Accidentally saved over a Word document? Rest assured; this post will assist you to find previous version of Word documents as well as deleted Word files.
During work and study, people frequently deal with Word files; they usually create a Word doc, then edit the contents, make some modification, save it, at last, send it or share it with coworkers.
Though, it is difficult to prevent some unexpected mistakes when editing a Word document. Users might click “Don’t Save” and be anxious to recover unsaved Word files.
Even more severe, some users saved the file, but the contents were incorrect and unwanted. Thanks to the Ctrl + Z keys and backups, it is easy to revoke the mistakes.
But sometimes, there will be an upsetting situation in that you haven’t made any backups yet, so you don’t know how to find the previous version of Word documents that you have just saved over.
Recovering Word Document that was Mistakenly Saved Over
I created and saved a word document and then mistakenly saved over it. Can I recover the last saved version? If so, how?
- Question from Microsoft Community
Luckily, some tricks could help you recover saved over Word documents.
How to recover a Word document that was saved over? Here are 6 workable methods that can be of some help.
The Undo feature is a good option when you want to recall/withdraw some operations. If you were editing the Word doc then you found you had overwritten some content, then you could
>> Just press Ctrl + Z or click the Undo icon on the upper-left corner of the window.
Microsoft Word stores the editing doc every 10 minutes by default. This feature will be of great help when you forget to save or meet an unexpected shutdown before saving. Also, you could turn to this function when you have saved over a Word document.
Step 1. Click File > Option > Save > check the AutoRecover file location > click Browse to open this folder.
Or, copy the path and paste it into File Explorer’s search box:
Step 2. Find the saved over Word file > recover it to another safe place.
Word also allows users to automatically create a backup copy of every edited document. If you have enabled it in advance, you could easily recover from the backup.
Check if you have activated this feature:
>> Click File > Option > Advanced > Always create backup copy.
With this feature turned on, you will find a wbk file automatically generated in the folder you have stored in the edited Word doc.
As mentioned above, when AutoSave is turned on, the document is automatically saved every 10 minutes by default. This built-in feature enables users to manage their file versions.
But please note that it only works if the window has yet to be closed.
Step 1. Click File > Info > Versions > choose the last version.
Step 2. Click Restore to recover the version you want. Or, you could choose Compare to view the changes.
This method can also help restore an Excel that was saved over.
In addition to the Manage Versions pane, another inbuilt tool is optional.
As long as the saved over Word file was stored on the drive that has the System Protection activated (usually the C: drive), or you have enabled the File History, you could find previous version of Word document using this feature.
Step 1. Click File Explorer > locate and right-click the saved over Word document > Properties.
Step 2. Choose the latest version > Restore. Or you could click Open to view and check the contents.
Thus to fix the accidentally saved over a Word document issue.
Backups will always be helpful when data loss occurs. If you have synced or backed up the edited Word file to a cloud storage device like OneDrive, you could turn to it and get the saved over Word doc back easily.
Step 1. Start OneDrive or sign in to the OneDrive site > find the target Word file > right-click on it > Version history.
Step 2. Choose the wanted older version > download or save it in a safe place.
In this way, you could recover overwritten Word documents via OneDrive.
The above methods are to help you restore saved over Word docs; using these fixes, you could restore previous version of Word files when the files are still existing.
If the files were deleted or lost already, then you have to recover deleted Word files first.
Similarly, you could turn to the backups if you possess any. For the sake of convenience and efficiency, a professional and effective Windows data recovery tool will be the best option.
Considering usability, efficiency, and compatibility, MyRecover is your second-to-none choice.
Step 1. Run the app > hover the mouse over a location to start Word document recovery > click Scan.
Step 2. If you can still recall the filename, you could search or filter the wanted Word doc by extensions, Type, Date modified, etc.
Step 3. Go to Deleted files > navigate to the original location > select the Word files you need > click Recover x files.
This app can assist users in various data loss situations.
What's more, you could upgrade MyRecover to the Yearly or Lifetime version to enjoy unlimited data recovery.
Methods gathered in this post can help you when you have accidentally saved over a Word document. Also, the professional data rescue tool introduced facilitates users to recover deleted or lost Word files easily as well.
If you want to prevent similar data loss from happening again, some precautions are necessary.