Office 2016 Mac Temporary Files

15-09-2021
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Lost your Word document because you accidentally clicked don't save Word on Mac? Never mind. Here are three ways you can try to recover unsaved Word 2016, 2011 or 2007 on Mac: [1]Recover Word from AutoRecovery; [2] Recover from the Temporary folder; [3] Download Mac file recovery software. Anytime when you lost a copy of a Word document by deletion or disk formatting, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is the most optimal choice for an instant and complete Word file recovery.

Problem - Accidentally Clicked Don't Save Word Mac

  1. Office 2016 for Mac is a version of Office that’s available as a one-time purchase from a retail store or through a volume licensing agreement. It will be supported with security updates and bug fixes, as needed, until October 13, 2020. The minimum supported macOS for Office 2016 for Mac is 10.10 (Yosemite).
  2. The Word for Mac saves a copy of the unsaved document named as Word Work File in the Temporary folder. Your Mac also temporarily keep files in this folder. Though for many Mac users, it's not easy to find it. Guide: How to recover an unsaved Word document on Mac.
  3. Your Mac also has a folder where it might temporarily keep files. The Temporary folder isn't easy to find though. To find the Temporary folder, use Terminal (find it in Applications Utilities.
  4. Open Terminal and in the window, type “open $TMPDIR” and hit “Enter”. Then it opens Temporary files folder. Select the folder named ‘’Temporaryitems’’. Under ‘’Temporaryitems” and the unsaved Excel file will be named begin with ‘Excel Work File’.

Mar 29, 2016 - 17 Comments Many Microsoft Office for Mac users may find themselves needing to gain access to the Outlook Temp folder, which is where everything from attachments are stored, to cached version of items that are actively being worked on but that are launched from Outlook as an attachment.

I accidentally clicked 'Don't Save' while closing a document in MS Word 2016 on my Macbook. As a result, I lost 10+ pages of work! Please help me recover unsaved Word documents. I'll take whatever cost to bring the lost files back.

Do's and Don'ts when you closed Word before saving the file:

Office 2016 For Mac Support

  • Dos: Reopen your Word application, including Word 2016/2011/2007 or other Word versions, see if the closed file was showing up in the Recently closed area or not. You can directly restore the recently closed item and restore it back.
  • Don'ts: Never try to start a new round of editing in Word, which will usually result in data overwriting and reduce the chance of full recovery. It's smart to calm down, take a breath, and find solutions to recover unsaved Word files on Mac as soon as possible.

In case you are one of the Mac Word users who unintentionally pressed the don't save button while working with a Word file, read this tutorial carefully and try to recover unsaved Word document on Mac with the three instant solutions.

Related Post:Recover unsaved PowerPoint on Mac

Workable SolutionsStep-by-step Troubleshooting
Fix 1. Use AutoRecoveryGo to Finder > 'Go' > 'Go to Folder' > Type '~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft...' ...Full steps
Fix 2. Use Temp FolderGo to 'Applications' > 'Utilities' > 'Terminal' > Enter open $TMPDIR > Open TMP folder...Full steps
Fix 3. Use Recovery SoftwareRun EaseUS Mac filer recovery software > Scan device > Restore lost Word file...Full steps

Solution 1. Recover Unsaved Word Document from AutoRecovery

Due to the default setting, Microsoft Office automatically creates backup copies of the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files you're currently working on with a certain time interval. In general, the autosave function works to save your files every 10 or 5 minutes.

In most cases when you accidentally closed a Word file before clicking Save (Ctrl+S), there is a chance to find the autosaved copy in the AutoRecovery folder on your Mac computer.

  • If you click Save while closing the document, Word will record the file(s) with all the changes you have made. The next time when Word starts up, you'll be able to easily view and open it at the 'Recent' column.
  • And if you accidentally click 'Don't Save' while closing a Word document, Word will not recover the file automatically. Office Word will take it as that you don't want to keep the file or save all the changes.

In this case, you can try to recover lost Word document without saving from AutoRcovery folder manually:

Step 1: Go to Finder, then click 'Go', then Go to Folder

Step 2: Go the Word AutoRecovery location: ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery and click 'Go'.

Ms Office 2016 For Mac

Step 3: Check the AutoRecovery Folder.

