3 Methods: Recover Unsaved or Lost Excel File on Mac
Overview of Recover Unsaved Excel on Mac
This page offers 3 reliable methods to help you recover unsaved Excel files on Mac. If you happen to lose unsaved excel file or deleted it by mistake on Mac, stay calm and pick up any method to bring your lost excel file back now:
| Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
|---|---|
| Method 1. Recover TMP Folder | Go to "Applications" > "Utilities" > "Terminal" > Type $TMPDIR and hit Return...Full steps |
| Method 2. Recover from AutoSave | Go to "Applications" >" Utilities" > "Terminal" > Type "defaults write com.apple.Finder..."...Full steps |
| Method 3. Use Recovery Software | Run Qiling file recovery software > Scan device > Recover deleted or lost excel...Full steps |
On the whole, Excel files may get lost due to the program crash, Mac shutting down unexpected, accidental deletion, hard drive formatting, or virus attack. If the Excel files are already gone are unsaved, you can use the two solutions in Part 1 to recover them in large part. While if you have mistakenly permanently deleted the Excel files or the saved documents are disappeared caused by other reasons, there is no way but to use professional and free data recovery software - Qiling Data Recovery for Mac recommended in Part 2 to get them back. Read on and see the details.
Part 1. How to Recover Unsaved Excel File on Mac
How many of you have ever met this problem that Excel is suddenly stuck and fails to respond to Mac? Then you have to follow the instruction to close the program and lose the unsaved file you have been working on for a few hours unsurprisingly. And the unexpected Mac shutting down can also bring the same result. Whatever led to the accident, you have a chance to recover Excel file not saved on Mac.
Method 1. Restore Unsaved Excel File from the Temporary Folder
Follow the steps provided below to restore unsaved Excel file on Mac from the Temporary/Temp folder.
1. Go to "Applications" > "Utilities" > "Terminal".
2. Type open $TMPDIR and press "Return" to open the Temporary files folder. Select the folder named "TemporaryItems".
3. Find the unsaved Excel file under "TemporaryItems" and restore.
Method 2. Recover Lost or Unsaved Excel File from AutoSave on Mac
Excel provides you with useful features as AutoSave and AutoRecover to protect file after an accident, like Excel/Mac crash or closure.
- AutoSave: It automatically saves a new Excel document that has been created but not saved yet.
- AutoRecover: It can help users retrieve unsaved Excel files on Mac.
If the two are enabled, you can probably make unsaved file recovery on Mac in Excel 2016 - 2010. Because the AutoRecovery file has been hidden, you need to make it visible to recover the unsaved Excel file.
1. Go to "Applications" >" Utilities" > "Terminal".
2. Type defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles true into Terminal and hit "Return" to make all the items visible.
3. Click "Finder" > press "Return" on your Mac.
4. Type /Users/username/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery and click "Go" to open Excel's AutoRecovery folder.
5. Find the unsaved spreadsheet files. Then recover it to another safe location on Mac.
Method 3. Recover Lost or Unsaved Excel File with Qiling
Now Qiling Data Recovery for Mac supports you to recover unsaved Excel files. Download the software and follow the 3-steps guide below.
Step 1. Launch Deep Data Recovery for Mac. Select file types and click "Next" to start.
Step 2. Hover the mouse over the device where you lost unsaved file, and click "Scan".
Step 3. After the scan, click "Type", and expand "Unsaved Documents". Click the exact file type - Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Keynote, Pages, Numbers you lost without saving.
Step 4. Double-click to preview your unsaved file, select the right version and click "Recover" to save the file to another secure location on Mac.
Part 2. How to Restore Deleted/Lost Excel File on Mac in 3 Steps
You may get the unsaved Excel file back with the above two approaches. But you can't use them to recover lost Excel files due to accidental deletion, hard drive formatting, system crash, or storage device corruption. Then, what to do in this kind of circumstances? Don't worry. Here comes Qiling Mac File Recovery Freeware. As a leading data recovery tool, it allows you to do Office document recovery, email recovery, photos recovery, as well as other data recovery.
Now, install it and follow the following tips to restore deleted or lost Excel files on Mac in 3 simple steps.
Step 1. Launch Deep Data Recovery for Mac. Select file types and click "Next" to start.
Step 2. Select the location where your important Excel files were lost and click Scan button.
Step 3. Deep Data Recovery for Mac will start immediately a quick scan as well as a deep scan on your selected disk volume. Meanwhile, the scanning results will be presented in the left pane.
Step 4. By Path and Type, you can quickly filter the Excel files you've lost earlier. Select the target files and click Recover Now button to get them back at once.
After this, you'll get the lost Excel file back and continue your job with the file again. You can also apply this Mac data recovery software to restore deleted photos, music, videos, or other data on Mac for free.
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