Accidentally clicked "Don't Save" on a Word document on your Mac? Here's how to recover an unsaved Word document.

**Recover Unsaved Word Document from Accidental Click on Mac:**

On your Mac, open Microsoft Word, then go to Finder > Go > Go to Folder, and enter the command ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery to find any Auto Recover files saved on your Mac.

If you accidentally clicked on “Don't Save Word for Mac”, read this tutorial carefully and try out the three solutions below.

3 Ways to Recover Unsaved Word Document on Mac After Accidental “Don't Save” Click

Read on to learn the steps in detail.

Solution 1: Recover Unsaved Word Mac File after Accidental Click with Software

Normally, unsaved documents don't go to the Trash and it's difficult to recover them from elsewhere. Here, we recommend a practical tool – Mac Data Recovery Wizard.

• It is specifically designed for recovering deleted and lost files on Mac. Whether your file was unsaved or lost, this Mac data recovery software comes to your rescue.
• For unsaved files, it retrieves unsaved documents from the Previous Versions folder.
• Not only does it recover lost Word documents, but it also retrieves Office Excel/PowerPoint files along with all other types of files.

Download the Mac Text Recovery Converter right now and let it find the unsaved Word file you accidentally clicked “Don't Save” on.

This powerful Mac document recovery tool can also perform unsaved Excel file recovery or execute an unsaved PowerPoint recovery. We have a video tutorial that shows you how to recover unsaved Word documents on Mac:

 

Follow the steps below to recover an unsaved Word document on your Mac:

Note: You can click “Disk Backup” on the left first to create a backup. This way, you can restore your data from the backup image when the hard drive fails or unsaved documents on it get accidentally deleted or lost.

Step 1: Select the Disk

Launch the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac, hover the mouse over the device where you had the unsaved files, and click Find Lost Files.

Step 2: Choose the unsaved document

Once the scan is finished, click on “Type,” and then expand “Unsaved Documents.” Click on the exact type of your unsaved file – whether it's a Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Keynote, Pages, or Numbers document.

Step 3: Preview and recover the unsaved files

You can preview unsaved files by double-clicking them, choose the correct version, and then click “Recover” to save the file to a secure location on your Mac.

Don't forget to share this informative post on social media to help others learn how to recover a Word document if they accidentally click "Don't Save."

Fix 2: Accidentally clicked "Don't Save" in Word: Recover from Auto-Recovery If you mistakenly clicked "Don't Save" in Word, there's still a chance to retrieve your file from the Auto-Recovery feature. Here's how: 1. **Restart Word**: Close and reopen Microsoft Word. 2. **Try opening recent documents**: Upon starting Word, you'll see a list of "Recent Documents." Check if your unsaved file appears there. If it does, click on it to open. 3. **Use Auto-Recover**: If the file is not in the Recent Documents list, click on the "File" menu and then choose "Info." On the right side, locate and click "Manage Versions" or "Recover Unsaved Documents." 4. **Browse for the recovered file**: In the pop-up window, find and double-click on the AutoRecover file related to your lost document. Word will open the file, and you can save it as a new document. Please note that the Auto-Recover feature doesn't always restore everything perfectly, so it's best to develop a habit of manually saving your work regularly to prevent data loss.

Mac Word AutoRecovery is a built-in feature in Microsoft Office that is enabled by default. It automatically saves changes to your Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents every 5 or 10 minutes.

Most of the time, you can find an auto-saved copy of a Word file that you accidentally closed without saving in the AutoRecover folder on your Mac. Here's how to try and manually recover an unsaved Word document from the AutoRecover folder:

Step 1: Open Finder, click on “Go,” and then choose “Go to Folder.”

Step 2: Type in ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery, and then click “Go.”

4. Find the AutoRecovery*** file with a different extension and open it with Word.

Step 5: Preview the unsaved Word document and then save it back to the desktop of your Mac.

Fix 3: Recover unsaved Word document from the temp folder

The Word Temporary Files is a local folder on a Mac that stores the temporary files of the document being currently edited or modified. If you accidentally click "Don't Save" on a Word document, try to look for it in the temp files.

