How to Recover an Unsaved Word Document (2026)
If Word closed before you saved, the file is usually recoverable — AutoRecover keeps periodic backups and Word stashes unsaved drafts in a special folder. Work through these in order; the earliest one that finds your file wins.
1. Check the Document Recovery Pane
Reopen Word right after a crash. The Document Recovery pane often appears on the left with autosaved versions. Click one to open it, review it, then Save As to keep it.
2. Recover Unsaved Documents
For a file you closed without ever saving:
- File > Open > Recover Unsaved Documents (at the bottom of the Recent list). (On Mac: open the folder shown under AutoRecover, below.)
- Pick the file from the list, open it, and Save As immediately.
3. Check the AutoRecover Folder
- File > Options > Save.
- Copy the AutoRecover file location path.
- Paste it into File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) and look for
.asdfiles; open the most recent in Word.
On Mac, the path is typically under ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery.
4. Look for Temp Files
In File Explorer, search your user folder for *.tmp or files beginning with ~. Word temp files sometimes hold your content — change the open dialog’s filter to All Files to see them.
5. Check OneDrive / SharePoint Version History
If the file lived in OneDrive or SharePoint, right-click it online or in the app and choose Version history to restore an earlier copy — even one you overwrote.
6. Prevent It Next Time
- File > Options > Save: shorten Save AutoRecover information every to 1–5 minutes and check Keep the last autosaved version if I close without saving.
- Save files to OneDrive and turn on AutoSave (top-left toggle) so every change is stored continuously.
7. Troubleshooting
Recover Unsaved Documents is empty
The draft expired or the file was never opened long enough to autosave. Check the AutoRecover folder and temp files next.
I found an .asd file but Word won’t open it
In Word, use File > Open, set the file type to All Files, browse to the .asd, and open it directly.
AutoSave is greyed out
AutoSave only works for files stored in OneDrive or SharePoint. Save the document there to enable it.
The recovered version is missing my latest edits
AutoRecover saves on an interval, so the last few minutes may be gone. Shorten the interval to reduce future loss.
Related Word guides: How to compare two documents · How to track changes · How to delete a page · How to accept all changes · How to add page numbers
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