[12 Ways] How to Recover Deleted or Unsaved Word Documents on Mac

"Is there a way to recover an unsaved Word document on Mac?" This is a question you can see people post over the Internet. "Unsaved doc file" means you must work again to complete the content. Actually, there are ways for you to return unsaved ones; some methods can even recover deleted Word documents on Mac. With a little bit of effort, you will find the lost files or content. Let's take a look at the reasons why Word documents are lost and 12 methods to solve the problem in detail.

Table of contents
WWhat Causes the Word Document Loss on Mac?
Can I Recover Word Doc on Mac?
How to Retrieve Unsaved Word Documents on Mac
How to Recover Deleted Word Docs on Mac
How to Recover Text from a Damaged Document on Mac
How to Avoid Losing Word Documents on Mac Again
Final Thoughts
FAQs

What Causes the Word Document Loss on Mac?

There are several reasons why Word documents are lost on a Mac. What are they? Knowing the reasons, you might avoid the losing Word docs problem bothering you in the future.

  1. Unsaved Word Documents

    Why didn't you save Word documents? You might forget to press Command + S to save the changes. Or you can confirm the "do not save" action while you are quitting the Microsoft Word app. This is a fool action when you're in a hurry to go.

  2. Unexpected Application Crashes

    Who hasn't experienced the frustrating and annoying Microsoft Word crashes, especially when you do the Word processor quickly? When it simply stops working and goes flash white, your unsaved document bears the risk.

  3. System Shutdown or Power Outage

    An unexpected power outage or abrupt shutdown are also two of the most common ways to lose a Word document. While it could be a simple flick of the switch, such shutdowns can also corrupt Word files.

  4. Accidental Deletion

    Deletion happens when you sort out your files. Permanently deletion most happens when you empty your trash bin.

  5. Corrupted Hard Drives or Formatting Errors

    Although rare, Mac users sometimes experience data loss due to corrupt hard drives. If you have ever formatted a disk or experienced file system corruption, you know what it's like. It can lead to Word doc loss, too, and get you to look up "how to recover a Word document on Mac."

  6. Software issues or Malware

    Nothing beats rogue applications, especially ones that carry Malware. They not only take your Word docs but also interfere with different features of your favorite applications. Please think of the file-saving features gone bad due to it.

Can I Recover Word Doc on Mac?

It depends on how you lost the documents. The answer is yes for general issues, such as unsaving Word, emptying the Trash, deleting Word Docs/folders, inaccessible hard drives, RAW hard drives, or virus attacks. However, remember that the key is performing unsaved/deleted Word document recovery on Mac quickly. If the doc files are erased and deleted by a professional file shredder, then you can't get them back anymore because the software overwrites them.

How to Retrieve Unsaved Word Documents on Mac

Have you lost work in progress due to a program crash, sudden power outage, or other reasons? Don't be afraid; there are multiple solutions that can help you. They are:

Way 1. Restart Microsoft Word

In case Word crashes unexpectedly, what you can do is restart the application. The application has an auto recovery Word Mac option, especially the latest versions. Like the screenshots, all you have to do is follow the on-screen instructions, and the unsaved content will be back in your hands.

Way 2. Use AutoRecover

Microsoft Word for Mac has a built-in feature named "AutoRecover," which keeps saving documents at regular intervals to help you retrieve them in case of unexpected loss. Use these steps, and you'll be able to recover Word documents not saved on a Mac:

  1. Open Finder, then click "Go" in the menu and select "Go to Finder."
  2. Paste the following into the dialog box and press Enter.

    ~Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery/

  3. Look among the files for the document with a similar name as your unsaved doc and open it. Usually, the document you want to restore is in the format of "AutoRecovery save of [Word document name]."
  4. Resave it by selecting "File > Save As" from the Microsoft Word application's menu.

This feature works in the background, so even if you weren't saving the document manually, a version of it might still be available in the specified directory.

Way 3. View System Temporary Files

There are temporary files to help Mac recover unsaved Word documents. It's a special feature of macOS, and to access it, here are the commands you need to follow:

  1. Open Terminal, type "open $TMPDIR" and press Enter.
  2. Open the "Temporaryitems" folder to find cache files that begin with "~Word."
  3. Open them with TextEdit to see if there is any content available to you.

Even though this method is a hit-or-miss most of the time, it's worth a try if the document you want to recover is very important.

Way 4. Use Free Tool

Is your Word document not in the temporary folder? It may be useful to try using iBeesoft Fre Data Recovery for Mac to search for its previous traces on the hard disk.

How to retrieve unsaved Word documents on Mac, please follow these steps:

  1. Download and install iBeesoft Data Recovery on your Mac.
  2. After running it, select the hard drive where the not saved Word file is and click "Search for lost files."
  3. Click "Unsaved Documents" in the left panel and switch to ".Doc/Docx" in the top menu on the right.
  4. Find your lost Word document and double-click it to check its content. Then, click "Recover" to save it.

Way 5. Use Recently Open

The Word also keeps track of recently opened files; you may have noticed it on the "Good Morning" or "Good Afternoon" window with a list of doc names under the "Recent" tab. You can use it to recover lost documents. Go to File > Open Recent and you may find the missing document right there.

Way 6. From OneDrive/Sharepoint

In case you've subscribed to Microsoft 365, your Word documents could be saved automatically to OneDrive or SharePoint. Here's a list of steps that will help you recover a unsaved Word document on Mac:

  1. Open Word.
  2. Go to File > Open > OneDrive.
  3. Go to our account's OneDrive folder and look for the document there.

