How to Recover Microsoft Word Document on Mac | Deleted, Unsaved, Lost

Microsoft Word is a word processor developed by Microsoft. The application is inbuilt into all versions of Windows. But unfortunately, Mac users have to install it separately from the App store or get the Microsoft office suite.

Suppose you are using Microsoft Word on Your Mac system. Deletion and losing MS Word documents are common issues. Suppose you have lost your files and are looking for ways to recover deleted, lost, or unsaved files. Then worry not; this complete guide on how to Recover Microsoft Word Document on Mac is here to answer all your questions.

Table of Contents:

  1. Why are My Word Documents Missing From My Mac System?
  2. How To Restore Unsaved Word Files?
  3. How To Recover Lost .doc files?
  4. How To Recover Deleted Word Documents on Mac?

Why Are Word Documents Missing From Your Mac?

The reasons can be anything right from deletion of the Word files, formatting the drive where you have saved them, sudden power cuts, or system shutdown is the reason behind unsaved Word docs.

How To Recover Word Documents?

Irrespective of why you have lost your Word files. You can use the below-mentioned solutions to recover word documents on Mac.

How to Recover Unsaved Word Documents on Mac?

 The easiest way to recover any unsaved Word file is by using the Auto recovery option.

Your Word documents get automatically saved every 10 minutes using an Autorecovery feature integrated into Word for Mac. The Auto recovery feature saves your file in the background even if you don’t manually do so while working on it.

How To Use AutoRecover Word to Retrieve unsaved Word Documents?

1.    On a Mac, open Finder and select Go > Go To Folder.

Select go to folder to recover unsaved word documents on mac

2.    Then, enter the folder path as follows, substituting your username for username: /Users/’username’/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences.

Enter the path to recover unsaved word documents on mac

3. This folder saves previously unsaved documents due to unexpected system or Word application shutdown.

How To Recover Lost Word Documents on Mac?

Even if this method is challenging, you can still recover your lost Word documents with it, especially if the files were lost due to a crash or an abrupt Word shutdown.

How To Recover Lost Word Documents on Mac From The Temporary Folder?

1.    Navigate to Applications > Utilities > Terminal to launch the Terminal.

Launch terminal to recover lost word docs from the mac temporary folder

2.    Type the following command ‘Open $TMPDIR.’

Type the command to recover lost word docs from the mac temporary folder

3.    Now that the TMP folder has opened click the “Temporary Items” option.

Click on temporary items to recover lost word docs from the mac temporary folder

4.    Find and restore your lost Word documents from this folder.

How To Recover Deleted Word Documents on Mac?

If you are looking for ways to recover deleted Word files, the methods below will help you recover those files.

Method 1: Recover Deleted Word Files From Mac Trash

Method 2: Restore older versions of the Word Documents Using Time Machine

Method 3: Recover Permanently Deleted or Lost Word Documents Using Yodot Mac File Recovery

Method 1: Recover Deleted Word Files From Mac Trash Bin

Accidentally deleting Word files is a catastrophe that happens frequently. The good news is that these erased files typically go to Trash by default, making them easy to recover. 

1.    Access the Trash folder in the Dock.

Access the trash folder to recover deleted word documents on mac

2.    You may now move your Word file back to your desktop by searching for it in the folder.

3.    If you cannot find it here, go to the Recovered Items folder.

4.    Look for your file, and when you do, choose Put Back from the right-click menu.

Click on put back to recover deleted word documents on mac

Method 2: Restore older versions of the Word Documents Using Time Machine

You can restore your lost Word document from the backup disk using Time Machine to back up your Mac. Follow the below-mentioned instructions to restore a missing Word document from a Time Machine Backup.

1.    Connect your storage device with the Time Machine backup files to the computer.

2.    Open a Finder window and navigate to the deleted Word document’s folder.

3.    Click on the Time Machine symbol in the menu bar to launch the utility.

Click on the time machine to recover microsoft word document on mac

4.    Use the timeline and arrows to navigate through the snapshots and backups of the Word document you wish to recover.

5.    Click the Restore button after selecting the file you wish to restore.

click the restore button to recover microsoft word document on mac

Method 3: Recover Permanently Deleted or Lost Word Documents Using Yodot Mac File Recovery

Recovering deleted or lost Word files from Macbook or iMac is now simple. Yodot Mac File Recovery Software is a robust application designed to recover .doc or .docx files that have been deleted or lost from any MacBook or iMac. The application has an advanced Find feature that enables you to search for a specific type of file(S) based on its unique signature, making it easier to locate your Word documents. The tools allow you to save the recovered Word Documents to any storage device or folder.

Download and try the tool immediately for free to see what more it can do for you.

downloadnow-mac

How To Recover Deleted Word Documents On Mac Using Yodot Mac File Recovery Tool?

Step 1: Download and install the Yodot Mac File recovery application on your Mac.

Step 2: Open the application, then follow the on-screen directions.

Step 3: Decide whether you want to recover Lost or Deleted Files.

select deleted file recovery to recover deleted word documents on mac

Step 4: Choose the device or volume from which Word files should be recovered and allow the software to perform a deep scan.

select the volume to recover deleted word documents on mac

Step 5: To quickly choose the files you wish to save, see the recovered files in two distinct View types.

view the file type

Step 6: Preview the recovered Word file to ensure the correct file was retrieved.

preview the recovered deleted word documents on mac

Step 7: Select where you want to save the restored Word files.

Conclusion:

Here we end our discussion on recovering lost, unsaved, or deleted Word Documents on various versions of Mac. Hopefully, you have found the article and the methods mentioned helpful.