Microsoft Excel Autosave Mac
- Microsoft Excel now has a built-in AutoRecover feature that has replaced the AutoSave add-in that exists in versions of Excel that are earlier than Microsoft Excel 2002. The AutoRecover feature saves copies of all open Excel files at a user-definable fixed interval. The files can be recovered if.
- 1 Recover Unsaved/Lost/Deleted Excel File on Mac with AnyRecover. AnyRecover for Mac is a great tool developed by iMyFone company to help users recover useful data from their Mac. If you've mistakenly deleted your excel file, you can recover that file using this power tool. It has a unique data recovery algorithm that makes it easy to recover any excel file with just a few clicks.
Oct 12, 2019 Tip: Change Excel AutoSave Location and Settings. You can decide where to save autosave files in Excel and also how long should Excel autosave a document. Step 1: Go to Excel autosave settings on your computer. Microsoft Excel 2013 and 2016 AutoSave Location: In Excel, click File Options Save.
Note
Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.
Summary
Microsoft Excel now has a built-in AutoRecover feature that has replaced the AutoSave add-in that exists in versions of Excel that are earlier than Microsoft Excel 2002. The AutoRecover feature saves copies of all open Excel files at a user-definable fixed interval. The files can be recovered if Excel closes unexpectedly, for example, during a power failure.
This article contains an overview of the AutoRecover feature.
More Information
How to configure the AutoRecover settings
Microsoft Office Excel 2007 and Excel 2010
The controls to configure the AutoRecover feature are in the Save settings in Excel Options.
Note To open the Save settings, click the Microsoft Office Button in Excel 2007 or the File menu in Excel 2010, clickExcel Optionsin 2007 or Options in Excel 2010, and then click Save.
To configure the AutoRecover settings, follow these steps:
Under Save Workbooks, click to select the Save AutoRecover info everycheck box to turn on the AutoRecover feature.
In the minutes box, you can type any integer from 1 through 120. This box sets the number of minutes that will occur between saves.
The default is 10 minutes.
In the AutoRecover file location box, you can type the path and the folder name of the location in which you want the AutoRecover files to stay.
The default location is as follows:
drive:Documents and Settings*user_name*Application DataMicrosoftExcel
Notes
If the location that you type is local (on your hard drive) or is on a network drive, and if this location does not exist, you receive the following error message:
Cannot access directory path.
To determine the unique number that is associated with the message that you receive, press CTRL+SHIFT+I. The following number appears in the lower-right corner of this message:
100100
If you click to clear the AutoRecover file location box but do not enter a new location, AutoRecover files will continue to be saved to the location that you cleared. This will occur until you type a new location.
The AutoRecover file location box remains empty until you type a new location.
You can turn off the AutoRecover feature in an individual workbook. To do this, click to select the Disable AutoRecover for this workbook only check box under the AutoRecover exceptions for box. Make sure that the workbook name is selected in the AutoRecover exceptions for box.
Microsoft Office Excel 2003 and earlier versions of Excel
The controls to configure the AutoRecover dialog box are on the Save tab of the Options dialog box.
Note To open the Options dialog box, click Options on the Tools menu.
To configure the AutoRecover dialog box, follow these steps:
Under Settings, click to select the Save AutoRecover info everycheck box to turn on the AutoRecover feature.
In the minutes box, you can type any integer from 1 through 120. This box sets the number of minutes that will occur between saves.
The default is 10 minutes.
In the AutoRecover file location box, you can type the path and the folder name of the location in which you want the AutoRecover files to stay.
The default location is as follows:
drive:Documents and Settings*user_name*Application DataMicrosoftExcel
Notes
If the location that you type is local (on your hard drive) and if the location does not exist, you receive the following error message:
Cannot access directory path.
If the location that you type is on a network drive, you will not receive an alert until your first AutoRecover attempt. You receive the following error message:
Microsoft cannot save AutoRecover info to path. Please check the network connection or change the location on the Save tab of the Tools, Options dialog.
If you clear the AutoRecover file location box but do not enter a new location, AutoRecover files will continue to be saved to the location that you cleared. This occurs until you type a new location.
The AutoRecover file location box remains empty until you type a new location.
You can turn off the AutoRecover feature in an individual workbook. To do this, click to select the Disable AutoRecover check box under Workbook options.
When an AutoRecover event is triggered
When an Excel file is open and AutoRecover is turned on, AutoRecover does not save the file until the first change is made to the file, the AutoRecover save time interval passes, and Excel has been idle for some time (the default is 30 seconds). After AutoRecover saves the file, the file is only saved at subsequent save intervals if further changes are made.
