Accidentally saving over a Word document is one of the most frustrating errors which can put you in trouble, especially if you’re working on an important document. Whether it’s your work file, college assignments, or anything else, saving over the Word file can be distressing. It seems like everything is lost, but the good news is that there are several data recovery methods available to recover previous versions, unsaved content, or temporary copies of your saved over Word files.
In this guide, we’ll explore different methods on how to recover accidentally saved over Word document. These methods will help you quickly restore your overwritten document and prevent future data loss. Let’s get started!
Common Reasons for Accidentally Saved Over Word Files
Before diving into adequate methods to recover your accidentally saved over Word file, it’s important to find the exact reasons for the issue. Some main reasons include:
- Pressing Ctrl + S instead of Save As: Accidentally pressing the Ctrl + S keys saves changes directly to the original file, overwriting important content without creating any new version of your file.
- AutoSave in OneDrive/SharePoint: When AutoSave is enabled, changes made on one synced device automatically update the file across all connected devices without requiring manual confirmation.
- Saving to Wrong Folder or Location: Saving documents in incorrect folders, either intentionally or by mistake, overwrites older versions stored in the same location.
- Overwriting During File Renaming: Errors while renaming or moving documents generate replacement prompts, and selecting “Yes” quickly overwrites older files.
How do I Recover Accidentally Saved Over Word Documents?
Irrespective of the above reasons for your saved over Word file, there are several methods available that you can try to restore the previous version of your lost content. Just go with the below method one by one:
Method 01: Recover Using Word’s AutoRecover Feature
MS Word provides an in-built AutoRecover feature, which, when enabled on your device, saves temporary versions of your document while you are working. If you’ve saved over your Word file, follow the below steps to restore the older versions using AutoRecover:
- Launch Microsoft Word, go to File > Info.
- Click Manage Document or Manage Versions from Manage Document.
- Now, select Recover Unsaved Documents.
- Browse the list of AutoRecover files ending with .asd.
- Select the one you need to restore and save it back to your device.
Method 02: Search for Temporary Files
Sometimes your files are actually not deleted but get hidden or misplaced to a different location. These instances mainly occur if Word didn’t close properly or the system crashed. In such a case, you can follow the below steps to search for temporary files:
- Press the Windows + R keys and type “%temp%“, then press Enter.
- Look for all the temporary files with the “.tmp” extension.
- Once you find the file with your document’s exact date and time, open it in Word.
- Save the file with a new name.
Method 03: Restore Word Document to the Previous Version
If you’ve enabled the “Previous Version” backup feature on your device, try recovering saved over Word files using it. All you have to do is:
- Firstly, you need to create a new Word file with the same name as the file that was accidentally overwritten before. Else, try locating your overwritten or saved-over Word file.
- After creating a new file or locating the old one, right-click on that Word file and select “Properties“.
- Navigate to the Previous Versions tab, browse through the different available backup versions and restore the one you need.
Additional Tip: Recover Saved Over Word Document Using Third-Party Software
Ever wondered what if you accidentally deleted the entire Word file? Don’t worry, if you’ve backup of your lost file, data recovery can be simple and quick. However, without backups, recovering your lost Word file can be challenging, but not impossible at all. Luckily, there are several third-party data recovery software tools available online that you can try to recover your lost or deleted files.
Tools like Stellar Data Recovery Standard allow you to restore deleted files of various types, including Word documents, photos, videos, and more. This Windows data recovery software works by scanning the storage drive deeply to locate lost or older file fragments, temp files, and deleted Word documents that may still exist on the disk.
Key Features of Stellar Data Recovery Standard Software:
- The software supports recovery of files deleted due to several reasons, including accidental deletion, formatting, system errors, and more.
- It allows you to preview the recoverable files before saving them on your device, ensuring the correct file version is selected and preventing unnecessary recovery.
- The tools support recovery from HDDs, SSDs, USB drives, memory cards, external hard drives, and formatted or corrupted storage media.
- This Windows data recovery software offers an intuitive interface with guided steps, making it easy even for beginners to recover saved-over or lost files.
Here’s how to recover an accidentally saved over Word document using this Windows data recovery software:
Step 1: Download and install the Stellar Data Recovery Standard software from its official website on your Windows PC.
Step 2: Launch the software and from the homepage, select the type of file you need to restore (to recover your saved over Word file, select Office Documents) and click Next.
Step 3: Now, choose the exact location where the Word document was originally stored before it was saved over. Click Scan to initiate the scanning process.
Step 4: Once the scan is complete, preview each document before restoring it. Click Recover to save them to a different drive to avoid overwriting any remaining recoverable data.
Once saved, you can open the Word file and verify the restored content.
Preventive Tips to Avoid Word File Overwrites in Future
Here are additional preventive measures that you can consider to avoid instances of sudden saved over Word documents on your PC:
- Enable AutoSave + Version History: If using OneDrive, always keep AutoSave ON so you can revert quickly.
- Enable “Always Create Backup Copy” in Word: This setting automatically creates a .wbk backup each time you save, ensuring you always have a recoverable copy of your document.
- Use “Save As” Instead of “Save”: While editing important files or templates, select the Save As option to avoid overwriting the original document with unintended changes.
Wrapping Up
If you ever accidentally saved over Word documents, don’t lose hope! Go with the aforementioned data recovery methods one by one to restore the original content. Start by using Word’s built-in AutoRecover feature, then check temporary files or the previous version of your data. If these methods fail, third-party Windows data recovery software such as Stellar Data Recovery Standard can be the best option. The sooner you attempt recovery, the higher your chances of success.
And to avoid this issue in the future, enable backup copy settings, set up File History, and rely on cloud versioning so that no single accidental overwrite can destroy your work again.
