Simon Sez IT

Online software training and video tutorials for Microsoft, Adobe & more

  • Course List
    • Adobe
      • Dreamweaver
        • Dreamweaver CC
        • Dreamweaver CS6
        • Dreamweaver CS5
        • Dreamweaver CS4
      • Flash
        • Flash CS5
      • InDesign
        • InDesign CS6
        • InDesign CS5
      • Photoshop
        • Photoshop CS6
        • Photoshop CS5
        • Adobe Photoshop CS4
      • Photoshop Elements
        • Photoshop Elements 2022
        • Photoshop Elements 2019
        • Photoshop Elements 2018
        • Photoshop Elements 15
        • Photoshop Elements 14
        • Photoshop Elements 13
        • Photoshop Elements 12
        • Photoshop Elements 11
        • Photoshop Elements 10
        • Photoshop Elements 9
        • Photoshop Elements 8
    • Microsoft
      • Access
        • Access 2021 Beginners
        • Access 2019
        • Access 2019 Advanced
        • Access 2016
        • Access 2016 Advanced
        • Access 2013
        • Access 2013 Advanced
        • Access 2010
        • Access 2010 Advanced
        • Access 2007
      • Excel
        • Data Analytics in Excel
        • Excel 2021 Advanced
        • Excel 2021 Intermediate
        • Excel 2021 Beginners
        • PivotTables for Beginners
        • Excel Dashboards
        • Advanced Formulas in Excel
        • Excel for Business Analysts
        • Advanced PivotTables
        • Power Pivot, Power Query and DAX in Excel
        • Excel 2019 Beginners (Mac)
        • Excel 2019 Beginners
        • Excel 2019 Advanced
        • Excel 2016 Beginners
        • Excel 2016 Intermediate
        • Excel 2016 Advanced
        • Excel 2013
        • Excel 2013 Advanced
        • Excel 2010 Beginners
        • Excel 2010 Advanced
        • Excel 2007
      • OneNote
        • OneNote Desktop and Windows 10
        • OneNote 2016
      • Outlook
        • Outlook 2021
        • Outlook 2019
        • Outlook 2016
        • Outlook 2013
        • Outlook 2010
        • Outlook 2007
      • Power Automate
        • Introduction to Power Automate
      • Power BI
        • Power BI
        • Power BI Intermediate
      • PowerPoint
        • PowerPoint 2021
        • PowerPoint 2019
        • PowerPoint 2016
        • PowerPoint 2013
        • PowerPoint 2010
        • PowerPoint 2007
      • Project
        • Project 2021 Beginners
        • Project for the Web
        • Project 2019
        • Project 2019 Advanced
        • Project 2016
        • Project 2016 Advanced
        • Project 2013
        • Project 2013 Advanced
        • Project 2010
        • Project 2010 Advanced
      • Publisher
        • Publisher 2013
      • SharePoint
        • SharePoint Online
        • SharePoint Foundation 2013
        • SharePoint Server 2013
        • SharePoint Foundation 2010
      • Teams
        • Microsoft Teams
      • VBA
        • Macros and VBA for Beginners
        • VBA for Excel
        • VBA Intermediate Training
      • Visio
        • Microsoft Visio 2019
        • Visio 2016
        • Visio 2013
        • Microsoft Visio 2010
      • Windows
        • Windows 11
        • Windows 10 (2020 Update)
        • Windows 10
        • Windows 8
        • Windows 7
        • Windows Vista
      • Word
        • Word 2021
        • Word 2019 Advanced
        • Word 2019
        • Word 2016
        • Word 2013
        • Word 2010
        • Word 2007
    • QuickBooks
      • QuickBooks
        • QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2022
        • QuickBooks Pro 2021
        • QuickBooks Online Advanced
        • QuickBooks Online
        • QuickBooks Canada
        • QuickBooks Pro 2020
        • QuickBooks 2019
        • QuickBooks 2018
        • QuickBooks Pro 2017
        • QuickBooks Pro 2016
        • QuickBooks Pro 2015
        • QuickBooks Pro 2014
        • QuickBooks Pro 2013
        • QuickBooks Pro 2012
        • QuickBooks Pro 2011
        • QuickBooks Pro 2010
        • QuickBooks Pro 2009
    • Web Development
      • AngularJs
        • AngularJS Crash Course
      • Dreamweaver
        • Dreamweaver CC
        • Dreamweaver CS6
        • Dreamweaver CS5
        • Dreamweaver CS4
      • Bootstrap
        • Bootstrap Framework
      • Html/CSS
        • HTML/CSS Crash Course
        • HTML5 Essentials
      • Python
        • Python Object-Oriented Programming
        • Pandas for Beginners
        • Introduction to Python
      • Java
        • Java for Beginners
      • JavaScript
        • JavaScript for Beginners
        • jQuery Crash Course
      • MySql
        • MySQL for Beginners
      • PHP
        • PHP for Beginners
        • Advanced PHP Programming
      • XML
        • XML Crash Course
    • Data Analysis
      • Financial Modeling
        • Financial Risk Management
        • Financial Forecasting and Modeling
      • Alteryx
        • Alteryx Advanced
        • Introduction to Alteryx
      • Power BI
        • Power BI Intermediate
        • Power BI
      • Qlik Sense
        • Qlik Sense Advanced
        • Qlik Sense
      • R Programming
        • R Programming
      • Tableau
        • Tableau Desktop Advanced
        • Tableau Desktop
      • Python
        • Python Object-Oriented Programming
        • Pandas for Beginners
        • Introduction to Python
    • Work Productivity
      • Google Sheets
        • Google Sheets for Beginners
      • Confluence
        • Introduction to Confluence
      • Monday
        • Getting Started in Monday.com
      • Asana
        • Asana for Employees and Managers
        • Introduction to Asana
      • Jira
        • Getting Started in Jira
  • For Business
  • About Us
    • Testimonials
    • Contact Us
    • FAQ
    • Membership
    • About Us
  • Pricing
  • Free Resources
  • Sign In
  • Get Started
Home > Microsoft Excel > How to Recover Unsaved Excel File? – 3 Ways