When AutoRecover files are deleted
To keep from filling up your AutoRecover location with unneeded files, AutoRecover files are automatically deleted in the following situations:
- When the file is manually saved.
- The file is saved with a new file name using Save As.
- You close the file.
- You quit Excel, whether you choose to save the file or not.
- You turn off AutoRecover for the current workbook.
- You turn off AutoRecover by clearing the Save AutoRecover info every check box.
AutoRecover save timing
The AutoRecover timer checks for changed Excel files at the interval you set in the minutes box on the Save tab in the Options dialog box. The timer starts when you start Excel.
Note
In Excel 2007, the minutes box is in the Save category in the Excel Option dialog box. In Excel 2010, the minutes box is in the Save category under File, Options.
When the first save interval passes, Excel checks to see whether any open files have been changed. If Excel locates changed files, an idle timer starts. The purpose of the idle timer is to make sure that the user does not make entries in the worksheet while the save operation occurs. The idle timer restarts each time that the user makes an entry into the worksheet so the AutoRecover save file is not created until both the save interval passes and no entries are made for the duration of the idle time.
The default idle time is 30 seconds. To change the default idle time, use the AutoRecoverDelay registry key. To do this, follow these steps.
Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
Quit Excel if it is running.
Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
Locate and then select one of the following registry keys, as appropriate for the version of Excel that you are running.
For Microsoft Excel 2002:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice10.0ExcelOptions
For Excel 2003:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice11.0ExcelOptions
For Excel 2007:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice12.0ExcelOptions
For Excel 2010:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice14.0ExcelOptions
On the Edit menu, click New, and then click DWORD value.
Type the following name for the new value:
AutoRecoverDelay
Press ENTER.
Right-click the AutoRecoverDelay registry key, and then click Modify.
In the Value data box, type a number between 1 and 600. This is the number of seconds before AutoRecover tries to save.
When you are finished, click OK.
Quit Registry Editor.
Note
Only manually performed actions in the program affect the idle timer. Formulas that automatically update the file do not affect the idle timer. Excel saves the file when the idle time is reached, between the automatic updates to the formulas.
File formats that are saved by AutoRecover
AutoRecover saves all file formats that can be opened in Excel. To maintain speed and simplicity, AutoRecover saves all files as the current Excel file format, regardless of the original file format opened. The file is saved as a hidden file with an arbitrary filename with the extension .xar (for example, ~ar18a.xar).
When you try to save a recovered file upon reopening Excel after it closed unexpectedly, the original file format and name is suggested as the Save file type. Excel stores the original file name and its related .xar file name in the registry for the purpose of recovery.
AutoRecover and multiple instances of Excel
When more than one instance of Excel is running and one instance closes unexpectedly, a new instance of Excel is automatically started and the AutoRecover files are opened. If all instances of Excel close unexpectedly, but the computer is still running, a single instance of Excel is started and all AutoRecover files are opened. In the case of a power outage, all recovered files are opened when you start Excel again.
Compatibility
All AutoRecover settings, except the Disable AutoRecover workbook option, are stored in the system registry. AutoRecover settings are compatible with files from previous versions of Excel is not an issue.
When the Disable AutoRecover workbook option is set, and the file is opened in an earlier version of Excel, saved, and then reopened in a later version of Excel, the Disable AutoRecover workbook option is not affected.
References
For more information about how to troubleshoot errors when you save Excel files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
271513 How to troubleshoot errors when you save Excel files
Oct 29,2019 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
Have you ever been in trouble due to loss of unsaved files? There must have been times when you have wondered about how to recover unsaved excel file on Mac. The different answers to the problem of recover Office files that have been lost without saving would be discussed in the following piece of information.
Imagine working on a very significant document on Excel for many hours or creating a highly detailed and complicated graph! Now, just think what would happen if the system crashes abruptly or you close the file without saving.
The following discussion on how to recover excel file on Mac would go through an overview of different situations where Excel file is not saved and an introduction of the methods that can be used for recovery.
Overview of Unsaved Excel File on Mac
Excel is one of the great spreadsheet software, and every Excel user must know about its functionality. On the other hand, you must have encountered situations in which the complete excel file you were working on remains unsaved and cannot be accessed. This can be a pretty harassing scenario, wouldn’t it? So, let us look at the different situations in which some of your important Excel files might remain unsaved. After all, understanding the problem is the first step to find the solutions to recover excel file on Mac, isn’t it?
