Forget to save your important file in excel? Wondering about how to recover unsaved Excel file? Don’t worry! Just read this post & learn 4 ways to recover unsaved excel file.
Losing your important files in excel can be really disappointing, especially when you forget to save the document. Unfortunately, this kind of situation usually occurs due to sudden interruptions like – system shutdown, human errors, Windows restart etc.
The AutoRecover or AutoSave feature in Excel comes handy in such situations. Apart from this, Microsoft also introduced a various feature in order to help the users. These features help to reduce a possibility of the data loss due to system crash, power outrage, accidental deletion, etc.
In this article, I have shared 4 proven ways to recover unsaved excel file. Therefore, if you have lost your crucial excel files as you forgot to save them then you must read this till the end.
How to Recover an Unsaved File In Excel?
If you are looking for a ways to recover unsaved excel file then just check out the below section of this tutorial. There, you will get 4 best solutions to recover unsaved workbooks.
Solution #1: Recover Your Unsaved Excel File via AutoRecover Feature?
AutoRecover or Autosave features normally acts as provision to a backup and recover the unsaved documents during a time of a sudden interruptions such as system crashes, computer shutdown, human errors, & others.
How to Recover Unsaved Excel File using AutoRecover feature:
- Firstly, you need to open your new excel file then click on File tab.
- Choose Open then > Recent option in order to recover your unsaved excel file.
- Find your recently unsaved excel file then click on Recover Unsaved Workbooks opt.
- At last, just open your unsaved excel file & restore the file as a new document of excel by simply clicking a Save option.
Please Note: This method will help you to recover your unsaved or overwritten excel files only if an AutoRecover option is previously enabled in your Excel app.
Solution #2: Recover Unsaved Excel File from Recent Workbooks
If you shut down your system or closes the excel app without saving your important document in it then also you can recover your unsaved excel file from recent workbooks option.
Follow these steps to know how to recover the Excel file from recent workbook option:
- First of all, you need to open a new Excel file.
- After that, go to the File tab then click on Open.
- Next, choose Recent Workbooks option.
- Now move down to a bottom of the screen & click on the Recover Unsaved Workbooks option.
- Or you may also, click on FILE tab -> Info then open Manage Workbooks -> drop-down menu. Here, you need to choose Recover Unsaved Workbooks option.
- Once the Open dialogue box appears on the screen, choose necessary file then click on Open.
- The document will open in your Excel and will ask you to save the document. Simply, hit the Save As button, and save your file in its desired location.
Solution #3: Restore Unsaved Excel File using Previous Versions Utility
Unable to recover your unsaved or overwritten excel files even after trying the above two methods? Don’t lose hope! You still have a chance to retrieve your excel files.
But remember, Previous Versions Utility can help you to recover the unsaved files of excel only if you have previously saved the workbook. But end up losing the files due to system crash while accessing it.
That means, it will help you to save a previously saved version of the Excel file. Here’s what you need to do:
- Open your Excel file then navigate to the File tab -> Info then -> Manage Versions.
- Now, it’ll show you the previously saved versions. Here, you need to choose your desired unsaved file that you need to restore.
- At last, click on Save/Save As option to restore your file with another different name.
Solution #4: How to Recover Unsaved Excel File using Search Option
There is another option that you can try to recover unsaved excel file is, using the Windows search box option. If you have remembered a name of your Excel file, then you can try to find your unsaved file by using a Search option.
Follow the below given steps to know the process:
- Navigate to the Windows Search Box & type the file name if you remember.
- If you get the excel file there, simply click on Open or an Open file location.
- If you have click on Open file location, this will take you at the exact location of your excel file, & you’ll able to restore unsaved excel file easily.
Wrapping Up
It’s quite frustrating, when you work on your important workbook and you need to shut down your system or app without saving your document. But, luckily there are some realistic ways that can help you to recover unsaved Excel file.
If you have also forgot to save your excel file then you can try out the aforementioned solutions. All the solutions are easy and effective, so you must try out all of them and find which one helps you to restore unsaved Excel file.
