[Answered] How to Find AutoSaved Documents in Excel?

Is it possible to find AutoSaved Excel files in Windows?

AutoSave is a new feature available in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 subscribers that will automatically save your documents every few seconds as you work.

If you store a file on OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint Online, AutoSave is enabled by default in Microsoft. Therefore, it’s possible to find AutoSaved Excel files after activating the AutoSave feature.

Beforehand: How to turn on AutoSave in Excel?

Since some of you are unaware of the specific steps of turning on AutoSave, let’s show how it works. After that, you’re ready to begin the Excel document recovery process.

Step 1. After opening your Microsoft Excel program, click the “File” tab on the top left and select the “Options” option.

Step 2. Under the “Save” tab, tick Save AutoRecover information every x minutes > Keep the last AutoRecover version if I close without closing. After that, click “OK” to save these changes.  

Please note that the default AutoSave time period is 10 minutes. You can set a new time period as you prefer.

How to find AutoSaved documents in Excel?

After turning on the AutoSave feature, it’s relatively easy for Microsoft 365 subscribers to find & recover unsaved Excel files. But how to find AutoSaved documents in Excel? There’re two feasible ways for you.

Method 1. Find AutoSaved Excel files from the Document Recovery panel

Step 1. Start Excel and you can see a list of retrieved Excel documents in the Document Recovery panel.

Step 2. You can browse and select an Excel file version according to your needs. Please remember to save your chosen document in a safe location.   

Method 2. Find AutoSaved Excel files via AutoRecover

Is there another way to perform unsaved Excel file recovery on Windows 10/11? It turns out there is.

Step 1. Open your Microsoft Excel program and click the “File” button.

Step 2. Click Info > Manage Workbook > Recover Unsaved Workbooks.

Step 3. Please select your desired Excel file in the window and click the “Open” button.

Please remember to click File > Save as to store these changes.

Bonus tips: How to recover permanently deleted Excel files in Windows 10/11 computers?

Though accidentally closing without saving files is one of the data loss reasons, deletion is the most common data loss cause. Because most users are often bothered by the latter.

After the first deletion, your desktop Recycle Bin almost can save all your deleted files. At this point, you can go to your Recycle Bin to recover recently deleted Excel files.

But how to recover permanently deleted Excel files in Windows 10/11 computers after emptying Recycle Bin? Generally speaking, non-tech users who’re not familiar with Windows will not eager to learn about Windows features.

Not to mention using making backups and restoring files using Windows features. Thus, let’s seek help from one of the best data recovery software for Windows-MyRecover to solve your issue.   

★Key features of MyRecover:   

Powerful features: Recover deleted & lost MS Office files, folders, compressed files, photos, songs, videos, audio, websites, and hundreds of file types from HDD, USB, SD cards, etc.  

Easy-to-find: During Quick Scan and Deep Scan, you can search your desired files by Path, Filename, Date, etc.

Convenient: Retain the original Path, Filename, and Format for the deleted files.   

Excellent compatibility: Support NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and ReFS file systems.

So how to recover permanently deleted Excel files in Windows 10 with ease? Download MyRecover on your Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, or Windows Server computer!

Step 1. After running MyRecover, hover the mouse over the partition that saves your needed Excel files before deletion. Then click Scan.

Step 2. You can quickly locate your desired Excel files according to Name, Path, Date, or Type or wait to view all the deleted & lost files after the scanning process.

Step 3. Go to the Deleted Files/Recycle Bin/Other Missing Files folder and click “Recover x files” to get your selected Excel files back.

After the document recovery process, you’d better store these retrieved Excel files in a new location.

Relevant Q&A about Excel document recovery

Perhaps you’ve learned how to find AutoSaved documents in Excel and how to recover permanently deleted Excel files in Windows 10/11 PC after reading the above content. Besides, there’re some related Excel document recovery tips and data loss prevention measures.