where are the auto saved files for office 2016 for mac?

Anonymous
2015-03-10T02:57:37+00:00

I had autorecoveron (by default) and the app crashed (ironically when i tried to do a normal save). is there a chance i can get my file back and if so where?

this was a powerpoint presentation.

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Microsoft 365 and Office | PowerPoint | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2015-03-10T09:20:15+00:00

thanks for your reply.

I actually found my file - for reference it was at 

HD > Users > [my user name] > Library > Containers > com.microsoft.Powerpoint > Data > Library > Preferences > AutoRecovery > Presentation1_autorecover

but powerpoint wouldn't detect it upon restart, it wouldn't show up in spotlight etc. (I found it with a program called "find my file")

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Anonymous
2015-09-23T20:41:09+00:00

I had to rename the autosave file with a '.pptm' extension before PowerPoint would open it.

It appears the autosave has a content type of "application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.presentation.macroEnabled.main+xml" instead of "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation.main+xml" which is typical for a pptx file.

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Anonymous
2015-03-13T22:04:01+00:00

I guess there's confusion over what type of file you were working on. If it was a Word document then everything in the path is the same except replace the word "PowerPoint" for "Word" and see if anything is in that folder.

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-03-13T21:16:29+00:00

    Hey Rich,

    Thanks for trying to help. It was a Word File (Teaching Notes) using the 2016 Beta, and it crashed when I tried to view the Outline Column on the left for quick access to different sections. I lost about 2–3 hours of typing in the section that I was doing the presentation on.

    I found the folder here:

    HD > Users > [my user name] > Library > Containers > com.microsoft.Powerpoint > Data > Library > Preferences > AutoRecovery

    BUT unfortunately it was empty.

    Any other suggestions?

    Thank you for your help.

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-03-13T11:37:03+00:00

    Hi Cedric,

    Make sure you are looking at the Library folder in your Home (login name) folder. The Mac has as least two Library folders, one at the System level in the the Primary Drive folder and the other(s) in each users Home folder

    Use Finder > Go and hold down the Option key to reveal the Library folder in your Home directory. Then drag it to your Favorite sidebar of easy access.

    Now regarding the AutoRecovery file for your presentation. It might not exist if PowerPoint didn't crash. If PowerPoint thinks it closed properly, then the AutoRecovery file is immediately deleted and does not show up in the Trash either.

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