Nothing could be worse than doing some really hard work on a project using Microsoft Excel, only to lose some, if not all. This often happens to people due to several scenarios. In some cases, a person may close out the file accidentally without saving it. Other times, their computer may crash without warning. A few may have the device they are using, freeze and stop working. No matter which one of these or other things happened, it is a nightmare. Losing a file before saving it, can drive anyone mad; especially if you been working on it for a long time.
When Microsoft Excel detects a corrupted workbook upon opening, it automatically starts File Recovery mode and attempts to repair the workbook. If File Recovery mode doesn’t start, try using this manual process to recover your workbook: Click File > Open.
This guide on how to recover unsaved Microsoft Excel files will come in handy, if this ever happened or happens to you. There are some steps you can take for recovering lost or unsaved Microsoft Excel files. By using these tips, you won’t have to start the work all over again. Keep in mind that you may not get the last version of the document you used though. Still, it is far better than losing it all completely. Or having to start the project all over again from the beginning.
Recuperating Overwritten Excel Files
This function works for those who save their files to OneDrive. If you are not one of those who uses this method to save them, these tips will probably change your mind. That’s because OneDrive is a great tool with many benefits. It keeps a history of projects you are working on, by particular versions. That means you can browse through it and find the files you like. Once you find it, you can restore it from whatever version you wish. It is best to save the documents to the Document folder.
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If you haven’t done so already, you can do this process by going to Onedrive.live.com and using their browser interface.
1.Find the folder you saved your file to and click on it.
2.Next step is to right click on it and select ‘Version History.’
3.Once you reach the Version History, you will find the versions you are looking for.
4.Choose the Restore option and that will overwrite any current versions you may have of the Excel document.
5.You can also choose to Download a copy of the version as well, just in case.
2.Next step is to right click on it and select ‘Version History.’
3.Once you reach the Version History, you will find the versions you are looking for.
4.Choose the Restore option and that will overwrite any current versions you may have of the Excel document.
5.You can also choose to Download a copy of the version as well, just in case.
Unsaved Excel Workbooks Recovery
In the event that you have lost or need to recover an Excel file, you can use the Workbooks feature. The function is called Excel’s Recover Unsaved Workbooks.
To check and see which version of the unsaved Excel file is available on Workbooks, follow these steps.
To check and see which version of the unsaved Excel file is available on Workbooks, follow these steps.
1. Go to File and then choose Open.
2. Select the Recent tab.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the screen to find the “Recover Unsaved Workbooks” feature.
4. Select the Recover Unsaved Workbooks button and click on it.
5. Once you click on it, you will see the list of any and all Workbooks unsaved files.
2. Select the Recent tab.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the screen to find the “Recover Unsaved Workbooks” feature.
4. Select the Recover Unsaved Workbooks button and click on it.
5. Once you click on it, you will see the list of any and all Workbooks unsaved files.
Chances are you may be lucky and the file will be there. If so, then you can simply select it and hit it so it can load up once again. Just in case you are able to recover it, be certain to save it immediately this time.
File History Versions Restoration
A few people make the mistake of not using OneDrive when they are working with files. If you are one those, you may need to resort to other methods. There is a possibility you can restore the missing Microsoft Excel file.You can do so from the previous versions file history function. That’s if you also have enabled the ‘File History’ function on Windows. For those that have, they can use that function to find and recover older versions of a file.
Follow these steps to recover the lost file if you have enabled File History in Windows.
Follow these steps to recover the lost file if you have enabled File History in Windows.
1. Go to your Windows Explorer and find the file there.
2. Right click on the the file and then choose “Restore Previous Versions”
3. That will open up a new window for you and you will then see any of the previous versions of the file. However, if you never created a restore point in Windows, or enabled File History, these options won’t be there.
2. Right click on the the file and then choose “Restore Previous Versions”
3. That will open up a new window for you and you will then see any of the previous versions of the file. However, if you never created a restore point in Windows, or enabled File History, these options won’t be there.
macOS Users Excel Recovery Options
For those that use macOS, there are different steps that need to be taken in order to recover Excel files. But, if you have OneDrive, you can use the same methods explained above to do so. For those that were not using OneDrive, there is another way.
