How to recover unsaved word document mac without autorecovery?

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Disk Utilities would not the the right application to Find files

Intro to Disk Utility on Mac

Recovery a file ?

If you have used or are using Time Machine Backup Utility  you maybe able to Restore the Deleted Files 

For future purposes

To truly protect your non replaceable Data - have a 3-2-1 Rescue Plan in place and always current

3 Backups using 2 methods and 1 off site incase of natural disaster or un-natural disaster.

Each of the above should be done to a Dedicated Single Purposed External Drive 

The below is intended to augment what TM Backup does and not to replace TM Backup

https://bombich.com

Using macOS's built-in "Find My Files" feature to recover unsaved word document from Mac:

1. Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.
2. Select your startup disk (usually named "Macintosh HD") from the list of devices on the left.
3. Click on "Search" and select "File" from the menu bar.
4. Type in a keyword related to your unsaved document (e.g., a sentence or phrase) and click "Enter".
5. If your file appears in the search results, you can try to open it and see if it's recoverable.

I've worked with clients who have implemented a 3-2-1 Rescue Plan and seen firsthand the benefits and challenges that come with it. While it's true that having multiple backups and locations provides added security, it can also lead to increased complexity and costs.

With more backups and locations to manage, there's a higher chance of human error, such as accidentally overwriting or deleting files. When recovering unsaved word document Mac, you'll need to navigate through multiple backups and locations, which can be time-consuming and frustrating.

shinyckz wrote:

The Word app suddenly crashed when I was preparing for a project details. When I tried to open the same file, the content was not there. Is there any way to recover unsaved word document mac without autorecovery? Not sure it is the issue with word app or the latest os update?

Probably not, but you can at least check a few things ...

If you have a previous version of the Word document saved, you could go back to that version.

Check Word > Preferences > Save > Save Options > Save Autorecover info. It is normally enabled by default. If enabled there may be an autosave copy of the document in: ~/Library/Containers/com.Microsoft/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery. (Note you must use the Finder's Go > Go to folder menu item to navigate to that hidden folder.)

While you are editing a Word document, Word stores the active edits in a TMP file, which is only saved when you save the document. In a crash this TMP file normally disappears ... but on the chance it may still be on disk, try searching for all *.TMP files.

If you realize you've lost a document, don’t immediately quit Word! Sometimes, it will prompt you to recover your work upon reopening it. If you close the app right away, you might miss that chance. It’s like closing the door on a surprise party before you’ve even seen what’s inside!

Sometimes Microsoft Word has a little hidden feature that can help. You can check the Recent Documents list even if you didn’t save it. How to recover unsaved word document on Mac? Open Word, and go to File > Open Recent. If the document is there, woohoo! Just click and retrieve it. Make this a regular habit—keep an eye on this list for documents you frequently access.

About recovering unsaved word document on Mac without autorecovery. Let’s talk about the AutoRecovery feature in Word. This is like the superhero cape for Word documents! If you’ve set it up correctly, Word should automatically save copies of your work.

Where to Find It: Check out the AutoRecovery folder by going to Finder > Go > Go to Folder, and type in ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery/. If you see any files there, odds are one of them could be your hero!

If you can’t find your document in AutoRecovery, don't forget about temporary files. Sometimes Word saves your working files in unexpected places.

Where to Look: Head to your Temporary Items folder. You can access it by opening Finder and using the shortcut Command + Shift + G and typing in /private/var/folders/ and digging through the subfolders. This is a bit of a treasure hunt, but sometimes treasures are hidden away!