Document
Recover an unsaved or overwritten Word document
Word keeps more copies than people expect: AutoRecover .asd files, ~WRL temp files next to the document, OneDrive/SharePoint version history, and Windows Previous Versions. Overwritten does not mean gone until all four are checked.
Stop doing this first
- Do not keep saving the current document.
- Do not empty the recycle bin or run disk cleanup.
- Do not let Word 'discard' recovered files when it offers on startup.
The safe order of operations
- 1
Stop editing the document — every save reduces what version history can give you back.
- 2
Check File → Info → Version History if the file lives on OneDrive or SharePoint.
- 3
Search the AutoRecover folder for .asd and .wbk files newer than your loss.
- 4
Look in the document's own folder for hidden ~WRL####.tmp files and copy them out with a .docx extension.
- 5
On Windows, right-click the folder → Properties → Previous Versions for a shadow copy.
Commands that do the work
Find AutoRecover files (macOS)
find ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word -name '*.asd' -newermt '-3 days'Find temp copies (Windows PowerShell)
Get-ChildItem -Path $env:USERPROFILE -Recurse -Force -Include '~WRL*.tmp','*.asd' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinueExtract text from a docx that won't open
unzip -p suspect.docx word/document.xml | sed -e 's/<[^>]*>/ /g'Realistic odds
Partially to likely recoverable — text is usually retrievable even when formatting is not.
Your case will differ in the details. Load this scenario into the recovery form and add what you already tried — you'll get a plan for your exact situation.
Get my recovery plan