The foremost and most common reason for an Excel file not being saved is abrupt system crashes or failures. System crashes are inevitable processes in which the system shuts down abruptly cannot be predicted, and this can lead to loss of any unsaved work on the Excel files that a user is working on.
The next prominent cause for the unsaved files on Mac is a program crash in which Excel program stops working suddenly. The sudden crash of Excel could lead to loss of the file that you are working on.
Sometimes, files are not saved upon asking for confirmation when closing the excel file. The user can accidentally prefer to cancel saving any of the new work in a workbook, and this can lead to the work remaining unsaved.
Excel may display a message showing “Document not completely saved” or “Document not saved.” This error can happen in cases where the process of saving is interrupted at the instance of the creation of a temporary file upon pressing the “ESC” key.
Another common error message that can result in an unsaved file or lost excel file on Mac is “Document not saved. Any previously saved copy has been deleted”. This error is the result of interruption in the process of deleting the original file or renaming of the temporary file.
However, there is no reason to worry as there are different methods to recover excel file not saved on Mac devices which can be presented as follows. The first solution is to choose recovery software named “Recoverit” while the second solution implies checking the Trash for recovery of Excel files.
The next solution refers to the use of recent workbooks for recovery of unsaved files, and the other solution refers to use AutoRecover feature for recovering Excel files. The other two solutions discussed in this piece of information include the use of backup to recover lost files and the recovery of unsaved Excel documents from the Temporary folder.
Solution 1: Recover Excel File on Mac with Recoverit
The search for solutions on how to recover lost Excel files on Mac would lead to Recoverit Data Recovery software that is one of the most effective, trusted and easy-to-use file recovery software. The software could be used in three simple steps for recovery of any unsaved Excel files on your Mac device.
Step 1: Select the source drive of the unsaved Excel file
To recover an unsaved Excel file on Mac, it is important to select a Mac logical drive which housed the unsaved file. The “All-Around Recovery” tab on the Recoverit software would show the different drives on the Mac device. You should also know to stay calm if the concerned drive is not found on the list- All you need to do is refresh the list!
Step 2: Scan the chosen hard drive
To recover lost excel file on Mac due to setbacks in saving the file, the second step of using Recoverit involves scanning the selected hard drive for searching the unsaved or lost files. You can choose to wait through the complete process of scanning or pause it when you find the desired file.
Step 3: Complete the recovery process
After completion of the scanning process, the different files that can be recovered are displayed. Here you can choose the file that you need and click on the “Recover” button. Then you would be asked for confirmation about selecting the drive for storing the recovered files. Finally, your unsaved Excel files are recovered to the desired location.
Solution 2: Check the Trash Bin for Excel Recovery Mac
Using Recoverit or any other file recovery software would not be the first option to recover unsaved excel file on Mac. The Trash folder is usually the first place everyone should be looking for recovery of unsaved Excel files. However, it should be noted that any unsaved or accidentally deleted files would remain in the Trash only for 30 days.
Step 1: View the Trash
Open the Trash folder through the Mac desktop and search for the unsaved file
Step 2: Identify the unsaved file
Locate and mark the particular Excel file that has to be restored. In the case of multiple files, the search box found at the top left corner of the window can help find out the concerned file through target search.
Step 3: Drag for recovery
When you find the target Excel file, drag it to a particular location for recovery. On the other hand, you can right click on the file, and a drop-down menu would appear. In the drop-down menu, click on “Put Back,” and the desired file would be recovered to its original location.
Solution 3: Recover Unsaved Excel File in Recent Workbooks
Another proven solution on how to recover deleted Excel files on Mac involves the use of recent workbooks. This method is specifically applicable for recovery of Excel files which are unsaved due to the crash of Excel program.
Step 1: Open Microsoft Excel
Open Microsoft Excel and click on the “File” tab to access the “Open” button and then click on it.
Step 2: Access “Recent Workbooks”
Upon clicking on the “Open” option, a menu will pop out in which you can find the “Recent Workbooks” option. Click on “Recent Workbooks” option.
Step 3: Start Recovery
A list would be displayed, and at the bottom of the list, the option for “Recover Unsaved Workbooks” can be found. Select the option to move to the next step for Excel recovery on Mac.
Step 4: Locate the desired file
Find out the unsaved Excel file from the “Recover Unsaved Workbooks” folder.