Step 4: If you find the saved file named AutoRecovery***, marked with other extensions, open it with Word.

Step 5: You'll be able to view your lost Word file, then save it on Mac Desktop.

Solution 2. Recover Unsaved Word Document from the Temporary Folder

As you see, the AutoRecovery seems to be effective in retrieving a Word file that you didn't save. However, it works only when you turned the feature on. For people who disabled the autosave function on Mac but unfortunately lost Word files due to not saving, try to look for the temporary files.

Mac also has a feature that contains a TemporaryItems folder which saves all temporary files of Word. It may contain your lost Word document with a TMP format.

Step 1: Go to Applications> Utilities > Terminal.

Step 2: Once in Terminal, enter the following command and then press enter: open $TMPDIR.

Step 3: You have now opened your TMP folder, open the folder named TemporaryItems.

If you're lucky, your document should be there. Open it in your Word application and this time hit the Save button!

Solution 3. Download Word File Recovery Software for Mac

If you lost Word documents or other items, files on your Mac computer due to deletion, emptying the Trash, formatting, etc, you can partially restore them from the Trash. But if the Trash doesn't contain the lost files, Mac data recovery software is the best choice.

Here, we'd like to recommend a try-before-buy tool - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac. Though it's specialized for deleted file recovery and hard drive recovery, when you cannot find the AutoRecovery and temporary Word files, it can also be a backup solution. Download the Mac hard drive recovery software, let it scan the drive, and find the missing temp files of Word 2016/2011/2007... that you didn't save.

As a matter of fact, it retrieves not only your lost Word documents, but also Office Excel/PowerPoint files, music, photos, videos and all types of files you can name. You don't need to pay before it actually finding and you deciding to retrieve your lost Word or other files. Feel free to download the trial version and give it a try.

Step 1. Select the location where your important Word documents were lost and click Scan button.

Step 2. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard 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 3. By Path and Type, you can quickly filter the Word files you've lost earlier. Select the target files and click Recover Now button to get them back at once.

Tips to Avoid Losing Word Files Before Saving

There are third-party Mac file recovery programs as well as the inbuilt recovery options to recover a Word that you've accidentally deleted, not saved or formatted. However, it's not always the 100% guaranteed way to make up for your loss. Chances are that you fail to recover unsaved Word file, or the recovered file won't open after recovery.

Hence, to minimize your chance of losing your hardworking days in Word, keep those tips in mind when you editing in Word the next time and in the future.

1. Always save and save often. Click the Save button in Word, press Ctrl+S, it's up to you.

Office 2016 Mac Temporary Files Download

2. Close unused programs that may freeze your computer, slow down your system and cause the Word freezing.

3. Change the autosave frequency. A helpful thing to know is that you can reduce the gaps between autosaves on Word for Mac. By default, they are set at 10-minute intervals, but it's easy to make them more frequent.

Summary

Excel temp files give you the potential to recover the deleted or lost Excel files. However, once the temp files are lost, you should take Apeaksoft Data Recover to recover the Excel files on your Windows and Mac computer.

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'I opened an Excel file from my email, and then made some changes, but my computer suddenly powers off, can I get back my edited Excel file? Please help.'

Microsoft has realized such demands and introduced temporary files for Excel. It will save your changes in Excel temp files regularly.

In other word, finding the Excel temp files, you can get back your data if the Excel file is not saved in time due to sudden interruptions.

In this tutorial, we are going to tell you where are temporary Excel files stored on Windows 10/8/8.1/7/XP and Mac OS X/11 and how to recover your data through temp files.

Part 1: Where are temporary Excel files stored

When you create a new Excel file or start editing it, Windows will produce a temp file as well. And the temp file stays on your computer until you click on the Save button.

But it may be stored in different locations depending on where the Excel file saved and which version of Windows you are using.

For example, the Excel temp file is stored in:

Windows 10: C:UsersAppDataLocalMicrosoftOfficeUnsavedFiles.

Windows 7 or XP: The directory is C:Documents and Settings Application DataMicrosoft. If the Excel file is on a network drive, the temp file is created there.

Bear in mind that the name of the temp file does not look like a normal file, usually containing a squiggly line or other symbols and end with TMP.

You will also like: Recover unsaved Excel file.

