Not all is lost: recover unsaved Excel files

Losing a file Excel A situation where you've been working for hours, days, or even weeks can be stressful and put anyone's productivity and nerves at risk. Whether it's due to a power outage, an unexpected program shutdown, forgetting to save changes, or simply being careless, these types of situations are more common than you might think. Fortunately, recover files from Excel is possibleWe explain it to you here.

Not only that. We'll also explain it to you. how you can prevent these situations by properly configuring auto-save, taking advantage of both local and cloud backup options, and using specialized software for more extreme cases.

Methods to recover unsaved Excel files

It's happened to all of us: you finish a page, you close it quickly, or something happens on your computer, and the file simply doesn't appear. Excel incorporates several formulas to try to recover unsaved or accidentally deleted Excel files.Below are the most effective methods you can apply:

Automatic Excel Recovery

When you open Excel after an unexpected shutdown, the document recovery panel usually appears on the side, displaying a list of files that weren't saved correctly. Just click on the file you want to recover and save it as a new one. If it doesn't appear automatically:

1. Open Excel and choose any of the available sheets.
2. Find and click "Show recovered files" if that option appears.
3. Save the recovered file with another name to avoid overwriting.

This feature is essential if your recent changes were lost due to an abrupt shutdown and Excel didn't have time to save.

Search for unsaved books manually

If auto-recovery doesn't appear by itself, You can search for unsaved books from the File menu.:

1. Open a blank document in Excel.
2. Go to menu "File" > "Info" > "Manage Book".
3. Select option Recover unsaved books.
4. A folder will open with your unsaved temporary files: choose the one you were looking for, open it, and immediately save it to your preferred location.

Where are these books kept? They are usually on one of the following routes:
C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles

Change your Windows username. If you work a lot with Excel, you'll want to have this address handy.

Recover files from cache or temporary files

Another possibility is locate temporary Excel files on the system. These files usually have extensions .tmp or they will start with the symbol ~ (prime).

1. Go to File Explorer and navigate to the folder C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Temp.
2. Search for files with extension .tmp or names similar to ~xxxx.tmp.
3. Rename them, try changing the extension to . Xlsx and try to open them with Excel.

This method requires patience because there can be many temporary files, and they're not always clearly identified. However, it's a good last resort.

Recover previous versions of overwritten files or documents

Sometimes the problem is not that you haven't saved, but that you have overwritten a file by mistake or you need to recover a previous version. In these cases, both Windows and some cloud services offer the ability to revert to your file history.

File version history in Windows

Windows can save different versions of the same file if you have File History enabled. To access previous versions of an Excel file:

1. Right click on the file in question and select «Properties».
2. open the tab "Previous versions".
3. A list of backups or restore points will appear. Select the version you are interested in and click "Restore" o "Copy" if you prefer to keep the current one as well.

Remember You must have previously activated file history in your Windows Control Panel:

1. Go to System and Security > File History.
2. Choose an external drive to store backups and enable the feature.
3. You can select specific folders to include in the backup.

The longer you've been using File History, the more old versions you'll have available to recover.

Version Manager in OneDrive and SharePoint

If you work with files stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, you have at your disposal the integrated version historyThis is perfect if you collaborate with others or access your files from multiple devices.

1. Go to OneDrive/SharePoint, locate the Excel file you want to restore.
2. Right click and select Version history.
3. Review the different saved versions and select the one you need.
4. You can open it as read-only or save it as a new document.

This system gives you great peace of mind, because Old versions are automatically stored that you can rescue in case of error, overwriting or accidental deletion.

Repair and recover damaged Excel files

Another common scenario is working with a file that suddenly cannot be opened or shows corruption errors. Excel offers specific tools to try to recover or repair these files:

Open and Repair function

When Excel detects that a file is corrupted, it may attempt to repair it automatically. If it doesn't, you can force a manual repair:

1. Open Excel and go to File> Open.
2. Select the file that is causing the problem.
3. Next to the "Open" button, click the arrow and select "Open and repair".
4. Choose "Repair" to attempt to recover as much data as possible. If it fails, select "Extract Data" to at least save the values ​​and formulas.

This option often works for files damaged by power outages or problems during saving.

Other methods to recover data from a damaged workbook

If the above method does not work, there are more alternatives:

• Recover the last saved version: Open Excel, go to File > Open, and reselect the file. Excel may suggest opening the previous version without the changes that caused the corruption.
• Change calculation options from automatic to manual can help open damaged workbooks that fail due to complex calculations.
• Use external references: Create a new workbook and use formulas to import data from the damaged file. For example, in one cell use ='Sheet1'!A1.
• Using macros to extract data: You can use macros to try to extract information from linked charts if any salvageable data remains.

These methods require a little more Excel handling, but can prevent you from losing all your information if the file is severely compromised.

Tools and settings to prevent Excel file loss

Prevention is always the best strategy. Excel allows you to configure options to minimize the risk of data loss. and facilitate recovery:

Set up Auto Save and Auto Recover

1. Open Excel, go to File> Options> Save.
2. Make sure the option «Save AutoRecover information every x minutes» is checked. You can adjust the frequency (for example, every 5 minutes if the work is important).
3. Specify the folder where you want to save the auto-recovery files and confirm the changes.
4. Verify that the option "Disable AutoRecover for this workbook only" is not checked.

The more frequently you save, the less work you can lose if something unexpected happens.

Enable automatic backup creation

1. Within File> Save As, select “Browse” to choose the location.
2. In the pop-up window, click Tools > General Options.
3. Brand "Always create a backup" and click OK.

Thanks to this option, Excel will generate a backup with the .xlk extension every time you save, giving you a second chance if the original becomes corrupted or is deleted by mistake.

Link your OneDrive account

If you have a Microsoft account, link it with OneDrive to activate cloud savingThis way, your files will be instantly backed up and you can access them from any device or easily recover previous versions.

• Open Excel and access Account > Connected Services.
• Verify that OneDrive is linked or set it up by following the on-screen steps.

Specialized software to recover deleted Excel files

In the most extreme cases, when the file has been completely deleted from the computer, There are data recovery programs capable of tracking and restoring lost files.. tools like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard o Wondershare Recoverit Data Recovery allow you to search for deleted files on your disk and recover them with just a few clicks.

The process is generally as follows:

1. Install the software on your computer.
2. Select the drive or folder where the lost file was located.
3. Start a deep scan to locate Excel files (you can filter by extensions) .xls, .xlsx).
4. Preview the file and recover it by selecting the corresponding option.

Remember: It is important not to save new files in the same location as the lost file. to avoid overwriting it before attempting to recover it.

There are numerous ways and tools to try recover your Excel filesWhether you lost them due to unsaved files, accidental deletion, corruption, or system crashes, the key is to understand the paths and options Excel offers, as well as having a prevention strategy: use automatic saving, link your OneDrive account, and enable backups to minimize any risk.