In Excel: open Excel and check File ▸ Info ▸ Manage Workbook ▸ Recover Unsaved Workbooks, then save any recovered copy immediately under a normal file name.
On this page7
Reopen Excel before creating many new temporary workbooks.
Go to File ▸ Info ▸ Manage Workbook ▸ Recover Unsaved Workbooks.
Open the newest relevant file and verify the contents.
Use Save As immediately, then enable AutoSave or shorten the AutoRecover interval.
What this does
Excel recovery depends on AutoRecover and whether Excel had time to save a temporary copy. Unsaved workbook recovery looks for files Excel captured before a crash or accidental close. It is not the same as opening a deleted file from the Recycle Bin or restoring a previous version from OneDrive, SharePoint or File History. Most people learn this as a sequence of clicks and forget it by next week; learning it as a pattern instead is what lets you apply it to the next, slightly different version of the problem without starting from scratch. That is the difference this page is trying to make. The difference between a quick fix and a sheet you can trust is the extra minute you spend validating “get back unsaved excel file”. Start on a copy or a tiny sample, keep the affected cells visible, and compare the result with the tool above before you touch the real workbook. When this is a ribbon command, the selection matters more than the button: confirm the range, apply the command, then spot-check the output before saving. The point is a data step that keeps your analysis trustworthy, but the practical win is that someone else can open the file and understand what happened without asking you.
A worked example
Excel crashes while Book1 has not been saved. Reopen Excel, go to File ▸ Info ▸ Manage Workbook ▸ Recover Unsaved Workbooks and look for a timestamped copy. Open it, inspect the latest changes, then Save As Payroll-Q2.xlsx so it becomes a normal workbook. Recovery content matters because users arrive stressed and need the exact path first, then a realistic explanation of what AutoRecover can and cannot do. A practical tip: try it on a copy of the sheet or a handful of sample rows first and check the result before you apply it to the real data. That one habit catches almost every surprise while it is still cheap to reverse.
In Google Sheets
This is a command rather than a formula, so there is no syntax to carry over. Google Sheets arranges its commands in menus across the top instead of a ribbon, names some of them differently and does not have every Excel command — look for the equivalent in the Sheets menus or its help before assuming the steps match. Nothing on this page is behind a login or a download: the exact answer is at the top, and the detail below it is there for when you need it. That is the whole promise here — the answer first, and just enough context to make it stick. If you take one thing from this page on “get back unsaved excel file”, make it the order of checks rather than the individual clicks: confirm what is selected, apply the step, and look at the result before moving on. That small routine is what keeps Excel work predictable when the same task comes back in a slightly different workbook.
Common mistakes
- Continuing to work for hours before checking recovery, which can overwrite temporary files.
- Assuming AutoRecover is a backup system; it is a crash-recovery helper.
- Recovering the wrong timestamped copy and losing later edits.
- Forgetting cloud version history when the file was stored in OneDrive or SharePoint.
Frequently asked questions
Where are unsaved Excel files recovered?
Use File ▸ Info ▸ Manage Workbook ▸ Recover Unsaved Workbooks.
Can Excel recover every unsaved file?
No. Recovery only works when AutoRecover captured a temporary copy.
What should I do after opening a recovered file?
Save it immediately with a normal name and location.