Part 2: Regular way to recover Excel temp files

When you encountered sudden interruptions, like Excel file corrupted, Excel file not responding, etc. you can get back your Excel Windows 10/8/7/XP through temp files. But you may discover that it is infeasible to open the temp file directly. Follow the methods below to recover Excel temp files quickly.

Method 1: Recover Excel temp files by changing extension

Step 1Go to where temporary Excel files stored according to your situations, highlight it, press 'Ctrl + C', navigate to another location, press 'Ctrl + V' to paste the temp file there.

Step 2Locate to the top ribbon, go to the View tab and check the box of 'File name extensions'. After that, you can right-click on the Excel temp file to change the file extension to xlsx or xls.

Step 3Now, you can open Excel temporary file as a real workbook.

Method 2: Open temp files in Excel

Though you cannot open Excel temp file directly, it does not mean the Excel program is not able to load it.

Step 1Run Excel program from your desktop, go to 'File' > 'Info'.

Step 2Click on the 'Manage Versions' and select 'Recover Unsaved Workbooks'.

Step 3On the popup dialog, navigate to where temp files stored and open it in Excel program. Now, you can save your data as a normal Excel file.

Part 3: Best method to restore Excel temporary files

If your Excel file is corrupted or damaged, we suggest you try a professional data recovery tool, such as Apeaksoft Data Recovery.

Step 1Scan entire drive to look for data

Download Data Recovery and install it on your PC. If your Excel file stored on an external drive originally, connect it to your computer. Launch the best Excel temp file recovery software.

Go to the data type section on the home interface, and tick the checkbox on the 'Document' option. Then go to the location area and select where are temporary Excel files stored. Once you click on the 'Scan' button, Data Recovery will work automatically.

Step 2Preview Excel files before recovery

After quick scanning, you will be brought to the result window. Go to the Document tab from left-hand column, you will be presented several folders titled XLSX, XLS, DOC, PDF, etc.

Click the folders related to Excel file formats, like XLSX and preview files. Plus, the 'Filter' feature at the top ribbon could help you to find the Excel file that you want to recover quickly.

If you cannot find the desired file, click on the 'Deep Scan' button at the upper right corner. It will take more time to scan the drive deeply and find more recoverable data.

Step 3Recover Excel temporary files in one click

To restore lost data, you can check the box in front of each desired Excel file or select the entire folder.

Office 2016 Mac

Click on the 'Recover' button to start restoring Excel files. When it is done, you can browse, copy and paste, or edit your data as usual.

The steps to recover temp Excel files on Windows are slightly different from on Mac. Check here to recover deleted files on Mac.

Data Recovery

Data Recovery is the easiest Excel temp file recovery tool, which can recover .xls, and .xlsx in Excel 2000, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2016, etc. on Windows 10/8/7 and Mac, whether your Excel temp file is lost or deleted due to mistake operation, virus attack, software corrupt, or sudden power off.

Part 4: FAQs of Excel temp files

1. How do I clear temp files in Excel?

You just need to go to the location that stores the Excel temp files, and select the temp files. Drag them into the trash. For deleting them permanently, you should empty your trash.

Office 2016 mac temporary files download

Purchase Office 2016 For Mac

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2. How to stop temp files from creating in Excel?

For stopping the temp files from creating in Excel, you just need to disable the settings. Click Tool at the top-left corner, select Options, go to the Save tab and select the checkbox of Disable Auto recovery. Then it will not create the Excel temp files.

3. Access denied to delete Excel temp file in network share, how to fix?

You can try the following solutions: Firstly, upgrade SEP (End Point protection) to the latest version. Secondly, rename a parent folder. If it still cannot be fixed, just use Troubleshooting in Microsoft Office.

4. Excel cannot open or save a file and the temp folder is full, how to fix?

Right-click on the saved Excel file, click on Properties and uncheck the option Block and then try to open the Excel file and check.

Conclusion

Excel is one of the most useful programs on Windows. People use it to save and visualize oceans of data, from financial to sales. But many users have encountered the problem that closes the workbook without saving. Fortunately, Excel temp files save your data and change waiting for recovery. We have shared how to find and use Excel temp files in this tutorial. In another world, even if you do not enable the automatic save feature, it is possible to recover data from temporary files created by Office and Windows.

We wish that our guides and suggestions are helpful. If you have more questions related to Excel temp files, please leave a message below.