Where Excel stores files it hasn't saved yet

When you close Excel without saving, the program keeps a temporary copy of your work in a hidden folder on your computer. Windows stores these files in a folder called UnsavedFiles, and macOS keeps them in a similar location. You can open this folder and recover the file — it will not have your most recent changes, but it will have most of what you typed before the crash or accidental close.

The location and method differ between Windows and Mac, and between Excel versions. The steps below cover the most common setups. If you are using Excel through Microsoft 365 (the subscription version), you also have a cloud backup option that may be faster.

Key Takeaways

  • Excel saves temporary copies of unsaved files in a hidden system folder that you can access through the File menu or by navigating to your computer's AppData or Library folder.
  • On Windows, open Excel, go to File > Open > Browse, then paste %appdata%\Microsoft\Excel\UnsavedFiles into the address bar to find temporary files.
  • On Mac, open Excel, go to File > Open Recent > Recover Unsaved Workbooks to see a list of files Excel has stored.
  • If you use Microsoft 365 and saved the file to OneDrive or SharePoint, you can recover earlier versions through the web version of Excel or your cloud storage settings.
  • Temporary files are deleted when you restart your computer or after a set number of days, so recover them as soon as you realize the file is missing.

Recovering an unsaved file on Windows

Open Excel and click the File tab at the top left. Then click Open. At the bottom of the window, you will see a button that says Browse. Click it.

In the file browser window that opens, look at the address bar at the top — it shows the current folder path. Click inside it and delete everything there. Type this exactly: %appdata%\Microsoft\Excel\UnsavedFiles and press Enter. Excel will take you to the hidden folder where it stores unsaved files.

You should see a list of files with names like "Book1" or the name you gave your spreadsheet. Look for the file by its name or by the date it was last modified — the most recent one is likely the file you lost. Click it and then click Open. Excel will open the temporary version, and you can then save it with File > Save As to give it a permanent location.

If the UnsavedFiles folder is empty, the file may have been deleted already. This happens when you restart your computer or after several days have passed. In that case, check your Recycle Bin — if you deleted the file by accident rather than closing without saving, it may still be there.

Recovering an unsaved file on Mac

Open Excel and click File in the menu bar at the top. Hover over Open Recent and you will see a submenu appear. At the bottom of that submenu, click Recover Unsaved Workbooks.

A window will open showing all the unsaved files Excel has stored. Look for your file by name or date. Click it once to select it, then click Open at the bottom right. Excel will open the temporary version of your file, and you can save it permanently by pressing Command+S or going to File > Save.

If Recover Unsaved Workbooks is grayed out or does not appear, Excel has no unsaved files stored. This usually means the file was deleted before Excel could save a temporary copy, or the temporary files have already been cleaned up by the system.

Using cloud recovery if you have Microsoft 365

If you were working on a file stored in OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint, you can recover an earlier version through the web. Sign in to your OneDrive or SharePoint account in a web browser, find the file, right-click it, and select Version history. You will see a list of saved versions with dates and times. Click the version you want and select Restore to replace the current file with that earlier version.

This method only works if the file was already saved to the cloud at least once. If you created the file but never saved it to OneDrive, the cloud recovery option will not help. However, if you have autosave turned on in Excel (which is the default for Microsoft 365 users), your file is being saved to the cloud automatically, and you should be able to find a recent version this way.

Why the temporary file might not be there

Excel only keeps temporary copies of files for a limited time. If you restart your computer, the temporary files are usually deleted. If several days pass without you opening Excel, the system may clean them up automatically. If the file was never saved to your computer at all — for example, if you opened a file from email and started editing it — Excel may not have created a temporary copy.

If you cannot find the file using the steps above, check your Downloads folder or Desktop, since files opened from email often land there. You can also search your entire computer for the file name using Windows Search (press the Windows key and type the file name) or Mac Spotlight (press Command+Space and type the file name).

Preventing this from happening again

Turn on autosave in Excel so you do not have to remember to save manually. In Excel, go to File > Options (Windows) or Excel > Preferences (Mac), then find the Save section. Look for an option called AutoRecover and make sure it is turned on. You can set it to save a temporary copy every few minutes — the default is usually 10 minutes.

If you use Microsoft 365, autosave to the cloud is already on by default when you save files to OneDrive or SharePoint. Your file will save automatically as you type, and you will not lose work if the program crashes. For files saved only to your local computer, autosave still works but only creates temporary copies — you still need to save the file manually for it to be permanent.

What to do if you cannot find the file

If the temporary file is gone and you cannot recover it, the work is lost. There is no way to retrieve a file that was never saved and whose temporary copy has been deleted. This is why backing up important files regularly is important — once a file is gone, it cannot be recovered from your computer alone.

For the future, save your work frequently by pressing Ctrl+S (Windows) or Command+S (Mac). If you work on important spreadsheets, save them to OneDrive or another cloud service so that a copy exists even if your computer fails. You can also enable autosave, which removes the need to remember to save at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does Excel keep unsaved files?

Excel keeps temporary copies until you restart your computer or for several days if you do not restart. The exact time varies by your system settings. To be safe, look for your unsaved file within a few hours of realizing it is missing.

Can I recover a file if I force-closed Excel or it crashed?

Yes. When Excel closes unexpectedly, it stores a temporary copy. Use the steps above to find it in the UnsavedFiles folder (Windows) or through Recover Unsaved Workbooks (Mac). The file will have your work up to the last autosave, not your most recent edits.

What if the file name does not appear in the UnsavedFiles folder?

The file may have been deleted already, or Excel may not have created a temporary copy if the file was never saved to your computer. Check your Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (Mac) in case you deleted it by accident. You can also search your entire computer for the file name.

Does recovering an unsaved file overwrite my current file?

No. When you open a recovered file, it opens as a separate copy. You can then save it with File > Save As and choose a new name or location. This lets you keep both the recovered version and any other file with the same name.

Will autosave prevent me from losing work?

Autosave creates temporary copies every few minutes, so you will not lose more than a few minutes of work if the program crashes. However, autosave is not the same as saving — you still need to save the file manually for it to be permanent, unless you are using Microsoft 365 with OneDrive or SharePoint.