How to Recover Unsaved Excel File? – 3 Ways

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

(Note: This guide on how to Recover Unsaved Excel File is suitable for all Excel versions including Office 365)

Have you ever worked so hard on an Excel file that it suddenly closes or crashes before you could save the file? Or, you might sometimes accidentally close the file without saving it.   Whatever the case is, losing the file sometimes feels like a disaster. We all might have faced this scenario at least once in our lifetimes. There are various reasons you can lose your Excel file if you haven’t saved it. 

If you want that particular file back, there are a couple of methods to get back the file before it’s permanently lost. 

In this article, I will tell you how to recover unsaved Excel file in 3 easy ways. 

You’ll Learn:

  • Recovering the Current Version of a Previously Saved Excel File
  • Recover a Completely Unsaved File
    • From the Document Recovery Pane
    • Using the Recover Unsaved Workbooks Option
    • From AutoRecover Folder
  • Additional Precautions
    • AutoRecover
    • AutoSave
    • Create a Backup

Related Reads:

How to Recover a Word Document ? 4 Proven Ways

How to Backup and Recover Your Spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel 2016

How to Save an Excel File? 4 Different Ways

Recovering the Current Version of a Previously Saved Excel File

There might be some cases where you would have forgotten to save your additional work in an already saved file. In such cases, you can use the below-given method to recover the recently lost version of the Excel file. 

  • First, open the Excel file you want to recover.
  • Navigate to the File main menu and click on Info.
  • Click on the dropdown from Manage Workbook and click on Recover Unsaved Workbooks.
Recover Unsaved Excel File
  • In other cases, you might even find the unsaved version of the Excel file in the Manage Workbook section. Click on the file with the added tag (when I closed without saving).
Manage Workbook
  • This opens the Excel file with the added changes that were not saved. 
  • Now, you can click on the Save As button in the banner to save the changes. 

Recover a Completely Unsaved File

Imagine you are working on an Excel file and you haven’t saved it, not even once. Suddenly your system crashes and the Excel file abruptly closes. This is a very common scenario that occurs to almost everyone. 

If you want to recover the Excel file, even though it is not saved even once, you can use the below-given methods.

From the Document Recovery Pane

This is a straightforward method to recover an Excel file.

  • Open any new workbook or an existing workbook in Excel.
  • Once you open the workbook, you can see the Document Recovery pane towards the left of the workbook by default.
  • In the Document Recovery pane, you can see the Excel file you have been recently working on. 
Document Recovery pane
  • Click on the dropdown next to the file to see additional options. You can either choose to View the Excel file and then save the file or directly save the file using the Save As option.
Save As option

Using the Recover Unsaved Workbooks Option

Another way to recover unsaved Excel file is by using the Recover Unsaved Workbooks option.

  • To recover the file, first, open an empty workbook or an existing Excel workbook.
  • Navigate to the File main menu ribbon and click Open. 
  • Go to the Recent tab and click on the Recover Unsaved Workbooks option at the bottom.
Recover Unsaved Workbooks
  • This opens a dialog box where you can locate the unsaved file.
dialog box
  • Select the file and click Open.
  • This opens the existing version of the file in Excel.
  • You can click on the Restore button in the banner or navigate to File and save the file.
Restore

From AutoRecover Folder

Another way to recover the unsaved Excel file is by navigating to the folder that contains the recovery files and opening them.

  • Open any new workbook or an existing workbook.
  • Navigate to File and click on Options.
  • This opens the Excel Options dialog box. Click on the Save category and copy the file location in the AutoRecover file location section. This is the place where unsaved Excel files are stored in case of mishaps.
Save category
  • Open File Explorer on your PC. 
  • Paste the copied address in the address bar and press Enter.
File Explorer
  • Now, open the folder which contains the recovered version of the file you were looking for. These files are stored in Microsoft Excel Binary Worksheet format. 
  • Double-click to open the file. 
  • Now, you can click on Restore or navigate to File and use the Save As button to save the file. The files will be saved in .xlsx Excel Workbook format by default. 

Additional Precautions 

Although the above-mentioned methods seem to be a way to recover unsaved Excel files, they are not foolproof. Sometimes, it is better to take some precautionary measures to prevent losing important files. 

