hidden files. The first step you need to take is to display hidden folders on your Mac.
Next, open Finder , then click the Home icon in the left column. Then navigate to the following folder:
Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery/
You will now see the AutoRecovery files here. Note that these are only temporary AutoRecovery files and only exist if Word is closed unexpectedly. If you click Delete instead of Save when closing the document, the document's AutoRecovery files will be gone.
Method 3: Find lost files in AutoRecovery Office 2011
When you quickly access the AutoRecovery Office 2011 folder (simply search for AutoRecovery Office 2011 in Spotlight), you won't find the files.
So where are these files located?
Sometimes, document files saved in the AutoRecovery Office folder may not always appear when you search for them.
As you can see in the screenshot below, the most recent file in the AutoRecovery folder is dated March 5th, but there are many more files stored there.
The problem is that the AutoRecover file is located in the Library folder and is not visible by default, so you will have to perform additional steps to make the file visible.
However, since March, Mac OS X and Office have changed, allowing users to view files stored there.
Here's how to locate the files:
Method 4: View all files in the AutoRecovery Office 2011 folder
Access Finder, then press the Alt key (or Option key) when selecting "Go from the menu" at the top of the page. This will make the Library folder visible (without pressing the Alt key, you won't see the Library folder).
Next, access the folder using the following path:
Application Support => Microsoft => Office => Office 2011 AutoRecovery
Here you will see Office 2011 and be able to locate your document file.
Method 5: Files in the AutoRecovery Office 2011 folder cannot be opened.
If you click on a file and it won't open, simply copy the file to your desktop by dragging and dropping it from the Finder window and then open the document normally.
Method 6 : Change the auto-save frequency
Another useful feature is that you can reduce the frequency with which Word documents are automatically saved on your Mac. By default, Word saves automatically every 10 minutes, but you can set a shorter interval.
In Word, access the menu bar at the top of the window and click Word . From the dropdown menu, select Preferences . Under Output and Sharing , you will see a disk icon labeled Save. Click on this icon, and you can adjust the time between saves by entering any value in the Save every X minutes box at the bottom.
Although you can set the time interval between saves as short as possible, it's important to note that Word's performance will be hampered, especially if you're working on large Word documents.
Method 7: Using Time Machine
If everything works correctly, there will never be a case of losing a Word document. The auto-save feature is useful in case something goes wrong, so the document you're working on will still be there.
And of course, there will be situations where things don't go as planned, in which case you'll have to use your backups to recover lost documents. If you're using Time Machine, you can roll back to the original state because these files are still on the system.
If you don't have a habit of backing up your data regularly, stop doing so immediately. Even though Macs are high-end, reliable machines, that doesn't mean problems can't happen, so you should prepare yourself before something goes wrong.
Above, Free Downloads has just guided you on how to recover lost Word documents on Mac . If you have any questions, please leave your comments and questions in the comment section below. Good luck!
You've just finished reading the article "Detailed guide on how to recover lost Word documents on Mac." edited by the TipsMake team. We hope this article has provided you with many useful tech tips and tricks. You can search for similar articles on tips and guides. Thank you for reading and for following us regularly.