How to Recover Word Documents

A step-by-step guide to recover unsaved or damaged Word documents and restore previous versions

Did you close Microsoft Word without saving your document? You're definitely not alone! Don't panic—Microsoft Word has plenty of built-in options that can help you recover documents on your PC or Mac. This wikiHow teaches you how to restore unsaved or damaged Word documents, as well as how to go back to previous revisions. If you can't recover your Word document using these tools, you'll need to use data recovery software or restore from a backup to recover the document.

Things You Should Know

  • If a document you need is damaged or corrupted, you can repair it using the Open and Repair feature in Word.
  • If you save your documents to OneDrive or SharePoint, you can restore them to previous versions.
  • If you forgot to save, find the file in /Preferences/AutoRecovery on a Mac or using Recover Unsaved Documents on a PC.
Method 1
Method 1 of 6:

Recover Unsaved Documents (PC)

  1. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 1
    1
    Open Microsoft Word. You'll find it in the Windows Start menu.
    • If Word crashed before you could save your document, you may see a panel called "Document Recover" in the left side menu upon opening the app. If this panel opens, click your unsaved file in the panel to open it, and then go to File > Save As to save it now. If this worked for you, there's no need to continue with this method.
  2. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 2
    2
    Click the File menu. It's at the top-left corner of Word.
    Advertisement
  3. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 3
    3
    Click Info. It's near the top of the left panel.
  4. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 4
    4
    Click the Manage Document icon. It's in the right panel and looks like a sheet of paper with a magnifying glass. A small menu will expand.
  5. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 5
    5
    Click Recover Unsaved Documents on the menu. This opens the Unsaved Files folder, in which you'll see a list of recently backed-up files that were automatically saved by Word but not yet officially saved by you.
  6. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 6
    6
    Select the document and click Open. This opens the document in Word.
    • If you didn't see your document in the folder, it's possible that you saved it to your Documents or Desktop folder.
  7. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 7
    7
    Save your recovered document. So you don't lose the document again, click the Save As button in the gray bar running across the top of the document and save it to a folder you'll remember (such as Documents). If you don't see this option, click File and select Save As.
    8. Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 6:

Recover Damaged Documents (PC)

  1. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 8
    1
    Open Microsoft Word. If you can't open your Word document because it's damaged or corrupted, you can usually use the built-in repair tool to recover the document.[1] You'll find Word in your Windows Start menu.
  2. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 9
    2
    Click the File menu. It's at the top-left corner.
  3. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 10
    3
    Click Open. It's in the left panel toward the top.
  4. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 11
    4
    Click Browse. It's at the bottom of the "Open" column in the center. This opens your computer's file browser.
  5. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 12
    5
    Navigate to the location of the damaged file. For example, if it's in your Documents folder, navigate to that location.
  6. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 13
    6
    Click the file once to select it. Don't double-click it.
  7. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 14
    7
    Click the down-arrow next to "Open." A menu will expand.
  8. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 15
    8
    Click Open and Repair. It's toward the bottom of the menu. If the file is repairable, Word will repair it now.
    • If the document isn't repairable, you can usually extract the text without the formatting and images. To do this, select Recover Text from Any File from the "File Type" drop-down menu at the bottom-right corner and then click Open. At this point, you can either save the file by clicking File > Save As or paste it into a new file.
    9. Advertisement
Method 3
Method 3 of 6:

Restore Previous Revisions (PC)

  1. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 16
    1
    Open Microsoft Word. As long as you saved your document to your OneDrive or SharePoint in Microsoft 365, you can return to a previous version of the document. You'll find Microsoft Word in your Windows Start menu.
  2. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 17
    2
    Open the file you want to revert. To do this, click the File menu, select Open, navigate to and select the file, and then click Open.
  3. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 18
    3
    Click the File menu. It's at the top-left corner.
  4. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 19
    4
    Open your version history. This lets you see different saved revisions of the document organized by date. The steps to do this are different by version:
    • Word 365: Click Info in the left panel, and then select Version history (the clock icon) in the center panel.
    • Word 2019 or 2016: Click History on the menu. If you don't see it, it's usually because you have a subscription to Microsoft 365. In this case, click Info in the left panel and then select Version history in the center panel.
  5. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 20
    5
    Click the version you want. All versions now appear in the right panel under "Version history." Clicking a version opens it in a separate Word window.
  6. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 21
    6
    Click Restore to switch back to the selected version. This will undo any changes you've made since the revision you selected.
    7. Advertisement
Method 4
Method 4 of 6:

