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Can I ensure that if I mistakenly close a Microsoft Excel document without saving the latest version, that I can recover some of the work I've done?

Edit I'm using Excel 2003.

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"without saving the latest version" - You mean, "closing an excel document without saving", right ? Nope. That's the point of not saving it. – ldigas Aug 13 '09 at 23:54
Also, what version of Excel are you using? – Jared Harley Aug 14 '09 at 0:27
@Idigas - I had closed without saving an existing file, as opposed to one that had never been saved. – Andrew Grimm Aug 14 '09 at 0:55
@Andrew Grimm - So, you worked on a file, and then said "No" to saving. I hate to rain upon you, but I'd consider that data lost. How important was it anyway ? Surely nothing that couldn't be redone in a few hours of hard work ? – ldigas Aug 14 '09 at 1:01
@Idigas Because I'm not only a moron, but I'm a lazy bastard too. – Andrew Grimm Aug 14 '09 at 3:08
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5 Answers

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MS Office has an autosave feature. It does this periodically just to make sure you do not lose anything. The question is whether or not it was actually enabled. If it was you might be able to find the temp file in the directory mentioned below.

Excel doesn't have the AutoSave feature enabled as default, you have to add it. This is because it isn't always practical to have this functionality enabled. If you have it enabled and want to experiment with a spreadsheet, you should create a copy then open that so that the AutoSave doesn't overwrite the original.

To enable the AutoSave feature, you have to use an Add In. Go to "Tools" "Add ins" and choose "AutoSave". With Office XP, AutoSave has been moved out from Add Ins to Options, in a similar way to Word. You will find the settings under "Save" where you can also disable the Auto Recover feature for that particular work book.

Excel automatically saves every 10 minutes to the default location of "C:\ Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\Temp" The files are identifiable as they are saved as a number .tmp e.g. "28.tmp". This means that they look different from word or any other temporary files that are being saved there by other applications.

With a little luck this suggestion will work for you. You will probably have to rename the file manually since excel file was closed normally.

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I tried your suggestion. The recovery files seem to be deleted when I close the document without saving. Thanks anyway. – Andrew Grimm Aug 14 '09 at 4:38
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At that point (and it's probably too late now, but for future reference), whether from a close or a crash, open Excel up directly. DO NOT open up the file from a "Recent Docs" list or even from My Docs. Office creates a temp file to store your work in, so if you open (any) the program by itself, it should have a Recovery bar on the left. If not, maybe you can use some file recovery software. I use PC Inspector File Recovery alot.

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If I have a trouble to recover my office files I use an OfficeRecovery application. Once I have helped a good friend of mine with this application restoring his monthly Access work!

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Does it work with files that were closed without a crash occurring? – Andrew Grimm Aug 15 '09 at 7:16
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Autorecovery only works if your Excel Crashed (like PC lost power or windows crashed.

If you select "NO" to save and close excel then you will lose the document.

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On Windows 7 and Office 2010, you will find it under:

C:\Users\\*user name*\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles\Book1((Unsaved-301910293917302138)).xlsb

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