Recovering unsaved Microsoft Word 2019 documents can be a bit tricky, but here are some steps you can follow to attempt recovery:
AutoRecover Feature:
Word has an AutoRecover feature that periodically saves a copy of your document. Here’s how you can check for unsaved documents using this feature:
a. Open Microsoft Word.
b. Click on “File” in the upper left corner.
c. Select “Info” from the menu.
d. Look for the “Manage Documents” section on the right-hand side, and click “Recover Unsaved Documents.”
e. A dialog box will open with a list of unsaved documents. Select the one you want to recover and click “Open.”
Document Recovery Pane:
If Word crashed or you closed the program without saving, you might see a Document Recovery pane when you reopen Word. This pane should display any unsaved documents. Just click on the document you want to recover.
Search for .asd Files:
Word automatically saves temporary copies of your documents with the .asd extension. You can try to find these files:
a. Open File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (macOS).
b. In the search bar, type “*.asd” without the quotes and press Enter. This should search for all .asd files on your computer.
c. Review the list of found files and open the one you suspect to be your unsaved document.
Check AutoRecover Folder (Windows):
On Windows, AutoRecover files are typically stored in a specific folder. The location may vary depending on your version of Windows, but it’s often something like:
C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word
Navigate to this folder and look for files with the .asd extension. You may be able to recover your document from there.
Check Temporary Files (Mac):
On macOS, temporary files may be stored in the TemporaryItems folder. You can access this folder by following these steps:
a. Open Finder.
b. Click “Go” in the menu bar and select “Go to Folder…”
c. Type: ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery/
d. Look for any .asd files in this folder.
Search Recent Documents:
Sometimes, unsaved documents may appear in your recent documents list when you reopen Word. Go to “File” > “Open” and check the Recent Documents list.
Use Data Recovery Software:
If none of the above methods work, you might consider using data recovery software. Programs like Recuva (for Windows) or Data Rescue (for macOS) can sometimes recover unsaved files.