Recover Unsaved Documents (Mac)

  1. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 22
    1
    Open Finder
    Mac Finder
    .     It's the two-toned smiley face icon on the left side of the Dock.
  2. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 23
    2
    Click the Go menu. It's in the menu bar that runs along the top of the screen. A menu will expand.
  3. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 24
    3
    Click Go to Folder on the menu. It's near the bottom of the menu.
  4. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 25
    4
    Enter the path to the AutoRecovery folder. To do this, type or paste the following path into the box (replacing username with the username you use to log into your Mac): /Users/username/Library/Containers/com.Microsoft/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery
  5. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 26
    5
    Click the Go button. This opens a folder that contains files that were automatically saved by Word.[2] Files in this folder begin with the word "AutoRecover."
    • You won't see the file here if you selected Don't Save when closing Word. Unfortunately, there's no way to recover a document if you selected that option.
  6. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 27
    6
    Double-click the file you want to recover. This should open it in Word.
    • If it doesn't open in Word, click the file once, press Return, and then type .doc at the end of the file name. Press Return again to save the new file name and follow any confirmation requests.
    • If you are prompted to select an application, click Open With and choose Microsoft Word.
  7. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 28
    7
    Press Command to save the file. This opens the Save As dialog window, which allows you to save the document with any file name (and to any location) you wish.
  8. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 29
    8
    Select a saving location and click Save. If you don't see a list of folders to save to, click the On My Mac button to browse for a folder on your Mac first.[3]
    9. Advertisement
Method 5
Method 5 of 6:

Recover Damaged Documents (Mac)

  1. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 30
    1
    Open Microsoft Word on your Mac. If you can't open your Word document in Word on your Mac because it's damaged or corrupted, you can usually use the built-in recovery tool to recover the text within. You'll find Word on your Launchpad and/or in the Applications folder.
  2. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 31
    2
    Click the Word menu. It's in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
  3. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 32
    3
    Click Preferences on the menu. A dialog window will appear.
  4. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 33
    4
    Click the General icon under "Authoring and Proofing Tools." It's near the top-left corner.
  5. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 34
    5
    Check the box next to "Confirm file format conversation at Open." It's the first option.
  6. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 35
    6
    Return to Word and click the File menu. It's near the top-left corner of the screen.
  7. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 36
    7
    Click Open on the menu. The option to open a file will appear.
  8. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 37
    8
    Select Recover Text from the "Open" menu. It's the menu near the bottom-right.
  9. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 38
    9
    Select the document and click Open. This opens the text from the document, and hopefully some or all of the original formatting. You may lose some non-text details, but the text should be intact.
    10. Advertisement
Method 6
Method 6 of 6:

Restore Previous Revisions (Mac)

  1. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 39
    1
    Open Microsoft Word on your Mac. If you accidentally saved changes to your Word document and want to revert to a previous version, you can do so easily in Word 365, 2019, or 2016 for Mac.[4] You'll find the program on the Launchpad and/or in the Applications folder.
    • This method only works for files saved to your OneDrive or SharePoint in Microsoft 365.
  2. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 40
    2
    Open the file you want to revert. To do this, click the File menu, select Open, navigate to and select the file, and then click Open.
  3. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 41
    3
    Browse the version history. This will let you view different saved revisions of the document organized by date. The steps to do this are different by version:
    • Word 365: Click the click the name of the document in the title bar of Word (at the top), and then select Browse version history.
    • Word 2019 & 2016: Click the File menu and select Browse Version History.
  4. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 42
    4
    Click the version you want. The version list appears in a panel on the right side of Word. Clicking a document version opens it in a separate window.
  5. Image titled Recover Word Documents Step 43
    5
    Click Restore to switch back to the selected version. It's at the top of the document. This will undo any changes you've made since the revision you selected.
    6. Advertisement

