recovering an saved word file in case auto save was off

Yes, but recovery is limited when AutoRecover/AutoSave was off.

Supported recovery options are:

1. Open Word again and check whether Document Recovery appears.
   • If Word closed unexpectedly, Word can open Document Recovery the next time the app starts.
   • If multiple recovered files appear, use the most recent date/time to choose the version to keep.
2. If the file had been saved before, check for an earlier version in Word.
   • Open the file.
   • Select File > Info.
   • Under Manage Documents, select the file labeled (when I closed without saving).
   • Select Restore to overwrite the previously saved version, or Compare to review differences.
3. If the file was never saved, try Recover Unsaved Documents.
   • Go to File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Documents.
   • Open the file if it appears, then use Save As immediately.

Important limits:

• AutoRecover does not replace manually saving a document.
• AutoRecover is intended for unexpected disruptions such as a crash or power outage.
• If AutoRecover was off, recovery may not be available.
• On Mac, if a file was closed and Don’t Save was selected, the AutoRecover file is deleted.

For future protection, save frequently. If using Microsoft 365, storing files in OneDrive or SharePoint and using AutoSave is the safest option described.

• Recover an earlier version of a Word file
• Recover your Word files and documents
• How Word creates and recovers the AutoRecover files