Jan 14, 2019 Note: The prerequisite for Word AutoRecover to work on Mac is that you have saved the document for at least one time. That is to say, if you just create a Word file, make some edits and then close the file by clicking Don't Save, there is no available AutoRecover file to recover the unsaved document. Step 1 Close Microsoft Word on Mac.
- Microsoft Word Deleted File Recovery
- Microsoft Word Deleted My Work Mac Free
- Microsoft Word Deleted My Work Mac Computer
- Microsoft Word Deleted My Document Mac
- Microsoft Word Deleted My Document
- Jan 23, 2011 Computer Extraordinaire: Greetings, If you deleted Microsoft Word by dragging it's application of older into the trashcan, you can undo it dragging older from the trashcan back to applications folder. Otherwise, you will have to reinstall the program using the Installation CD. Put the CD in the MAC - Double click the CD icon - Follow the On-Screen instructions and finish the installation.
- How to Recover Lost, Deleted or Unsaved Word Document on Mac Can I recover my Word document on Mac? Yes, you can. This article shows you the top 3 ways to help you easily and effectively recover lost, deleted or unsaved Word files on Mac.
Note
Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.
Summary
This article describes how to identify a damaged document in Word 2007 and later versions. Additionally, this article includes steps that explain how to recover the text and data that is contained in a document after you have identified the document as damaged.
This article is intended for a beginning to intermediate computer user.You may find it easier to follow the steps if you print this article first.
Update Microsoft Office and Windows
Many software issues can be resolved by updating the Microsoft Office and Windows programs.
A damaged document or a software issue?
A Word document can become corrupted for several reasons that will prevent you from opening it. This behavior may be related to damage to the document or to the template on which the document is based. This behavior might include the following:
- Repeatedly renumbers the existing pages in the document
- Repeatedly redoes the page breaks in the document
- Incorrect document layout and formatting
- Unreadable characters on the screen
- Error messages during processing
- A computer that stops responding when you open the file
- Any other unexpected behavior that cannot be attributed to the typical operation of the program
Sometimes, this behavior can be caused by factors other than document damage. It is important to determine whether the document is damaged or whether the problem is a software issue. To eliminate these other factors, follow these steps:
- Look for similar behavior in other documents. Try to open other Word documents to see whether the same problem occurs. If they open correctly, then the problem might be with the Word document.
- Look for similar behavior in other Microsoft Office programs. If this is the case, then the issue might be with another application or the operating system.
If any of these steps indicate that the problem is not in the document, you will then have to troubleshoot Word, the Office suite, or the operating system that is running on the computer.
Troubleshooting steps to try if the damaged document does not open
Try the methods in the order given. If one does not work for you, try the next one.
Method 1: Open the damaged document in draft mode without updating links
Step 1: Configure Word
- Start Word.
- On the View tab, select Draft in the Views group.
- Select the File Menu, and then Options, and then Advanced.
- In the Show document content section, select Use draft font in Draft and Outline views and Show picture placeholders.
- Scroll down to the General section, clear the check box Update automatic links at open, select OK, and then close Word.
Step 2: Open the damaged document
- Start Word.
- Select the File Menu, and then select Open.
- Select the damaged document, and then select Open.
If you can open the document, close the document and then reopen it by using method 6, and repair the document. Otherwise go to method 2.
Method 2: Insert the document as a file in a new document
Step 1: Create a new blank document
- Select the File Menu, and then select New.
- Select Blank document, and then select Create.NoteYou might have to reapply some formatting to the last section of the new document.
Step 2: Insert the damaged document into the new document
- On the Insert tab, select Insert Object, and then select Text From File.
- In the Insert File dialog box, locate and then select the damaged document. Then, select Insert.NoteYou might have to reapply some formatting to the last section of the new document.
Method 3: Create a link to the damaged document
Step 1: Create blank document
Microsoft Word Deleted File Recovery
- In Word, select the File Menu, and then select New.
- Select Blank document, and then select Create.
- In the new document, type 'This is a test.'