Way 7. Use Previous Versions

"Previous Versions" allows you to revert the current document to an earlier saved version of the document.

  1. Open the unsaved Word document.
  2. Click "File" in the top menu, then select "Browse Version History."
  3. In the "Version History" on the right side of the page, select the version with the most recent modification time.
  4. Click "Open version" to check if there is any unsaved content.

For a lot of people, it has been a lifesaver. However, some changes remain lost, and you might have to rework them.

How to Recover Deleted Word Docs on Mac

You can solve the problem of "how to find a unsaved Word document on Mac" with the above-mentioned methods. How about accidentally deleted Word doc? That could be an even bigger problem because you may permanently lose the deleted Word doc. Actually, there are still some ways you can restore lost Word documents on a Mac. Check the details below.

Way 1. Check the Trash

The simplest - and sometimes, the most effective - method is to check the Trash. If you found it in Trash, right-click and choose "Put Back" to restore it (it will end up in its original location).

Way 2. Use the System's Search Option

If your document disappears during cutting and copying, you likely placed it in the wrong location. Finding it using Spotlight may come as a surprise.

  1. Press Command + Space.
  2. Type the document name (or part of it).
  3. If found, open it directly from the search results and carry on.

Way 3. From iCloud Drive

If you are using iCloud to sync your files on Mac, you can also use it to recover an accidentally deleted Word document.

  1. Go to iCloud Drive.
  2. Search for your document.
  3. If it's there, then you can download it again and carry on.

Way 4. Use Time Machine

Many users know what a Time Machine is. It's a simple backup utility for macOS. People always use it to back up data in case of data loss. If you backed up the file before deleting it, you can use Time Machine to recover Word doc on Mac. Here are the steps.

  1. Open Finder.
  2. Go to the folder where your document was.
  3. Click the Time Machine icon on the top left of the window.
  4. Scroll back to find the file before it was deleted.
  5. Then, click "Restore".

Tip: The above steps can also help you recover replaced files on a Mac.

Way 5. Try Professional Data Recovery Software

Suppose you have tried the ways mentioned above, only to find that you still can't get the deleted Word docs back. In that case, the best option at this time is to use a professional data recovery software program, letting it recover deleted Word on Mac for you. Generally, this type of tool will scan the storage where the deleted Word documents were, looking for and showing them to you.

Tips: you should know that when a Word doc is deleted on Mac, it is not gone right away. The file index information is removed. You can't see it there in your sight. Actually, it is where it used to be, waiting to be replaced by new data. In this case, the deleted Word doc can be recovered with technical tools.

Among the data recovery software tools, I recommend iBeesoft Data Recovery for Mac. It is a popular tool for users with its simple interface and great ability to scan and recover files. You can see that with simple clicks, you can retrieve deleted Word documents on a Mac.

  1. Download and install it. It's not available in the Apple App Store. It's virus-free and proven safe to use by thousands of people. Feel free to try it.
  2. Launch the software and select the drive where the Word documents were on your computer before the deletion. After that, click the "Search for Lost Files" button on the software.
  3. After the scan is complete, you will be able to preview the Word documents that it found.
  4. Select the Word document you need and click "Recover," and iBeesoft will restore your files.

Using this specialized software for iMac and MacBook Word document recovery is not only one of the easiest but also the simplest and hassle-free option. It's simple steps, and the results are often what save you hours upon hours of doing the same work in your Word doc. In addition, you can also click here to learn more about how to recover deleted files on Mac.

Way 6. Seek Professional Help

But if none of the above methods helped you, there's still a way - experienced professionals. Some Mac OS wizards have dealt with serious data loss issues, and finding accidentally deleted or unsaved docs is a simple job for them.

You can contact a professional file recovery service near you and use their specialized services to retrieve these lost items. They also offer Word document recovery for damaged hard drives.

How to Recover Text from a Damaged Document on Mac

Sometimes, the Word file can get damaged. Maybe it was due to the sudden power outage and shutdown or an unexpected malware attack. Regardless, there are a few tricks you can try to recover Word doc on Mac.

Way 1. Use the Repair or Restore Text Option

There's also a built-in feature that helps you open and repair damaged files. You can use the following steps as a guide:

  1. Open Word.
  2. Go to File > Open.
  3. Choose the damaged document
  4. Like in the screenshot, click the drop-down box in the bottom right corner of the page and select "Repair."

Way 2. Use Text Editor

There are text editors like Notepad and TextEdit that might help you open damaged documents on a Mac. They will help you recover parts of the text. You can open the file using the text editor and then copy any readable text it generates for you.

Way 3. Use Online Tools

You can also use a few online tools to repair Word documents that were either corrupted or damaged. Some of the most popular ones we found include:

  1. OnlineFileRepair
  2. FileRepair
  3. RepairMyWord

How to Avoid Losing Word Documents on Mac Again

Now that we have discussed a few different ways to recover Word doc on Mac - and chances are you've already recovered it successfully - here are a few tips that will save you this trouble next time:

Final Thoughts

It's stressful to lose a Word document on a Mac. But you can prevent them from taking a toll on your mind - and your time - with the best recovery methods we discussed above. You'll likely have your files back if you attempt recovery promptly. Moreover, the best way to continue after an unsaved Word document recovery on Mac is to use a few helpful tips. These include setting up regular backups through Time Machine, enabling autosave features, and using backup to the cloud with version control features.

FAQs

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