Step 5: Open the unsaved file
You can double click on the unsaved Excel file to open it. You could also right-click on it to find a drop-down menu. Click on “Open” option for opening the unsaved file.
Step 6: Recover the file to a specific location
Click on the “Save As” button in the “File” tab of the unsaved file for choosing the location to save the file.
Solution 4: Recover Excel AutoRecover Files on Mac
AutoRecover and AutoSave features are basic features that help in saving files automatically. AutoRecover can be configured for saving the concerned files in Excel, and it can be used for recovery of unsaved files.
Step 1: Find the path for AutoRecover files
The path for AutoRecover files on Office 2016 is considerably different from that of Office 2011 and 2008. Take note of the following paths to find better solutions on how to recover Excel file not saved on Mac.
Office 2011 and 2008:
Users/username/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/Office X AutoRecovery (X denotes the Office version)
Office 2016:
Microsoft autorecover mac sierra. /Users/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery
Step 2: Find the Excel files
Click on the “Finder” tab and enter the suitable path as mentioned above to find the unsaved files.
Step 3: Recover the files
Recover the files on Mac by double-clicking on them and then copy them to other locations for backup.
Solution 5: Recover Lost Excel Files from Backup
Backups of Excel files can help in situations when the changes in files that are not meant to have been made and are saved. Here are the steps to recover unsaved excel file on Mac 2011 or other versions by accessing the backup versions.
Step 1: Find the “Info”
Select the “File” tab and then access the “Info” option
Step 2: Find the “Manage Versions” option
Clicking on the “Manage Versions” button would provide access to all the backups of the unsaved file. The versions of the backup of the unsaved file would also display the time and date.
Step 3: Choose the backup for recovery
Select the backup Excel files that you need to recover unsaved excel file on Mac 2016 and double click on it. The option for “Restore” button can be found on the yellow bar. Click on “Restore” for recovering the unsaved file.
Solution 6: Recover Excel Documents from Temporary Folder
Another proven answer to recover excel document not saved on Mac is the Temporary folder. The Temporary folder contains automatically saved versions of the concerned Excel file. The following steps can be implemented for recovery of unsaved Excel file from Mac devices using the Temporary Folder.
Step 1: Access “Terminal”
Click on “Utilities” option that is available through “Applications” and then click on “Terminal” the following screen
Step 2: Access the Temporary folder
Type “open $ TMPDIR” in the “Terminal” and then click on “Enter”
Step 3: Find temporary items
After opening the “Temporary” folder, you can select the “Temporary items” folder
Step 4: Locate the unsaved file
Find out the document not saved Excel Mac in the “Temporary Items” folder that has to be restored.
Step 5: Recover the file
Right-click on the file and then click on the “Open With” option in the drop-down menu followed by clicking on “TextEdit” for opening the temporary (.tmp) file in a format which can be edited and saved to the desired location.
Solution 7: Tips for Mac Excel Recovery
The options for recovering excel file disappeared on Mac can help deal with the damage. But, imagine how good it would be to be prepared in advance? Here are five tips which can help in easy recovery of unsaved files on Mac.
• Configure AutoRecover:
The feature of AutoRecover for Excel in Mac can be configured to save a file according to the desired frequency. AutoRecover can be accessed by clicking on “Preferences” in the Excel menu. Locate the “Sharing and Privacy” tab and then click on the “Save” button. Now, check the box beside “Save AutoRecover info” and you can choose the time frequency for saving the Excel files in a blank box.
• Keep hitting the “Save” button:
While the tip mentioned above is helpful to recover unsaved excel on Mac, it is advisable to keep saving the work continuously through clicking on the “Save” button frequently during the work.
• Safeguards against virus attacks:
Keep your systems safe from virus attacks as the attacks can corrupt the Excel files and cause frequent system crashes leading to more unsaved or lost Excel files.
• Format and partition drive carefully:
It is also essential to be careful during formatting or partitioning off a drive and observe the implications that may arise. Improper partitioning of drives is accounted for as the most common cause of unsaved and lost Excel files. So, it is better to clarify this mistake.
• Stay away from automated cleanup tools:
Do not use automated tools for cleanup of the system and to increase memory. These tools can delete unsaved files automatically at times, and hence they should be avoided at all costs.
Conclusion
On a concluding note, the above piece of information could be a helpful tool for recovery of unsaved Excel files and preventing any additional damage in the future. Furthermore, the tips to be careful with the accidental loss of Excel files or files becoming unsaved due to certain reasons can help considerably in staying away from unwanted troubles!
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