Introduction

You were halfway through a document when Word crashed, the power went out, or you clicked Don’t Save on a file you never actually saved. The file is often still there: Word keeps safety copies in several places, and if the document lived in OneDrive or SharePoint, the cloud keeps versions too.

The order you try things matters. Some recovery steps are harmless; others can overwrite the very copy you are trying to rescue. Work through the methods below in order, starting with the one that matches what happened, and save anything you recover immediately — a recovered file is not a saved file until you save it under a new name.

First, two warnings that apply to every method in this guide:

• Do not save a new file over the old name. If you start a fresh document with the same filename in the same folder, you risk overwriting the recovery data Word kept. Save recovered work under a new name first.
• Do not restart your computer repeatedly before checking. Each restart is another chance for temporary files to be cleaned up. Check Word’s own recovery options first.

What happened? Match your situation to the method

What happened	Try first	Where the copy lives
Word or the PC crashed, froze, or lost power	Method 1: Document Recovery pane	AutoRecover (.asd) files
You clicked Don’t Save on a document that was never saved	Method 2: Recover Unsaved Documents	UnsavedFiles folder
You closed a saved file without saving the latest edits	Method 3: earlier version / AutoRecover copy	AutoRecover or version history
The file was deleted	Method 4: Recycle Bin / Trash and cloud recycle bin	Recycle Bin, OneDrive recycle bin
The file was saved in OneDrive or SharePoint and overwritten	Method 5: Version History	Cloud version history
Nothing above found anything	Method 6: temporary files and manual search	Temp folders, .asd / .wbk search

Before you start: AutoRecover vs. AutoSave

Two different features protect your work, and confusing them wastes time.

AutoRecover saves a hidden backup copy of every open document at an interval — every 10 minutes by default, according to Microsoft. It is crash insurance: it only helps after an unexpected shutdown, and it only captures your work as of the last interval, so edits since then may be missing. Microsoft recommends leaving it on and setting the interval to five minutes or less.

AutoSave is a Microsoft 365 feature that saves every change as you type, but only for files stored in OneDrive or SharePoint. Microsoft calls working this way the safest option, because every version is kept in the cloud. If your file was in OneDrive, check Version History (Method 5) before digging through local folders.

Method 1: Reopen Word and use the Document Recovery pane (after a crash)

This is the first move after Word closes unexpectedly. Microsoft states that when an Office app closes unexpectedly before you save your most recent changes, Document Recovery automatically opens the next time you open the app.

1. Open Word again — do not open any other document first.
2. Look for the Document Recovery pane on the left side of the window.
3. Each entry shows a name such as “Report [Original]” or “Report [Recovered]” with the date and time it was saved. Pick the newest one.
4. Double-click it to open it, then immediately go to File > Save As and save it as a .docx file under a new name.

In Microsoft 365, Word may instead show recovered files in a message bar at the top; select Save to save the recovered file as a .docx file. If no pane or message appears, Word found no AutoRecover files — move on to Method 2 or 3.

Method 2: Recover a document you never saved (Windows)

Use this when you started a new document, typed for a while, and then closed it without saving — including when you clicked Don’t Save. Microsoft’s support pages give this exact path:

1. Open Word.
2. Select File > Info.
3. Select Manage Document, then Recover Unsaved Documents. (In many versions there is also a Recover Unsaved Documents button at the bottom of the recent files list under File > Open — it opens the same folder.)
4. A folder window opens showing unsaved drafts. Select the file, then Open.
5. The draft opens with a bar at the top. Select Save As immediately and save it under a new name.

One important limit: if you closed a file and clicked Don’t Save, Microsoft notes that the AutoRecover file is deleted, because Office assumes the file is no longer needed. The Recover Unsaved Documents route works because Word keeps unsaved drafts in a separate folder (C:\Users\<your name>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles), but those drafts do not last forever — check as soon as possible, ideally the same day.

Method 3: Find AutoRecover files yourself (Windows)

If the recovery pane and the unsaved-documents list are both empty, search for the AutoRecover files directly.

1. In Word, go to File > Options > Save and note the path next to AutoRecover file location.
2. Paste that path into File Explorer. Microsoft lists these default locations for Microsoft 365 subscribers:
   • C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word
   • C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles
3. Look for files ending in .asd, sorted by date, and open the newest plausible one in Word (File > Open > Browse, set the file type to All Files, select the .asd file).
4. Save it immediately with File > Save As.

You can also search the whole drive: select Start, enter *.asd in the search box, and press Enter. Also check for .wbk files — Word backup copies — but note that Word only creates .wbk files if you turned the “always create backup copy” option on beforehand.

Method 4: Recover an unsaved document on a Mac

Word for Mac has no Recover Unsaved Documents button — the Windows menu path does not exist there. The Mac route is different:

1. Reopen Word first. After a crash or forced quit, Word for Mac normally reopens your unsaved work on its own from its AutoRecover copy, showing a Document Recovery window. If your document appears, save it immediately with File > Save As.
2. If nothing reappears, open the AutoRecovery folder yourself. In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder (or press Shift + Command + G) and enter:
   ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery
   (Microsoft’s pages also list the variant ~/Library/Containers/com.Microsoft/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery for some versions; if the first path does not match your installation, try the second.)
3. The folder is hidden during ordinary Finder browsing, which is why Go to Folder is the way in. Look for the newest file starting with “AutoRecovery save of” and open it in Word.
4. Save it immediately with File > Save As under a new name.