- Select the File Menu, and then select Save.
- Type 'Rescue link,' and then select Save.
Step 2: Create link
- Select the text you typed in step 1-3.
- On the Home tab, select Copy in the Clipboard group.
- Select the File Menu, and then select New.
- Select Blank document, and then select Create.
- On the Home tab, select the arrow on the Paste button in the Clipboard group, and then select Paste Special.
- Select Paste link, select Formatted Text (RTF).
- Select OK.
Step 3: Change the link to the damaged document
- Right-click the linked text in the document, point to Linked Document Object, and then select Links.
- In the Links dialog box, select the file name of the linked document, and then select Change Source.
- In the Change Source dialog box, select the document that you cannot open, and then select Open.
- Select OK to close the Links dialog box.NoteThe information from the damaged document will appear if there was any recoverable data or text.
- Right-click the linked text, point to Linked Document Object, and then select Links.
- In the Links dialog box, select Break Link.
- When you receive the following message, select Yes: Are you sure you want to break the selected links?
Method 4: Use the 'Recover Text from Any File' converter
Note
The 'Recover Text from Any File' converter has limitations. For example, document formatting is lost. Additionally, graphics, fields, drawing objects, and any other items that are not text are lost. However, field text, headers, footers, footnotes, and endnotes are retained as simple text.
- In Word, select the File Menu, and then select Open.
- In the Files of type box, select Recover Text from Any File(.).
- Select the document from which you want to recover the text.
- Select Open.
After the document is recovered by using the 'Recover Text from Any File' converter, there is some binary data text that is not converted. This text is primarily at the start and end of the document. You must delete this binary data text before you save the file as a Word document.
Note
If you are using Word 2007 and there is not a file button in the User Interface, choose the Office Button and follow the directions when necessary.
Troubleshooting steps to try if you can open the damaged document
Method 1: Copy everything except the last paragraph mark to a new document
Step 1: Create a new document
- In Word, select File on the Ribbon, and then select New.
- Select Blank document, and then select Create.
Step 2: Open the damaged document
- Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Open.
- Select the damaged document, and then select Open.
Step 3: Copy the contents of document, and then paste the contents into the new document
Note
If your document contains section breaks, copy only the text between the sections breaks. Do not copy the section breaks because this may bring the damage into your new document. Change the document view to draft view when you copy and paste between documents to avoid transferring section breaks. To change to draft view, on the View tab, select Draft in the Document Views group.
- In the damaged document, press CTRL+END, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME.
- On the Home tab, select Copy in the Clipboard group.
- On the View tab, select Switch Windows in the Window group.
- Select the new document that you created in step 1.
- On the Home tab, select Paste in the Clipboard group.
Microsoft word for mac kickass. If the strange behavior persists, go to method 8.
Method 2: Change the template that is used by the document
Step 1: Determine the template that is used by the document
- Open the damaged document in Word.
- Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Options.
- Select Add-Ins.
- In the Manage box, select Templates under View and manage Office add-ins.
- Select Go.
The Document template box will list the template that is used by the document. If the template that is listed is Normal, go to step 2. Otherwise, go to step 3.
Step 2: Rename the global template (Normal.dotm)
- Exit Word.
- Select the Start button.
- In your operating system, search for normal.dotm. It's typically found in this location: %userprofile%appdataroamingmicrosofttemplates
- Right-click Normal.dotm, and then select Rename.
- Type 'Oldword.old', and then press ENTER.
- Close File Explorer.
- Start Word, and then open the document.
Step 3: Change the document template
- Open the damaged document in Word.
- Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Options.
- Select Add-Ins.
- In the Manage box, select Templates, and then select Go.
- Select Attach.
- In the Templates folder, select Normal.dotm, and then select Open.
- Select OK to close the Templates and Add-ins dialog box.
- Exit Word.
Step 4: Verify that changing templates worked.
- Start Word.
- Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Options.
- Select the damaged document, and then select Open.
If the strange behavior persists, go to method 3.