The folder is named Temporary Items, and here you might find all the unsaved Word temporary files saved in TMP format. Now, to recover unsaved Word document from this folder, follow these steps:

Step 1: Click on “Applications” > “Utilities” > “Terminal.”

2. In Terminal, type open $TMPDIR, and press Return.

Enter the above command in the Terminal to open the Temporary folder.

Step 3: Locate and open the folder named Temporary Items.

Step 4: Find and save any unsaved Word documents on your desktop.

Step Five: Change the file extension from .tmp to .doc or .docx

Open the file in Word and check if the lost unsaved document is there. If it is, remember to click “Save” to keep it.

And, if you don't see anything in the Temp folder, don't worry – a Mac file recovery tool can help.

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Tips to Avoid Accidentally Clicking "Don't Save" on a Word Document

If you accidentally clicked “Don't Save” in Word on your Mac, don't worry – the methods above can help you recover an unsaved Word document on Mac. To minimize the chances of losing your hard work in the future, remember these tips for your next session editing in Word:

• After making your changes in Word, click “Save” or press “Ctrl+S.”
• Disable any programs causing your Mac or Word to lag.
• Increase the frequency of AutoRecover, which defaults to every 10 minutes, to something more frequent, like every 5 or 3 minutes.

Caution about closing Word without saving your file:

• ✅ Recommended Action: Reopen the Word application and check if the recently closed file appears in the 'Recent Documents' section. You can directly restore the recently closed document from here.
• ⛔ Do Not Do: Avoid starting a new edit in Word as it may lead to data overwriting, which decreases the chances of a complete recovery.

In summary, lost words from a 'Don't Save' are recoverable.

On this page, we've gathered 3 methods to help you out when you accidentally clicked “Don't Save” in Word on Mac. For a quick and effective solution, we recommend trying the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac tool with its Unsaved Files Recovery feature – it's worth a shot.

If you haven't used any software, AutoRecovery and the Temporary Folder are your last resorts for finding and retrieving unsaved Word documents on a Mac. You can recover a lost Word file that you closed without saving. Get started now to reclaim your hard work.

Frequently Asked Questions About Accidentally Clicking "Don't Save" in Word 1. Will my Word document be lost if I accidentally clicked "Don't Save"? If you unintentionally clicked "Don't Save," your Word document usually won't be saved. However, there's still a chance to recover it. 2. How can I recover an unsaved Word document? - Use AutoRecover: Word has a feature that saves drafts automatically. Try clicking "Recent Documents" or "Recover Unsaved Documents" in the File menu. - Look for temporary files: Windows might have saved a temporary file when you closed Word. Search for files with the .asd extension. - Use data recovery software: If the above methods don't work, consider using specialized data recovery software to retrieve the lost document. 3. Can I prevent this from happening? - Enable AutoSave: In Word's options settings, turn on AutoSave so your document is periodically saved even if you accidentally click "Don't Save." - Save drafts manually: Develop a habit of saving your document frequently, especially after long writing or editing sessions. 4. What if my version of Word doesn't have an AutoRecover option? For older versions of Word, AutoRecover may not be available. In this case, regularly saving your document manually becomes crucial. 5. Can I retrieve a closed document after mistakenly clicking "Don't Save"? You can try using System Restore points or backups to recover it. If you have a habit of backing up your computer regularly, you might find the unsaved Word document in your backups. Adapt these suggestions to your specific situation and remember that regular saving is the best way to prevent data loss.

If you have any questions, please read the Frequently Asked Questions below.

What if I accidentally click “Don't Save”?

Try using a data recovery software. Check the Auto-Recover folder. Inspect the Temp folder.

**2. How can I recover a Word document on my Mac after clicking "Don't Save"?**

Here's how to recover an unsaved Word document on a Mac:

1. Launch the Mac Data Recovery Wizard
2. Select the location, and click to search for lost files
3. After scanning, choose the unsaved document
4. Double-click to preview the unsaved file
5. Click 'Recover' to save the file to another secure location on your Mac

How can I recover an unsaved Word document on a Mac without AutoRecover?

If you back up your Mac with Time Machine, you can recover a Word document from a Time Machine backup.