Expert Q&A

  • Question
    Can I retrieve a Word document that wasn't saved?
    Spike Baron
    Spike Baron
    Network Engineer & Desktop Support
    Spike Baron is the Owner of Spike's Computer Repair based in Los Angeles, California. With over 25 years of working experience in the tech industry, Spike specializes in PC and Mac computer repair, used computer sales, virus removal, data recovery, and hardware and software upgrades. He has his CompTIA A+ certification for computer service technicians and is a Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert.
    Spike Baron
    Spike Baron
    Network Engineer & Desktop Support
    Expert Answer
    If it isn't in your recovered files folder and you aren't in a corporate environment, it may be gone for good. If you are in a corporate setting, there's going to be an exchange server somewhere and there will be a copy of your file on that.
  • Question
    By mistake, I deleted the file data, after the delete I saved the file. How can I get the data back?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Go to the recycle bin icon on your desktop and right click it. A menu will show up, click on restore.
  • Question
    How do I recover documents deleted from my PC that are permanently deleted and are not in my recycle bin?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    This will be difficult, but you will need to look for a recovery program.
Advertisement

You Might Also Like

Save a Microsoft Word DocumentHow to Save a Microsoft Word Document: 8 Simple Ways
Set up Autosave on Microsoft Word 2007How to Set up Autosave on Microsoft Word 2007
Back up a Computer
How to
Back up a Computer
Remove a Blank Page in Word
How to
Remove a Blank Page in Word
Check a Word Count in Microsoft Word
How to
Check a Word Count in Microsoft Word
Insert Page Numbers in WordEasily Add Page Numbers to a Word Document on Any Platform
Create an Index in Word
How to
Create an Index in Word
Remove the 'Read Only' Status on MS Word Documents
How to
Remove the 'Read Only' Status on MS Word Documents
Convert Excel to Word3 Easy Ways to Convert Microsoft Excel Data to Word
Insert a Check Box in Word
How to
Insert a Check Box in Word
Make Two Columns in Word2 Easy Ways to Make Two Columns in Microsoft Word
Convert a JPEG Image Into an Editable Word Document3 Free Ways to Convert JPEG Into an Editable Word Document
Insert a Hyperlink in Microsoft Word3 Simple Ways to Insert a Hyperlink in Microsoft Word
Make a Booklet in Word6 Ways to Format and Print a Booklet in Word
Advertisement

References

  1. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/open-a-document-after-a-file-corruption-error-47df9d48-2165-4411-a699-1786ac734bc3
  2. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/recover-files-in-office-for-mac-6c6425b1-6559-4bbf-8f80-4f038402ff02
  3. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/save-a-file-in-office-for-mac-421a5172-9bc6-4ef0-b452-c0939bdce786
  4. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/view-previous-versions-of-office-files-5c1e076f-a9c9-41b8-8ace-f77b9642e2c2#ID0EBBBAAA=Mac
  5. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/change-save-frequency-and-where-word-autorecovery-files-are-stored-ddd81816-39ff-48f4-989e-8bf1db78b2d9#:~:text=files%20in%20Word-,Go%20to%20Word%20%3E%20Preferences.,then%20select%20Open%20or%20Choose.

About This Article

Spike Baron
Co-authored by:
Spike Baron
Network Engineer & Desktop Support
This article was co-authored by Spike Baron and by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Spike Baron is the Owner of Spike's Computer Repair based in Los Angeles, California. With over 25 years of working experience in the tech industry, Spike specializes in PC and Mac computer repair, used computer sales, virus removal, data recovery, and hardware and software upgrades. He has his CompTIA A+ certification for computer service technicians and is a Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert. This article has been viewed 269,054 times.
How helpful is this?
Co-authors: 12
Updated: October 25, 2022
Views: 269,054
Categories: Microsoft Word
Article SummaryX

1. Open Word.
2. Go to File > Info > Manage Document.
3. Click Recover Unsaved Documents.
4. Select the document and click Open.
5. Click Save As to save the document.

Did this summary help you?
Advertisement