AutoRecover

AutoRecover is a very useful feature in Excel which creates a temporary version of the existing Excel file. This option is enabled in Excel by default.

  • If you want to make additional customizations to the AutoRecover option, navigate to File and click on Save.
  • Under the Save Workbooks section, you can find a variety of options relating to AutoRecover. You can choose the time interval between successive file recovery or change the default path where Excel stores the recovered files. There are also other additional options. 
Save Workbooks

AutoSave

Though there are a variety of ways to save an Excel file easily, we tend to forget to save the file manually. In such cases, you can enable the AutoSave option in Excel.

AutoSave is another useful feature in Excel that saves files automatically without having to manually save them. 

  • You can toggle the AutoSave feature on or off by using the switch in the top left corner of the Excel window next to the Save button.
AutoSave

However, AutoSave only works when the file is stored in the cloud and not in local storage. And, if you feel like not all files need to be saved with every iteration, you can choose to switch off the AutoSave feature by using the toggle button.

Suggested Reads:

How to Reduce Excel File Size? 7 Proven Ways

How to Convert Excel to CSV File? 2 Different Approaches

How to Merge Excel Files? 5 Proven Ways

Create a Backup

AutoSave and AutoRecover are very good measures to recover unsaved Excel file when the application crashes. Oftentimes, the saved Excel file may be deleted accidentally or moved by the user. In such cases, creating a backup of the Excel files will help you retain the document with important information. 

  • To create a backup copy, navigate to File and click on Save As.
  • Click on Browse or More Options to open the Save As dialog box. 
  • In the Save As dialog box, click on the dropdown from Tools and select General Options.
  • This opens the General Options dialog box. Check the checkbox for Always create backup and click OK.
create backup
  • Additionally, you can also choose to set a password to protect the Excel file.

Once you create a backup copy, every change you make to the original file will be reflected in the backup file when you save. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How can we recover unsaved Excel files?

Excel always saves a recovery version of the file in any folder or within the application to recover the file in case of mishaps. You can recover the unsaved files from the Manage Documents section or the Document Recovery pane.

What are some easy ways to save an Excel file?

Using the shortcut key Ctrl+S is the easiest way to save an Excel file. Also, you can click on the Save button in the title bar on the top-left corner of the Excel window to save the file.

Where can I find the Manage Documents option in Excel?

You can find the Manage Documents option by navigating to File and clicking on Info. The Manage Documents option contains unsaved files or previous versions of the particular Excel file.

Closing Thoughts

In this article, we saw how to recover unsaved Excel file in 3 easy ways. You can either recover the Excel file from the Document Recovery pane, using the Recover Unsaved Workbooks button, by navigating to the AutoRecover folder or from the Manage Documents dropdown. 

Though the above methods are functioning ways to recover an Excel file, they are not fail-proof. The only way to make sure your progress is not erased is by saving the file whenever you make any addition. Or, you can make use of the AutoRecover and AutoSave options to protect the file. 

Please visit our free resources center for more high-quality guides on Excel and other Microsoft Suite applications.

Ready to dive deep into Excel? Click here for advanced Excel courses with in-depth training modules.

Simon Sez IT has been teaching Excel and other business software for over ten years. For a low, monthly fee you can get access to 140+ IT training courses.

Simon Calder

Chris “Simon” Calder was working as a Project Manager in IT for one of Los Angeles’ most prestigious cultural institutions, LACMA. He taught himself to use Microsoft Project from a giant textbook and hated every moment of it. Online learning was in its infancy then, but he spotted an opportunity and made an online MS Project course - the rest, as they say, is history!

Most Popular Posts

  • Kanban vs Scrum: Project Management Methodologies and Their Differences [2022]
  • How to Insert a Checkbox in Excel? 3 EASY Examples
  • How to Autofit Excel Cells? 3 Best Methods
  • XLOOKUP Google Sheets – 4 Best Alternatives!
  • Dashboards in Excel Using Pivot Tables, Pivot Charts and Slicers
  • Free Microsoft Project Training Course
  • Free Microsoft Access Tutorial for Beginners (3.5 Hours Video)
  • How to Use Blending Mode With Layers in Adobe Photoshop Elements 15

Similar Posts

Using Input Masks in Access 2010

Ten Ways to Clean Data in Excel

Navigating the Microsoft Project 2016 Workspace

How to Freeze Rows in Excel? 4 Easy Steps

Working with Long Documents in Word 2013

How to Create Charts and Graphs in Microsoft Excel 2016

Course Categories

  • Adobe
  • Data Analysis
  • QuickBooks
  • Microsoft
  • Web Development
  • Work Productivity

About Us

  • About Us
  • Free Resources
  • Affiliates
  • Become an Instructor

Products

  • Pricing and Plans
  • Business Pricing
  • Government Discounts
  • Non-Profit Discounts

Support

  • FAQ’s
  • Contact Us
  • DVD support

Connect

YoutubeFacebookLinkedIn
© 2023 Simon Sez IT, Inc.
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
888.817.6665 Monday thru Friday 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (ET)