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
    2015-03-13T07:53:04+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")

    I lost my MS Word 2016 Beta Presentation for a lecture a few days ago. Searched frantically for an auto–recovery file to no avail and so had to "wing" my lecture. I am not trying again to find the 3+ hours of typing that was lost. My Auto–Save function was set to every 10 minutes, so there should be  file somewhere! In the above progression, I cannot find the "Containers" Folder in the Library Folder.

    Can anyone help me? Thank you so much!!!

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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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