How to Recover Unsaved or Corrupted MS Office Files

Microsoft Office is a group of application software that primarily runs on Microsoft Windows. Office applications are currently an essential in almost any office desktop and personal computer. This article focuses on how to recover unsaved or corrupted Office files.

There are many situations that could lead you to lose your favorite Office software’s files. Sometimes, you could lose files from more than one app, especially after a system crash. Whether you’re using the Microsoft 365 suite subscription or standalone office versions like Office 2016, the data recovery process is typically the same.

All Microsoft Office software has some basic shared features like autosave that allow the recovery process to be almost similar. For this example, we are going to use Word but there’s little or no change in the process for other applications like Excel and Access. Below are the steps to take when your Office file is unsaved, missing or fails to open.

Recovering from the document recovery pane

1. Open the MS office application you want to recover the file from, for example Excel.
2. Open a new blank document.
3. Go to the Data Recovery option on the left pane of the window and click save as.
4. Select the path for the unsaved document to be recovered.
5. Click save.

In some instances, like where the loss of the file was caused by a sudden system shutdown, you might not see the Document Recovery option immediately. In such instances, you should follow the following steps:

1. Open the office application you want to recover from.
2. Open a new blank document.
3. Open the file menu by clicking on file.
4. Select the info option.
5. Click on Manage Document.
6. Select the Recover Unsaved documents option.
7. Select the lost or corrupted document in the list that is generated.
8. Click open.
9. Save the file.

For earlier office versions, the process can be made easier:

1. Open the office application you want to recover files from.
2. Open a new blank document.
3. Click on file.
4. Click open.
5. Click on Recover Unsaved documents.
6. Locate the problematic file and open it.
7. Save the file before adding any changes.

Recovering office files from auto recover

If the methods above don’t work, it’s time to check if the files were saved in auto recover by autosave.

1. Open the office application you want to recover files from.
2. Open a new blank document.
3. Click on file to open the file menu.
4. Click on options.
5. Select save.
6. Highlight the Auto recover file location path that is under the save doc option, right click and select copy.
7. Open file explorer and paste the path in the address bar. This will bring up all the autosaved files from that application.
8. Locate the file you would like to recover and open it.
9. Save the file before making any changes.

This method will only show the autosaved files for the office application you opened initially. To recover files from another application, you will have to repeat the steps.

Using data recovery tools

If, after trying these steps, you still haven’t recovered the file, a third-party data recovery tool would be your best chance. DataNumen Office Repair is the leading Office files recovery software. It is very easy to use and does not require any special skills. Furthermore, it is free to use for individuals and available at an affordable price for businesses.