How do I recover lost Excel files on Mac?

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How do I recover lost Excel files on Mac

Losing Excel files can be extremely frustrating, especially if those files contain important data or analysis. If an Excel file goes missing or becomes corrupted on your Mac, it may seem irrecoverable at first. However, chances are the file is still recoverable through various methods.

Recovering lost Excel files is crucial to restoring lost work and avoiding having to recreate files from scratch. Excel files often store valuable data from research, financial models, client records, and more. Losing that data can mean countless wasted hours recreating the work. Even if backups exist, sifting through old versions to piece together lost analysis is extremely cumbersome.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to recover deleted, missing, or corrupted Excel files on a Mac. This guide will walk through the top methods for recovering your lost Excel workbooks and data.

Check Recycle Bin

The Recycle Bin is the first place to check for deleted Excel files. When a file is deleted on Mac, it is not immediately removed from the hard drive. Instead, macOS moves the deleted file to the Trash folder, also known as the Recycle Bin (located at /Users/yourname/.Trash). The files in the Trash remain there until the Trash is emptied.

To recover a deleted Excel file on Mac:

  1. Open the Trash folder by going to Finder > Trash or using the keyboard shortcut Shift + Command + Delete.
  2. Browse the contents of the Trash folder and look for your missing Excel file.
  3. Select the file and click on the Restore button to restore the file to its original location.

If you find your missing Excel file in the Trash, restoring it is a quick and easy way to recover it. However, if you have emptied the Trash since deleting the file, it won’t be there. In that case, you will need to try the other methods below.

For more information, see this guide on how to recover deleted files from the Trash on Mac without software: https://www.easeus.com/mac-file-recovery/recover-deleted-files-from-trash-mac-without-software.html

Use Time Machine

Time Machine can be a great way to recover previous versions of Excel files that have been changed or deleted. Time Machine automatically backs up the entire Mac hard drive hourly, daily, and weekly, so you can restore files from any point in time when Time Machine was actively backing up.

To restore a previous version of an Excel file from Time Machine:

  1. Open Finder and click on the Time Machine icon in the Dock or select “Enter Time Machine” from the Time Machine menu extra.
  2. Time Machine will open a window into the backups. Browse through the timeline on the right to find the date and time of the Excel file you want to restore.
  3. Once you locate the file, click “Restore” to retrieve the earlier version.

Time Machine stores hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups until your backup drive is full, so you can potentially go back months or years to find Excel files that have been changed or deleted. Just be aware Time Machine will not have versions from before it was configured.1

Try AutoRecovery

AutoRecovery is an Excel feature that automatically saves versions of your open Excel files while you’re working on them. AutoRecovery saves these versions every 10 minutes by default. When you experience a crash, power outage, or other disruption while working in an Excel file, you may be able to restore the most recently saved AutoRecovery version.

To recover a lost Excel file using AutoRecovery on Mac:

  1. Open Excel and click “File” > “Open Recent.” This will display a list of your recently opened Excel files.
  2. Look for your lost file with “AutoSaved” followed by a date and time appended to the file name. For example, “My Excel File AutoSaved 2023-02-15 0938.” Click the AutoSaved version of your file.
  3. The AutoRecovery version will open. Save it with a new name or overwrite the original file if desired.

AutoRecovery is enabled by default in modern versions of Excel for Mac. You can adjust the AutoRecovery save frequency by going to Excel > Preferences > Save. AutoRecovery files are stored locally on your Mac hard drive.[1]

Use File Recovery Software

One of the most effective ways to recover lost or deleted Excel files on Mac is by using specialized file recovery software. There are many powerful data recovery programs available that can scan your Mac’s hard drive and restore Excel documents that have been accidentally deleted or lost due to system crashes or corrupt drives.

Some top recommended Excel file recovery software for Mac include:

When choosing Mac Excel file recovery software, look for programs that offer deep scanning capabilities, support a wide range of file types and devices, provide previews of recoverable data, and have user-friendly interfaces. Testing a free trial version first can help determine if a program will effectively find your lost Excel files before purchasing.

