Powerpoint file is missing

Question

Powerpoint file is missing

Maeve O'keeffe 0

I have been working on a presentation for weeks and I cannot locate it. I have followed all the steps from this post https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5440389/my-powerpoint-is-missing and have had no luck. I can't remember if I named it or even saved it but it has been open on my surface pro for 1 month. I have tried lots and I am worried it is gone completely

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2 answers

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Answer 1

Hi Maeve,

Since you already did every steps in the mentioned thread, the only place you can find would be depend on whether you turn on the AutoSave toggle (top-left of the PowerPoint window, next to the file name) at any point.

If you forgot to save your workbook after turning off AutoSave, there’s still a chance to recover your work using PowerPoint’s AutoRecover feature or by checking for temporary files. Here are a few steps you can try:

Check “Recover Unsaved Workbooks” in PowerPoint

Open PowerPoint. Go to File > Open
At the bottom of the Recent Workbooks list, click Recover Unsaved Workbooks
In the dialog box that appears, look for files with extensions like .pptx or .ppt, even .asd files.
Select the appropriate file and click Open
Save the file immediately using File > Save As to your desired location

If this method doesn’t show your file, you can manually check the default folder: C:\Users<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles

Search in Windows Temporary Folder

Sometimes PowerPoint stores temporary versions of your file in the system temp folder:

Open File Explorer
Type %TEMP% in the address bar and press Enter
Look for files starting with ~ or ending in .tmp
Rename the file extension to .pptx and try opening it in PowerPoint. If successful, save it immediately as a new file.

If none of these steps work, please let me know your PowerPoint version and whether you were working on a local file or one stored in OneDrive or SharePoint. I’ll be happy to help further.

Answer 2

Maeve O'keeffe 0

Hello Ivory, thank you for your response. When I tired your first two suggestions both resulted in 'no items match your search'. When I tried the temporary folder, there were LOTS of files with .tmp and a couple starting with ~. I was able to change them to .pptx but was unable to open them in excel. When I tried opening in powerpoint the files could not be opened and nothing happened when I tried opening them in acrobat.

My excel is 'Microsoft® Excel® for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2607 Build 16.0.20228.20124) 64-bit'

Ivory 1,160 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-17T20:04:21.83+00:00

Hi Maeve,

The .tmp files may not all be Office's. Since you're in the general Windows Temp folder (...\AppData\Local\Temp), which every app dumps into, installers, browsers, Windows Update, etc. Office's actual AutoRecover content lives in a separate, dedicated folder: ...\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles. The step 2 is a much broader place to look for in case you can't find the file in UnssavedFiles.

Renaming blind to .pptx was a guess, and it may have been the wrong one. If it doesn't open in PowerPoint, Excel, or Acrobat, it may not have been a PowerPoint file at all.

I can offer to try "Restore previous versions" in File Explorer., however, i"Previous Versions" only works if File History/System Protection was enabled on that machine beforehand/ if it never was, that tab will just be empty.

Windows can automatically keep snapshots of a folder over time (through File History or System Protection/Volume Shadow Copy), if that feature was ever turned on. In File Explorer, right-click the parent folder that contained the file (not the file itself) > Restore previous versions (or Properties > Previous Versions tab). If a list of dated versions shows up, pick one from before the file disappeared, then click Open to preview it or Restore to roll the whole folder back to that point.

"Previous Versions" only works if File History/System Protection was enabled on that machine beforehand, if it never was, that tab will just be empty.