How to retrieve a lost moved or deleted document on Word

Follow these steps in order until the document is found or confirmed unrecoverable.

1. Check Word’s AutoRecover / Unsaved files
   1. Open Word.
   2. Select File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Documents.
   3. Look for a version of the file with a similar name and save it as a new .docx file.
   Also check the AutoRecover folders (for Microsoft 365 on Windows):
   • C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word
   • C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles
     Replace <UserName> with the Windows account name.
     If .asd files are found, open Word, go to File > Open > Browse, set Files of type to All Files, and open the .asd file, then save it as .docx.
2. Search for the document and backups
   1. On Windows, select Start, type part of the document name, and press Enter. If it appears under Documents, open it.
   2. Search for Word backup files: in the Start search box, type *.wbk and press Enter. If any file named Backup of <your file> appears, double‑click to open it and then save it.
   3. To enable future backups, in Word select File > Options > Advanced, scroll to Save, and turn on Always create backup copy.
3. Check the Recycle Bin (local PC)
   1. Double‑click Recycle Bin on the Desktop.
   2. Look for .doc, .docx, or .dot files that match the missing document or its earlier draft.
   3. If found, right‑click and select Restore.
4. If the file was on OneDrive or SharePoint
   • If the document was saved or synced to OneDrive, use the online guidance to Restore deleted files or folders in OneDrive.
   • If it was on SharePoint or in a Teams library, use Restore items in the recycle bin that were deleted from SharePoint or Teams.
     These can recover items deleted or overwritten in cloud locations.
5. Search for temporary files
   1. Select Start, type *.tmp, and press Enter.
   2. On the Documents tab, look for files with dates/times matching when the document was edited.
   3. If not found, repeat the search using ~ (tilde) instead of .tmp.
   4. In Word, go to File > Open, then use the Folders tab to browse to any candidate temp file and try opening it.
6. Restart Word to trigger Document Recovery
   Close Word completely, then reopen it. If AutoRecover files exist, the Document Recovery pane or a Recovered Unsaved File message bar will appear. Open the recovered version, then immediately save it as a .docx file.

If none of these methods locate the file locally or in OneDrive/SharePoint, there is no additional native recovery method documented; external file‑recovery tools would be the only remaining option.

References:

• How to recover unsaved Word documents
• Recover your Word files and documents
• How to recover missing, deleted, or corrupted items in SharePoint and OneDrive for work or school