Method 3: Start Word using default settings
You can use the /a switch to start Word by using only the default settings in Word. When you use the /a switch, Word does not load any add-ins. Additionally, Word does not use your existing Normal.dotm template. Restart Word by using the /a switch.
Step 1: Start Word by using the /a switch
- Exit Word.
- Select the Start button and search for Run. In the Run dialog box type the following:winword.exe /a
Step 2: Open the document
- In Word, select File on the Ribbon, and then select Open.
- Select the damaged document, and then select Open.
If the strange behavior persists, go to method 4.
Method 4: Change printer drivers
Step 1: Try a different printer driver
- In your operating system search for Devices and Printers.
- Select Add a printer.
- In the Add Printer dialog box, select Add a local printer.
- Select Use an existing port, and then select Next.
- In the Manufacturer list, select Microsoft.
- Select Microsoft XPS Document Writer, and then select Next.
- Select Use the driver that is currently installed (recommended), and then select Next.
- Select to select the Set as the default printer check box, and then select Next.
- Select Finish.
Step 2: Verify that changing printer drivers fixes the problem
- Start Word.
- Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Open.
- Select the damaged document, and then select Open.
If the strange behavior persists, go to step 3.
Step 3: Reinstall original printer driver.
Windows 10 and Windows 7
- In your operating system search for Printers.
- Select the original default printer, and then select Delete.If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or select Continue.
- If you are prompted to remove all the files that are associated with the printer, select Yes.
- Select Add a printer or scanner, and then follow the instructions in the Add Printer Wizard to reinstall the printer driver.
Step 4: Verify that changing printer drivers fixes the problem
- Start Word.
- Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Open.
- Select the damaged document, and then select Open.
If the strange behavior persists, go to method 5.
Method 5: Force Word to try to repair a file
Step 1: Repair document
In Word, select File on the Ribbon, and then select Open.
- In the Open dialog box, click once to highlight your Word document.
- Select the arrow on the Open button, and then select Open and Repair.
Step 2: Verify that repairing the document fixes the problem
Verify that the strange behavior no longer occurs. If the strange behavior persists, restart Windows, and then go to method 6.
Method 6: Change the document format, and then convert the document back to the Word format
Step 1: Open the document
- Start Word.
- Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Open.
- Select the damaged document, and then select Open.
Step 2: Save the document in a different file format
- Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Save as.
- Select Other Formats.
- In the Save as file type list, select Rich Text Format (*.rtf).
- Select Save.
- Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Close.
Step 3: Open the document, and then convert document back to Word file format
- In Word, select File, and then select Open.
- Select the converted document, and then select Open.
- Select File, and then select Save as.
- Choose Word Document for the Save As type.
- Rename the document's file name, and then select Save.
Step 4: Verify that converting the document file format fixes the problem
Microsoft Word Deleted My Work Mac Free
Verify that the strange behavior no longer occurs. If the behavior persists, try to save the file in another file format. Repeat step 1 to step 4, and then try to save the file in the following file formats, in the following order:
- Webpage (.htm; .html)
- Any other word processing format
- Plain Text (.txt)
Note
When you save files in the Plain Text (.txt) format, you might resolve the damage to the document. However, all document formatting, macro codes, and graphics are lost. When you save files in the Plain Text (.txt) format, you must reformat the document. Therefore, use the Plain Text (.txt) format only if the other file formats do not resolve the problem.
If the strange behavior persists, go to method 7.
Method 7: Copy the undamaged parts of the damaged document to a new document
Step 1: Create a new document
- In Word, select File, and then select New.
- Select Blank document, and then select Create.
Step 2: Open the damaged document
- Select File, and then select Open.
- Select the damaged document, and then select Open.
Step 3: Copy the undamaged parts of document, and then paste the undamaged parts to the new document
If your document contains section breaks, copy only the text between the sections breaks. Do not copy the section breaks because this might bring the damage into your new document. Change the document view to draft view when you copy and paste between documents to avoid transferring section breaks. To change to draft view, on the View tab, select Draft in the Document Views group.
