How to restore the unsaved document WORD

Method 1: Automatically

If Microsoft Word work was urgently completed, for example, due to the freezing of the program, its forced closure or disconnecting the PC, to restore the last unsaved document (s), with which you have been working, will be offered at the next launch.

Open a text editor. On the left in its main window will be the "Restore Document" block with the list "Available Files". Check out him and, focusing on the name, date and time of creation (Look for the most "fresh" version), find the document that failed to save timely. Having found, click on it with the left mouse button.

Opening an unsaved document in a text editor Microsoft Word

The file will be opened in a new window. Save it at any convenient place on PC disk:

Use for this button indicated above, then select Location

And specify it in the "Explorer". To confirm, click "Save".

Note: At the original name of the text document will be added to the attack "(auto stop)" or "(auto-assessment)". If you want to save it under the former name, replacing the original file, first close the first program window. Note that the last solution should be resorted only if there are no more documents for recovery.
The "Document Recovery" area in its updated version will be closed. If you want to restore another or more files, which are also not saved, go back to the first open window window and repeat the steps from the first step of this instruction.

The unsaved document is restored in the Microsoft Word text editor

In most cases, the contents of a text document by this method is not restored in full. This is primarily due to the value of the time is set for the autosave function available in Word (it will be described in more detail in the penultimate part of the article), - by default it is 10 minutes, and for this gap, more or less experienced users could well write enough Large text fragment. Unfortunately, he will probably be lost.

Method 2: manually

The automatic saving function mentioned above creates backup copies of Word documents and places them in the specified location on the disk. These are the same files that are invited to restore when starting the program after its emergency closure, but this is not always happening. It is in this case that it will be necessary to independently perform these actions.

Run Word, call it "File" menu (in earlier versions it is located on the left on the toolbar button with MS Office logo)

And open "Parameters".

Open Section Settings in the Microsoft Word text editor

In the window that opens, go to the Saving tab.

Open saving in the Microsoft Word text editor options

It is here that all autosave parameters are wondering, but now we are only interested in one - "Data Catalog for Auto Store". Copy the path indicated opposite this item.
Open the "Explorer", for example, using the "Win + E" keys, enter the path copied to its address bar in the previous step and press "ENTER" to go to this location.

Method 3: Restoration of unsaved documents

In addition to automatically saving text files in the process with them, Word also creates backups that can be restored through the program menu.
1. Open the Word, call the File menu, go to the "Details" section and click on the "Document Management" button.
2. Select "Restore unsaved documents".
  
  Note: You can access this program to this option and somewhat differently by moving along the path "File" - "Open" - "Latest" and clicking the "Restore Documents" button.
3. A system "Explorer" window will be opened, which indicates the location of the folder with backups. Focusing on the name, find the file that previously failed to save. Highlight it and click on the Open button.
Method 4: Restoring backup

When executing instructions from methods 2 and 3, you probably could notice files in unknown formats, which are contained in the WORD motor distribution folder. Among them may well be unsaved documents, to restore which can be possible through the program itself.
1. Follow the steps from steps No. 1-3 of the "Method 2: Manual" part of this article. That is, find out the location of the folder with automatic savers and copy it.
2. Open the File menu in Word, select Open, then Review.
3. In the address string of the opened "Explorer" insert the copied address and go to it by pressing "Enter" or the right arrow located on the right.
4. In the "All Files" drop-down list, select "Text Restore from any File". Then, focusing on the name and date of creation, find the document (or folder with it) that you want to recover, select it and click Open.
5. The Show Forms window appears - read the information specified in it and click Close.
Method 5: Search for unsigned files and copies

The last method of restoring unsaved documents is a mixture of all previous ones. It consists in independent search for backup files and their subsequent opening in the Word.
1. Open the "Explorer", go to the root of the system disk (in our example is one (C :) ), Copy and enter into its search string the first of the values below. Click "Enter" to start the search.
  * .Wbk.
  * .ASD.
2. Expect until the procedure is completed (usually takes a few minutes), after which you open the found document or documents. Its name will most likely consist of arbitrary characters, so focus first at the date of the last change.
3. Check out the contents of the file and save it.
4. Go back to the "Explorer" to the system disk, copy the second from the above values, paste it into the search string and run the procedure.
5. Wait until the search is completed, and familiarize yourself with its results. Focusing on the name and date of document change, find the one you want to restore.
6. Click on it right-click and select the "Location of the File" in the context menu.
7. Copy the path specified in the address bar and follow the instructions from the previous part of the article to restore the unsaved Word document.
Optional: autosave setting

In order to prevent such problems in the future or at least minimize their consequences, it is recommended to change the automatic saving parameters by specifying the default time interval. The optimal solution will be the minimum value - 1 minute. You can do this in the "Parameters" section Word, which we have opened in the third step of instructions from method 2 for more detailed information for the procedure itself, read the following article below.
Read more: Setting the auto storage function in Microsoft Word

Note! In licensed versions of Microsoft Office with an authorized Microsoft account application, saving is carried out in the background, on an ongoing basis. This eliminates the need for manual or automatic preservation of a text document, and therefore, the problem under consideration under this article in this case will simply do not arise.
Restoring a document when hanging the program

If the WORD document cannot be saved, it is not possible because of the emergency closure of the program, but due to its freezing, the algorithm of the recovery procedure may look somewhat different. So, if the text editor is still running, but does not respond and does not respond to any actions, the only thing that remains is to make a text screenshot on the screen and then recognize it using a specialized software. The procedure for automatic and / or manual recovery, considered by us above, in such situations, unfortunately, is not always available.
Read more: How to save a text document if WORD hung