How to Recover an Unsaved Word Document (4 Methods)

Word keeps a hidden safety copy of your work every few minutes, even before you save. Which recovery route works depends on how the document was lost: closed without saving, a crash, or a file that never existed on disk.

• Recover a document you closed without saving
• Recover a document after Word crashes
• Search for AutoRecover files manually
• Change AutoRecover settings so it doesn’t happen again

Recovering a document you closed without saving

Use this when you clicked Don’t Save, or closed a new document that never had a name. This is the first method in the video.

1. Open Word and start a blank document, or open any document.
2. Click File > Info.
3. Click Manage Document, then choose Recover Unsaved Documents.
4. A folder of unsaved drafts opens. Select the most recent one and click Open.
5. In the yellow bar at the top of the document, click Save As.
6. Choose a location and file name, then click Save.

Result: The draft becomes a normal Word document. Microsoft documents this method in Recover an earlier version of a Word file.

Note: Unsaved drafts are only kept if Keep the last autorecovered version if I close without saving is turned on. If the folder is empty, check that setting using the last method below.

If you had saved the file before and lost later edits, open that file instead. Go to File > Info, and under Manage Document pick the version labelled (when I closed without saving). Then click Restore.

Recovering a document after Word crashes

Use this when Word froze, crashed, or your computer lost power while the document was open.

1. Restart Word. It looks for AutoRecover files every time it starts.
2. If it finds any, the Document Recovery pane opens on the left.
3. Each file is listed as [Original] or [Recovered]. Open the [Recovered] version, which is usually the newest.
4. Check the content, then click File > Save As and save it as a .docx file.

Result: You get back everything up to the last AutoRecover save. With the default 10-minute interval, you may lose up to the last 10 minutes of typing.

In Microsoft 365, Word may open the recovered file straight away with a message bar instead of the pane. Click Save in that bar to keep it.

Tip: Save the recovered file before you close or edit it. Word removes AutoRecover files once it decides they aren’t needed, for example after you save or click Don’t Save.

Searching for AutoRecover files manually

Use this when Recover Unsaved Documents is empty and Word didn’t show the recovery pane.

On Windows:

1. Open File Explorer and check these folders, replacing <UserName> with your Windows user name:
   • C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles
   • C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word
2. If nothing is there, search the computer for .asd, the AutoRecover file extension.
3. In Word, go to File > Open > Browse, set the file type list to All Files, and open the .asd file.
4. Save it with File > Save As as a .docx file.

You can also search for .wbk backup files and .tmp files, as listed in Microsoft’s guide to recovering unsaved Word documents.

On a Mac:

1. In Finder, press Shift + Cmd + G to open Go to Folder.
2. Enter /Users/<username>/Library/Containers/com.Microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery and press Return.
3. Open the newest file, which usually starts with “AutoRecovery save of”, in Word.
4. Save it straight away with File > Save As.

The AutoRecovery folder is hidden, so you can’t browse to it normally. Microsoft lists the paths in Recover files in Office for Mac.

Changing AutoRecover settings so it doesn’t happen again

Use this once, after you’ve rescued your document. The video covers this in its “Change Auto Recover Settings” chapter.

On Windows:

1. Go to File > Options > Save.
2. Check Save AutoRecover information every and set it to 5 minutes or less.
3. Check Keep the last autorecovered version if I close without saving.
4. Click OK.

On a Mac:

1. Go to Word > Preferences (called Settings in recent versions) > Save.
2. Under Save AutoRecover info, enter how often Word should save, for example every 5 minutes.

Result: Word saves a recovery copy more often, so a crash costs you minutes of work, not hours.

Tip: Store important documents in OneDrive or SharePoint and turn on AutoSave. Word then saves the real file every few seconds, and AutoRecover is rarely needed.

Comparing the methods

Platform differences

• Windows: has Recover Unsaved Documents and the close-without-saving draft. This is what the video shows.
• Mac: relies on AutoRecover after a crash. If you close a file and click Don’t Save, Word deletes its AutoRecover file.
• Word for the web: saves continuously to OneDrive, so there is no unsaved state. Use File > Info > Version History to go back to an earlier copy.

Troubleshooting a document you can’t find

• Recover Unsaved Documents shows an empty folder: AutoRecover may be off, or you closed the file before the first interval passed. Search for .asd files next.
• The file was saved, then deleted: check the Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (Mac). For OneDrive files, check the OneDrive recycle bin.
• The recovered file opens with odd formatting: recovery copies can be imperfect. Copy the text into a new document and save that.
• The document now opens in Compatibility Mode: the recovered copy may be in an older format. Turn off Compatibility Mode in Word and save it again.
• You want automatic saving without thinking about it: consider writing drafts in Google Docs, which saves every change. You can move a Word file into Google Docs without losing formatting.

For more fixes like this, see the Microsoft Word guides.