The same warning applies on Mac: clicking Don’t Save deletes the AutoRecover file, so the AutoRecovery folder route only helps after a crash or unexpected shutdown. To check whether AutoRecover is enabled, go to Word > Preferences, click Save, and confirm the AutoRecover option is on.

Method 5: Check Version History in OneDrive or SharePoint (Microsoft 365)

If the document was stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, this is often the most reliable route — and the one to try early, because it does not depend on your local machine at all.

1. Open the file in Word, OneDrive on the web, or SharePoint.
2. Select File > Info > Version History (or, on OneDrive on the web, right-click the file and choose Version history).
3. Browse the list of saved versions with their timestamps, open the one you need, and select Restore to replace the current version — or copy the text into a new document if you want to keep both.

Version History also rescues the case where you saved over good text with bad text: restore the earlier version and your work is back. If the file was deleted from OneDrive, check the OneDrive recycle bin on the web before anything else — deleted files sit there for a retention period and can be restored in one click.

Method 6: Check the Recycle Bin, Trash and temporary files

If the file existed as a saved file and then vanished, check the recycle locations before assuming it is gone:

• Windows: open the Recycle Bin, search for the filename, right-click and choose Restore. Also check the OneDrive recycle bin if the file was cloud-stored.
• Mac: open Trash, search for the filename, right-click and choose Put Back.

For temporary files on Windows, Microsoft’s troubleshooting guide suggests searching for Word temporary files as a last resort. In File Explorer, search for *.tmp in the folder where the document lived, and look for files with names starting with ~$ or ~WRL — those are Word’s temporary working files. Opening a .tmp file in Word sometimes recovers text, but this is a long shot: temporary files are cleaned up quickly and often contain only fragments. Do not install a third-party “recovery” tool in a panic; many are paid, some are unsafe, and none can recover data that no longer exists on the disk.

When recovery is not possible

Recovery is usually impossible when you clicked Don’t Save on a document that was never saved and AutoRecover had not yet made a copy (for example, you typed for less than one AutoRecover interval), when the drive has since been formatted, or when AutoRecover was off and the file was never saved anywhere, including the cloud.

If none of the methods above finds anything, your best remaining option is reconstruction: check your email sent items for a copy you attached, check chat messages or shared drives where you may have pasted the text, and check whether a colleague has a copy. If you recover only fragments, AI tools can help you rebuild a clean draft from rough notes — our guide to summarizing PDFs with AI covers a similar workflow for extracting usable text from files, and our ChatGPT-for-work guide shows how to turn rough notes into a structured document.

Stop it happening again: five settings to change now

1. Keep AutoSave on. Save new documents to OneDrive or SharePoint and leave the AutoSave switch (top-left of Word) on. Microsoft calls this the safest way to work.
2. Shorten the AutoRecover interval. In File > Options > Save (Windows) or Word > Preferences > Save (Mac), set “Save AutoRecover information every” to 5 minutes or less. The default is 10 minutes — that is 10 minutes of work you agree to lose.
3. Turn on “Keep the last AutoRecovered version if I close without saving.” This Windows option is in the same Save settings page and gives you one more safety net.
4. Save early, save with Ctrl+S / Command+S. Create the file and save it under its real name in the first minute. A document that has never been saved has no file for Word or the cloud to protect.
5. Check the AutoRecover file location once. Knowing where Word keeps its safety copies — before you need them — turns a crisis into a five-minute task.

Frequently asked questions

Can I recover a Word document after clicking Don’t Save?

Sometimes. On Windows, use File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Documents as soon as possible — Word keeps unsaved drafts in a separate folder for a short time. On a Mac, this route does not exist, and clicking Don’t Save deletes the AutoRecover file, so recovery after that click is usually not possible.

Where are AutoRecover files stored on Windows?

Microsoft lists C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word and C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles. You can also find the exact path in Word under File > Options > Save, next to AutoRecover file location.

Where are AutoRecover files stored on a Mac?

In the hidden folder ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery. Open it with Finder > Go > Go to Folder (Shift + Command + G), because the Library folder is hidden during normal browsing.

Does Word AutoRecover work if I never saved the document?

Yes, if AutoRecover was on and Word had been open long enough to make at least one recovery copy (one interval, 10 minutes by default). If you closed the document normally without saving, the copy is deleted — AutoRecover only rescues unexpected closures.

The bottom line

Act in this order: reopen Word and check the Document Recovery pane; on Windows use File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Documents; on a Mac open the AutoRecovery folder through Finder; check OneDrive or SharePoint Version History if the file was in the cloud; then check the Recycle Bin and search for .asd files. Save anything you find immediately under a new name, and do not save new files over the old name or restart repeatedly before you have checked. Then fix the settings — AutoSave on, AutoRecover interval at five minutes or less, save early — so the next crash is an inconvenience instead of a crisis.