Restore from iCloud

If you had iCloud Drive enabled on your Mac, any files saved to iCloud, including Excel files, may be retrievable from your iCloud backup. Here are the steps to restore Excel files from iCloud:

  1. Log in to your iCloud account at icloud.com
  2. Click on Account Settings
  3. Under Advanced, click on Restore Files
  4. Browse and select any Excel files you wish to restore
  5. Click Restore to download the files back to your Mac

As long as the Excel files were previously saved to iCloud Drive, this method can retrieve unsaved, deleted, or lost Excel files. Just make sure you had iCloud backup enabled for your Desktop and Documents folders where Excel files are typically stored.

Check the Excel App

Sometimes a lost or unsaved Excel file will show up directly in the Excel app itself. Open the Excel app and check if the missing file appears in the “Recent” section. According to Ablebits, Excel stores a temporary copy of files you’ve worked on recently. Click “File” > “Open” and look under the “Recent” files list on the left. If you see your unsaved file, click to open it and then save it properly.

The Excel app also has an AutoRecovery feature that saves versions of your open files every 10 minutes. Go to “File” > “Info” and look for “Manage Workbook” > “Recover Unsaved Workbooks.” This will display any unsaved files that Excel has automatically recovered. Look through this list for your missing file. Once found, open it and save a proper copy to avoid losing work again.

Contact Microsoft Support

In some cases, Microsoft may be able to help recover lost Excel files. The Microsoft Excel team has access to tools and techniques that aren’t available to the general public. According to an article on Microsoft’s support site (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/repair-a-corrupted-workbook-153a45f4-6cab-44b1-93ca-801ddcd4ea53), they can sometimes repair corrupted Excel files when you’re unable to open the workbook.

To contact Microsoft support, go to the Excel help page and click “Contact Us.” You’ll need to sign in with your Microsoft account. Provide as many details as possible about the lost file and when it went missing. The support agents may ask for the Excel version number, when you last modified the file, the file name and location, and any error messages. This information can help them troubleshoot the issue and attempt a file recovery.

While Microsoft doesn’t guarantee they can recover lost data, it’s worth contacting their support team to see if they can help before trying more complex and expensive data recovery options. Their expertise with Excel may allow them to rescue unsaved workbooks when standard file recovery techniques fail.

Send to Data Recovery Service

For difficult cases where you are unable to recover Excel files yourself, a professional data recovery service may be able to help retrieve lost or deleted files. Data recovery services have access to advanced tools and techniques that can recover data from formatted, corrupted, or damaged drives that are inaccessible to most users.

Some top data recovery services that specialize in Excel file recovery include:
Ontrack,
DriveSavers,
ACE Data Recovery, and
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard
(cite: https://www.trustradius.com/data-recovery-service-providers).

These services can recover data from mechanically failed drives, accidentally deleted files, corrupt databases, and more. They use techniques like disk imaging, data extraction, and manual repair of file systems. Costs range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on the severity of data loss.

Before sending your drive, be sure to research the service’s capabilities, costs, and success rates specifically for Excel file recovery. Confirm they can handle your particular storage device and failure circumstances. Follow all packing instructions carefully before shipping your drive.

Prevent Future Data Loss

The best way to avoid losing your Excel files is to implement regular backups so you have copies of your work. Here are some tips to keep your Excel files backed up and avoid losing work:

  • Enable AutoRecover in Excel to save versions of your files as you work. This allows you to restore unsaved changes if Excel crashes. Go to File > Options > Save and check the box for “Save AutoRecover information every: X minutes”.
  • Use the AutoSave feature to save your file automatically on a regular interval. Go to File > Options > Save and check the box for “Save files in AutoRecover folder every: X minutes”.
  • Store files in cloud services like OneDrive or Google Drive for real-time backup. This will keep a copy of your Excel files updated on remote servers.
  • Manually save multiple versions of important Excel files as you make progress. Add dates to the filenames like “budget_2022-03-15” to track versions.
  • Back up your files regularly to an external hard drive or cloud storage. This protects against drive failure or accidental deletion.

Setting up regular backups only takes a few minutes but can save you the headache of trying to recover lost files. Protect your work by implementing some of these Excel auto-save and backup best practices.