1. Go to Start and open Finder.
2. Go to Macintosh HD.
3. In the event that Macintosh HD is not showing up, you may have to find another name on your hard drive.
4. Go to Finder and then Preferences.
5. Next, select Hard Disks and then under, Show these items in the sidebar option.
5. You can also go to Users, then (your user name). Next is Library>Application Support>Microsoft>Office>Office 2012 Auto Recovery.
2. Go to Macintosh HD.
3. In the event that Macintosh HD is not showing up, you may have to find another name on your hard drive.
4. Go to Finder and then Preferences.
5. Next, select Hard Disks and then under, Show these items in the sidebar option.
5. You can also go to Users, then (your user name). Next is Library>Application Support>Microsoft>Office>Office 2012 Auto Recovery.
You may have to select the “Show hidden files‘ option if you don’t see any library folder there. To do that, type the following command into your terminal – defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
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While these may be able to help some people recover any Microsoft Excel lost or unsaved files, it won’t work for everyone. The lesson to be learned here is to always save and backup everything. But, unfortunately, that is something we often don’t do. At least not until it is too late. Don’t wait until you find yourself in a jam to start backing up your work. Using a preemptive strategy, always provides the best results.
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-->Summary
Microsoft Excel now has a built-in AutoRecover feature that has replaced the AutoSave add-in that exists in versions of Excel that are earlier than Microsoft Excel 2002. The AutoRecover feature saves copies of all open Excel files at a user-definable fixed interval. The files can be recovered if Excel closes unexpectedly, for example, during a power failure.
This article contains an overview of the AutoRecover feature.
More Information
How to configure the AutoRecover settings
Microsoft Office Excel 2007 and Excel 2010
The controls to configure the AutoRecover feature are in the Save settings in Excel Options.
Note To open the Save settings, click the Microsoft Office Button in Excel 2007 or the File menu in Excel 2010, clickExcel Optionsin 2007 or Options in Excel 2010, and then click Save.
To configure the AutoRecover settings, follow these steps:
- Under Save Workbooks, click to select the Save AutoRecover info everycheck box to turn on the AutoRecover feature.
- In the minutes box, you can type any integer from 1 through 120. This box sets the number of minutes that will occur between saves.The default is 10 minutes.
- In the AutoRecover file location box, you can type the path and the folder name of the location in which you want the AutoRecover files to stay.The default location is as follows:drive:Documents and Settings*user_name*Application DataMicrosoftExcelNotes
- If the location that you type is local (on your hard drive) or is on a network drive, and if this location does not exist, you receive the following error message:Cannot access directory path.To determine the unique number that is associated with the message that you receive, press CTRL+SHIFT+I. The following number appears in the lower-right corner of this message:100100
- If you click to clear the AutoRecover file location box but do not enter a new location, AutoRecover files will continue to be saved to the location that you cleared. This will occur until you type a new location.The AutoRecover file location box remains empty until you type a new location.
- You can turn off the AutoRecover feature in an individual workbook. To do this, click to select the Disable AutoRecover for this workbook only check box under the AutoRecover exceptions for box. Make sure that the workbook name is selected in the AutoRecover exceptions for box.
Microsoft Office Excel 2003 and earlier versions of Excel
The controls to configure the AutoRecover dialog box are on the Save tab of the Options dialog box.
Note To open the Options dialog box, click Options on the Tools menu.
To configure the AutoRecover dialog box, follow these steps:
- Under Settings, click to select the Save AutoRecover info everycheck box to turn on the AutoRecover feature.
- In the minutes box, you can type any integer from 1 through 120. This box sets the number of minutes that will occur between saves.The default is 10 minutes.
- In the AutoRecover file location box, you can type the path and the folder name of the location in which you want the AutoRecover files to stay.The default location is as follows:drive:Documents and Settings*user_name*Application DataMicrosoftExcelNotes
- If the location that you type is local (on your hard drive) and if the location does not exist, you receive the following error message:Cannot access directory path.
- If the location that you type is on a network drive, you will not receive an alert until your first AutoRecover attempt. You receive the following error message:Microsoft cannot save AutoRecover info to path. Please check the network connection or change the location on the Save tab of the Tools, Options dialog.
