How to Recover an Unsaved Microsoft Office File

We’ve all been there. You’re working on a document, spreadsheet, or presentation, and something goes wrong — a crash, a power outage, or an accidental close without saving. Panic sets in. But before you spiral, take a breath: there’s a good chance you can recover your unsaved Microsoft Office file.

Here’s how to do it — fast.

1. Check the Document Recovery Pane

Microsoft Office apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are built to auto-save in the background. If your app crashes, the next time you open it, you’ll usually see a Document Recovery pane on the left side.

• Open the app you were using (e.g., Word).
• Look for the recovery pane with autosaved versions.
• Click to open, review, and save the file manually.

2. Use the AutoRecover Feature

If the recovery pane doesn’t pop up, you can still try AutoRecover manually.

For Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (Office 2016 and later):

• Open the app.
• Go to File > Info.
• Look for a section called Manage Document (or Manage Workbook/Presentation).
• Click Recover Unsaved Documents.
• Choose the file you need and Save As right away.

AutoRecover files usually live in:

C:\Users\[YourName]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles

You can copy and paste that path into File Explorer, just swap in your actual username.

3. Search for Backup Files (.wbk or .asd)

Microsoft Word sometimes creates backup files with the .wbk or .asd extension.

Here’s how to search for them:

• Open File Explorer.
• In the search bar, type *.wbk or *.asd.
• Look for files with names close to the one you lost.
• Double-click to open, then save.

Note: This only works if the “Always create backup copy” setting was enabled before the issue.

4. Use Temporary Files

In desperate situations, Windows temp files might save you.

• Open File Explorer.
• Search for ~*.docx or ~*.xlsx or ~*.pptx.
• These are temporary files Office creates as you work.
• They won’t always be usable, but they’re worth a shot.

5. Turn on AutoSave and OneDrive (Next Time)

To avoid this stress in the future:

• Save files to OneDrive or SharePoint.
• Enable AutoSave (top-left toggle in Office apps).
• Go to File > Options > Save and make sure:
  • AutoRecover is ON
  • Save interval is short (e.g., every 5 minutes)

Bottom Line

Losing a file is frustrating, but Microsoft has built in more recovery tools than most people realize. Whether you rely on AutoRecover, temp files, or OneDrive, you’ve got options. The key is to act quickly — and set yourself up to prevent it from happening again.

Got questions or want a deeper dive into recovery for a specific Office version? Drop a comment below.