- In the damaged document, locate and then select an undamaged part of the document's contents.
- On the Home tab, select Copy in the Clipboard group.
- On the View tab, select Switch Windows in the Window group.
- Select the new document that you created in step 1.
- On the Home tab, select Paste in the Clipboard group.
- Repeat steps 3a to 3e for each undamaged part of the document. You must reconstruct the damaged sections of your document.
Method 8: Switch the document view to remove the damaged content
If the document appears to be truncated (not all pages in the document are displayed), it might be possible to switch the document view and remove the damaged content from the document.
- Determine the page number on which the damaged content is causing the document to appear to be truncated.
- In Word, select File, and then select Open.
- Select the damaged document, and then select Open.
- Scroll to view the last page that is displayed before the document appears to be truncated. Make a note of the content which appears on that page.
- Switch views, and then remove the damaged content.
- On the View tab in the Document Views group, select Web Layout or Draft view.
- Scroll to view the content that was displayed before the document appeared to be truncated.
- Select and delete the next paragraph, table, or object in the file.
- On the View tab in the Document Views group, select Print Layout. If the document continues to appear to be truncated, continue to switch views and delete content until the document no longer appears truncated in Print Layout view.
- Save the document.
Method 9: Open the document with Notepad
If the document is corrupted and none of the previous methods work, try to recover its content by opening the document with Notepad.
Note
By using this method, you will lose all formatting. The intention is to recover the content.
- Locate the damaged document using Windows File Explorer.
- Right click the document and select Open with.
- Select Notepad:
- The document will open in Notepad with extra code and text around the content.NoteYou may have to change the file type from 'Text Documents (.txt)' to 'All Files (.*)'.
- Clean the text by deleting all or most of the extra characters.
- Select File, and then select Save As… Rename the document to make sure that you don't overwrite the damaged one.
Go back to Word and open the new document. Once in Word, you can clean it up and try to reapply the lost format.
-->Note
Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.
If you're looking for recent Word document recovery info, see:
- Recover your Office files (For versions through Office 2019)
For more on earlier versions of Word, see:
Microsoft Word Deleted My Work Mac Computer
Resolution
To fix this problem, use the following methods in the order in which they're presented, as appropriate for your situation.
Method 1: Search for the original document
To do this, follow these steps, as appropriate for the version of Windows that you're running.
Windows 10 and Windows 7
- Select Start, type the document name in the Start Search box (.doc or .docx), and then press Enter. If the File list contains the document, double-click the document to open it in Word.
- If the File list does not contain the file, go to Method 2.
Method 2: Search for Word backup files
Word backup file names end with the .wbk extension. If the Always create backup copy option is selected, there may be a backup copy of the file.
Note
To locate this option:
- Word for Office 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013:Select File, then Options, and then Advanced. Scroll down to the Save section and select Always create backup copy.
- Word 2010:Select File, then Options. In the Save tab, select Always create backup copy.
To find the backup copy of the file, follow these steps:
- Locate the folder in which you last saved the missing file.
- Search for files that have the .wbk file name extension.
If there's no .wbk file in the original folder, search the computer for any .wbk files. To do this, follow these steps:
Windows 10 and Windows 7
- Select Start, type *.wbk in the Start Search box, and then press Enter.
- If the File list contains the backup file, repeat the steps in step 2 ('Search for files that have the .wbk file name extension') to open the file. If the File list does not contain the backup file, go to Method 3.
If you find any files that have the name 'Backup of' followed by the name of the missing file, use one of the following procedures, as appropriate for the version of Word that you're running.
Word for Office 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013
- On the File menu, select Open, and then Browse. (In some versions, select Computer and then Browse.)
- In the Files of type list (All Word Documents), select All Files.
- Select the backup file that you found, and then select Open.
Word 2010
- On the File menu, select Open.
- In the Files of type list (All Word documents), select All Files.
- Select the backup file that you found, and then select Open.