- If you clear the AutoRecover file location box but do not enter a new location, AutoRecover files will continue to be saved to the location that you cleared. This occurs until you type a new location.The AutoRecover file location box remains empty until you type a new location.
- You can turn off the AutoRecover feature in an individual workbook. To do this, click to select the Disable AutoRecover check box under Workbook options.
When an AutoRecover event is triggered
When an Excel file is open and AutoRecover is turned on, AutoRecover does not save the file until the first change is made to the file, the AutoRecover save time interval passes, and Excel has been idle for some time (the default is 30 seconds). After AutoRecover saves the file, the file is only saved at subsequent save intervals if further changes are made.
When AutoRecover files are deleted
To keep from filling up your AutoRecover location with unneeded files, AutoRecover files are automatically deleted in the following situations:
- When the file is manually saved.
- The file is saved with a new file name using Save As.
- You close the file.
- You quit Excel, whether you choose to save the file or not.
- You turn off AutoRecover for the current workbook.
- You turn off AutoRecover by clearing the Save AutoRecover info every check box.
AutoRecover save timing
The AutoRecover timer checks for changed Excel files at the interval you set in the minutes box on the Save tab in the Options dialog box. The timer starts when you start Excel.
Note
In Excel 2007, the minutes box is in the Save category in the Excel Option dialog box. In Excel 2010, the minutes box is in the Save category under File, Options.
When the first save interval passes, Excel checks to see whether any open files have been changed. If Excel locates changed files, an idle timer starts. The purpose of the idle timer is to make sure that the user does not make entries in the worksheet while the save operation occurs. The idle timer restarts each time that the user makes an entry into the worksheet so the AutoRecover save file is not created until both the save interval passes and no entries are made for the duration of the idle time.
The default idle time is 30 seconds. To change the default idle time, use the AutoRecoverDelay registry key. To do this, follow these steps.
Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
- Quit Excel if it is running.
- Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
- Locate and then select one of the following registry keys, as appropriate for the version of Excel that you are running.For Microsoft Excel 2002:HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice10.0ExcelOptionsFor Excel 2003:HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice11.0ExcelOptionsFor Excel 2007:HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice12.0ExcelOptionsFor Excel 2010:HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice14.0ExcelOptions
- On the Edit menu, click New, and then click DWORD value.
- Type the following name for the new value:AutoRecoverDelay
- Press ENTER.
- Right-click the AutoRecoverDelay registry key, and then click Modify.
- In the Value data box, type a number between 1 and 600. This is the number of seconds before AutoRecover tries to save.
- When you are finished, click OK.
- Quit Registry Editor.
Note
Only manually performed actions in the program affect the idle timer. Formulas that automatically update the file do not affect the idle timer. Excel saves the file when the idle time is reached, between the automatic updates to the formulas.
File formats that are saved by AutoRecover
AutoRecover saves all file formats that can be opened in Excel. To maintain speed and simplicity, AutoRecover saves all files as the current Excel file format, regardless of the original file format opened. The file is saved as a hidden file with an arbitrary filename with the extension .xar (for example, ~ar18a.xar).
When you try to save a recovered file upon reopening Excel after it closed unexpectedly, the original file format and name is suggested as the Save file type. Excel stores the original file name and its related .xar file name in the registry for the purpose of recovery.
AutoRecover and multiple instances of Excel
When more than one instance of Excel is running and one instance closes unexpectedly, a new instance of Excel is automatically started and the AutoRecover files are opened. If all instances of Excel close unexpectedly, but the computer is still running, a single instance of Excel is started and all AutoRecover files are opened. In the case of a power outage, all recovered files are opened when you start Excel again.
Compatibility
All AutoRecover settings, except the Disable AutoRecover workbook option, are stored in the system registry. AutoRecover settings are compatible with files from previous versions of Excel is not an issue.
When the Disable AutoRecover workbook option is set, and the file is opened in an earlier version of Excel, saved, and then reopened in a later version of Excel, the Disable AutoRecover workbook option is not affected.
References
For more information about how to troubleshoot errors when you save Excel files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
271513 How to troubleshoot errors when you save Excel files