How to Retrieve Deleted Word Document from Desktop Quickly

Microsoft Word is the most popular word processor in the world. It is easy to create, edit and share documents, so it is used by different people for different purposes. However, word documents are also easy to lose. Apart from word usage tips and tricks, another frequently asked question is how to recover deleted word document.

Many factors can lead to the loss of word documents, such as accidental deletion, Word or Windows corruption, sudden power failure, etc. Fortunately, there are different recovery methods for different situations. Here in this guide, we will focus on how to retrieve deleted word document from desktop. There are 4 practical ways that can help you find back the deleted word documents.

Way 1. How to retrieve deleted word document from desktop via Recycle Bin

Usually, you can try to undo deleted files on Windows in File Explorer: simply go to the folder from where you deleted the word document > right-click the empty area > choose Undo Delete to make it.

If you don't remember where you stored the document before, then you can try to retrieve deleted word document from desktop via Recycle Bin. All files that are normally deleted will be moved to the Recycle Bin, from where we can recover or permanently delete them.

• Open Recycle Bin on your desktop.
• Find the deleted word document you need.
• Right-click the word document and choose Restore option. Then the deleted word document will be restored to its original location.

The Word document deleted via Shift + Delete shortcut will not be moved to Recycle Bin but will be deleted from desktop permanently.

Way 2. How to retrieve deleted word document from desktop via backup copy

If you have enabled Always create backup copy feature beforehand, then you can easily recover a deleted word document from desktop. You can go to File > Options > Advanced > Save to check if this option is turned on.

When Always create backup copy is enabled, you can go to C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word to find the backup copy you need.

Way 3. How to recover word document deleted from desktop via File History

If you have enabled File History to backup your folders and files, then you can try to recover word document deleted from desktop via File History. File History keeps some of the previous versions of files and folders and you may find the deleted word document from one of the previous versions.

Right-click the folder that used to store the word document > select Restore previous versions > check and choose a previous version that contains the deleted files > click Restore to get back the deleted word document.

Or you can go to Control Panel > System and Security > File History > Restore personal files to find and recover a deleted word document from desktop.

Way 4. How to recover word document deleted from desktop via data recovery tool

If you can not find the deleted word document from the recycle bin or backup, then you can turn to data recovery software for help. As long as the deleted word document has not been overwritten by new files, then the data recovery software can find them.

There are quite a few Windows data recovery tools in the market, here we choose MyRecover as an example. We choose this tool mainly because it is easy to operate. You just need to click the scan button and the tool will automatically search the deleted word document for you.

You can click the download button to get the tool and follow the steps below to retrieve deleted word document from desktop.

• Launch MyRecover > hover the mouse over the drive, and click Scan.

• The deleted and lost files found by the tool will be listed on the right side. You can type some keywords of the deleted word documents in the search box to quickly find them.

• Once you see the deleted word document you want to recover, you can choose it and click the Recover button to move it to a safe place.

Final words

That’s all about how to retrieve deleted word document from desktop. First of all, you can try to find deleted word document from Recycle bin or backup files. If you can't find it, then you can use ADR for Windows to help you search your desktop to find the deleted word document.

Data recovery software can only find the files that have not been overwritten. Therefore, when you encounter data loss without backup, it is recommended to stop using your desktop immediately and then perform data recovery as soon as possible.

Data loss is unpredictable, it is advised to create regular backup to protect important files. Besides File History, you can take advantage of AOMEI Backupper, one free Windows backup software to backup your data daily/weekly/monthly.