Method 3: Search for AutoRecover files
AutoRecover file names end with the .asd extension. By default, Word searches for AutoRecover files every time that it starts, and then it displays all that it finds in the Document Recovery task pane.
- Use Word to automatically find the AutoRecover files. To do this, follow these steps:
- Right-click the taskbar, and then select Task Manager.
- On the Processes tab, select any instance of Winword.exe or Microsoft Word, and then select End Task or End Process. Repeat this step until you have exited all instances of Winword.exe and Word.
- Close the Windows Task Manager dialog box, and then start Word.If Word finds the AutoRecover file, the Document Recovery task pane opens on the left side of the screen, and the missing document is listed as 'document name [Original]' or as 'document name [Recovered].' If this occurs, double-click the file in the Document Recovery pane, select Save As on the File menu, and then save the document as a .docx file. Manually change the extension to .docx, if necessary, by right-clicking the file and selecting Rename.
- If the Recovery pane does not open, manually search for AutoRecover files. To do this, use one of the following procedures, as appropriate for the version of Word that you're running.Word for Office 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013
- On the File menu, select Open, and then Browse.
- If you don't see your document listed, select Recover Unsaved Documents.
Word 2010- On the File menu, select Recent.
- If you don't see your document listed, select Recover Unsaved Documents.
- If you can't locate an AutoRecover file in the location that is identified in the Folder name list, search your whole drive for any .asd files. To do this, follow these steps:Windows 10 and Windows 7
- Select Start, type .asd in the Start Search box, and then press Enter.
- If the File list does not contain AutoRecover files, go to Method 4.
If you find any files that have the .asd extension, use one of the following procedures, as appropriate for the version of Word that you're running:Word 2019, Word 2016, or Word 2013- On the File menu, select Open, and then Browse. (In some versions, select **Computer **and then Browse.)
- In the Files of type list (All Word Documents), select All Files.
- Select the .asd file that you found, and then select Open.
Word 2010- On the File menu, select Open.
- In the Files of type list (All Word Documents), select All Files.
- Select the .asd file that you found, and then select Open.
Note
If you find an AutoRecover file in the Recovery pane that does not open correctly, go to 'Method 6: How to troubleshoot damaged documents' for more information about how to open damaged files.
Method 4: Search for temporary files
Temporary file names end with the .tmp extension. To find these files, use one of the following procedure.
Windows 10 and Windows 7
- Select Start, type .tmp in the Start Search box, and then press Enter.
- On the Show only toolbar, select Other.
- Scroll through the files and search for files that match the last few dates and times that you edited the document. If you find the document that you're looking for, go to 'Method 6: How to troubleshoot damaged documents' for more information about how to recover information from the file.
Microsoft Word Deleted My Document Mac
Method 5: Search for '~' files
Some temporary file names start with the tilde (~) character. To find these files, follow these steps:
Windows 10 and Windows 7
- Select Start, type ~ in the Start Search box.
- Select See more results.Scroll through the files, and look for any that may match the last few dates and times that you edited the document. If you find the document that you're looking for, go to 'Method 6: How to troubleshoot damaged documents' for more information about how to recover information from the file.
For information about how Word creates and uses temporary files, see Description of how Word creates temporary files.
Method 6: How to troubleshoot damaged documents
Microsoft Word Deleted My Document
For information about how to troubleshoot damaged Word documents, see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
More information
You can lose a Word document in certain situations. For example, the document may be lost if an error occurs that forces Word to close, if you experience a power interruption while editing, or if you close the document without saving your changes.
Note
The whole document may be lost if you have not recently saved the document. If you have saved your document, you may lose only the changes that you made since the last save. Be aware that some lost documents may not be recoverable.
The AutoRecover feature in Word performs an emergency backup of open documents when an error occurs. Some errors can interfere with the AutoRecover functionality. The AutoRecover feature is not a substitute for saving your files.
We do not provide any utilities to recover deleted documents. However, some third-party utilities to recover deleted documents might be available on the Internet.
For more information about AutoRecover, see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.