Where Mac stores unsaved Word documents

When you close a Word document without saving, macOS doesn't throw it away when ready. Word keeps a copy in a hidden folder on your Mac, and you can retrieve it. The location depends on which version of Word you use and whether you had AutoSave turned on.

For Microsoft Word 2016 and later, unsaved documents live in ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Autosave Information. The tilde (~) means your home folder. If you use Office 365 or Microsoft 365 (the subscription version), the path is the same. These files are normally hidden because they start with a period, so Finder won't show them unless you change your view settings.

Word also creates temporary versions while you work. These sit in ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Word File Recovery. If Word crashed or you force-quit it, the recovery file here is often more recent than the autosave version.

Key Takeaways

  • Unsaved Word documents on Mac are stored in hidden Library folders that you can access by enabling hidden file view in Finder.
  • Word keeps both autosave copies and crash recovery files in separate locations, so check both if the first folder is empty.
  • You can copy recovered files to your Desktop and open them in Word to see if they contain the work you need.
  • If you cannot find files in the Library folders, check the Word recovery pane that appears when you reopen the process after a crash.

How to show hidden files in Finder

The Library folder is hidden by default on Mac. To see it, you need to tell Finder to display hidden files. The fastest way is to use a keyboard shortcut: press Command + Shift + Period (the period key). This toggles hidden files on and off in any Finder window.

Once hidden files are visible, open Finder and click the home icon in the sidebar (it looks like a house). Then navigate to Library by double-clicking it. From there, go to Containers, then com.microsoft.Word, then Data, then Library. You should see folders named Autosave Information and Word File Recovery.

If you want hidden files to stay visible, you can also set this permanently. Open Terminal (in Applications > Utilities) and type defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true, then press Enter. Quit and reopen Finder. To hide them again later, type the same command but change true to false.

Recovering files from the Autosave folder

Open Finder, navigate to the Autosave Information folder, and look for files with names like "Document1" or the title you gave your document. These files won't have a .docx extension — they're stored in a format Word uses internally. Don't try to open them directly in Word; instead, copy them to your Desktop first.

Once the file is on your Desktop, open Word and go to File > Open Recent > Recover Unsaved Documents. This opens a dialog that shows Word what it has in recovery storage. Select the file you want and click Open. Word will open it as a temporary document. Save it when ready with Command + S and give it a proper name and location.

If the Recover Unsaved Documents option doesn't show your file, try opening Word and going to File > Open, then navigate to your Desktop where you copied the recovery file. Word may recognize it and let you open it from there.

Checking the Word File Recovery folder

If the Autosave Information folder is empty or doesn't have what you need, check Word File Recovery. This folder contains versions Word saved when it crashed or when you force-quit the process. Files here are more likely to be recent if Word shut down unexpectedly.

Copy any files from this folder to your Desktop as well. Then use the same File > Open Recent > Recover Unsaved Documents path in Word to open them. Word will show you a preview of the content so you can confirm it's the right version before you save it permanently.

Sometimes the recovery files in this folder are older than you expect. If you see multiple versions of the same document, open each one to check which has the most recent work. Word will show you the date it was last modified in the file properties.

Using Word's built-in recovery pane

If Word crashed, the next time you open it, a recovery pane usually appears automatically on the right side of the screen. This pane shows recently closed documents and unsaved versions. Click any document in the list to open it. This is often the fastest way to recover work because Word is showing you exactly what it saved.

The recovery pane stays open for a limited time after you restart Word. If you close it without recovering a document, you can bring it back by going to File > Open Recent and looking for a "Recover Unsaved Documents" option at the bottom of the list. Click it to see the recovery pane again.

If you see a document in the recovery pane but it's not the version you want, don't panic. You can still check the autosave and recovery folders manually using the steps above. The recovery pane shows only what Word thinks is most recent, but older versions may still exist in the folders.

What to do if you find multiple versions

When you recover a document, Word often creates multiple versions — one from autosave, one from the recovery folder, and possibly one from the recovery pane. Open each version and check the content to see which one has the most work. Look at the word count and scroll through to spot differences.

Once you've identified the version you want to keep, save it with a clear name in a permanent location like Documents or a project folder. You can then delete the other recovered versions from your Desktop. If you're not sure which version is best, save all of them with different names (like "Document_v1", "Document_v2") and decide later which to keep.

To avoid this situation in the future, turn on AutoSave in Word. Go to File > Properties and look for AutoSave settings. You can also enable it in Word > Preferences > Save. With AutoSave on, Word saves your document automatically every few minutes, so you lose less work if something goes wrong.

Preventing data loss with AutoSave and OneDrive

If you use Microsoft 365 and store your documents on OneDrive, turn on AutoSave. This feature saves your document automatically as you work, so you never lose more than a few seconds of typing. Go to File > AutoSave and toggle it on. The button will show a checkmark when it's active.

AutoSave works best when your document is stored on OneDrive, SharePoint, or OneDrive for Business. If your document is on your local Mac, AutoSave still works but only saves when you pause typing for a few seconds. Either way, it's much better than relying on manual saves.

You can also set Word to create backup copies automatically. Go to Word > Preferences > Save, check the box for "Always create backup copy", and choose how often you want Word to save. This creates a separate backup file with a .bak extension in the same folder as your document.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I recover a document I closed without saving weeks ago?

Probably not. Word keeps unsaved documents in the recovery folders for a limited time — usually a few days to a week, depending on how much space your Mac has. Once Word clears the cache, the files are gone. The sooner you look, the better your chances.

What if the recovered document opens but looks corrupted or incomplete?

Word recovery files are sometimes partial or damaged, especially if Word crashed. Try opening it anyway and see how much content is there. If it's unusable, check the other recovery folders and versions. If nothing works, you may need to retype the document or restore from a Time Machine backup if you have one.

Do I need to delete the files in the Autosave and recovery folders?

You don't have to, but you can. Once you've recovered what you need and saved it permanently, the recovery files take up space. You can safely delete them by moving them to Trash. Word will create new ones the next time you work on a document.

Why doesn't the Recover Unsaved Documents option appear in Word?

This usually means Word doesn't have any unsaved documents in its recovery storage, or the recovery pane has already shown you everything available. Try checking the autosave and recovery folders manually using Finder. You can also try restarting Word — sometimes the recovery pane appears only on the first launch after a crash.

Will enabling hidden files in Finder affect anything else on my Mac?

No. Showing hidden files is safe and doesn't change how your Mac works. You'll just see more folders and files in Finder that are normally hidden. You can toggle them off anytime using Command + Shift + Period again.