What to do right now
- If the document is still open, press Ctrl+Z to undo the change and save the result with Save As under a new name.
- For files in OneDrive or SharePoint, open File, Info, Version History and restore the earlier version.
- For local files, check the Previous Versions tab and look for Word backup (.wbk) and ~WRL temporary copies with the unsaved file finder.
- Copy the current file somewhere safe before scanning the disk for older DOCX copies.
Step by step
Undo before you close the file
While the document is still open in Word, the undo history survives a save. Press Ctrl+Z until the old text is back, then use File, Save As to store it under a new name. Once Word is closed, this history is gone.
Open version history
If the document is stored in OneDrive, OneDrive for work or SharePoint, choose File, Info, Version History in Word, or right-click the file on the OneDrive website and choose Version history. Open the version from before your save and save a copy.
Check Windows Previous Versions
Right-click the document in File Explorer, choose Properties and open the Previous Versions tab. If File History or restore points were on, earlier copies are listed by date. Open the old copy and save it elsewhere, or use Restore To with another folder, so the current file stays as it is.
Look for backup and temporary copies
In FileFix Ultimate, choose Find files lost when a program crashed or closed without saving. It lists Word backup files such as Backup of report.wbk, AutoRecover copies and ~WRL temporary files that Word sometimes leaves when a save is interrupted.
Ask where else the file went
Think about copies outside this PC: an attachment in your sent email, a USB stick, a shared folder or a colleague who received an earlier draft. These are often the fastest complete copy.
Scan the disk for older copies
Copy the current document to another disk, then open Deleted file recovery, scan the drive and filter for DOCX. Compare modified times and sizes, preview the candidates and save any older copy to a different disk. If it does not open, use Damaged file repair.
How Word saves and why an older copy can linger
Word usually does not rewrite a document in place. It writes the new content to a temporary file, renames the old document to a temporary name such as ~WRL0001.tmp, moves the new file into place and then deletes the temporary one. The previous version therefore often ends up as a deleted file rather than being overwritten in the same spot.
On a hard drive that deleted temporary file can survive until the space is reused, which is why a scan sometimes finds an older DOCX or a nameless file with the right size and date. On an SSD with TRIM the freed blocks are usually cleared within moments, so this route rarely works there.
What cannot be recovered
If the old content was actually written over, for example by a program that saves in place or after weeks of heavy use, the earlier bytes no longer exist anywhere on the disk. No recovery program can rebuild text that was replaced, and a scan will only find the current version again.
Recover Unsaved Documents in Word only covers documents that were never saved or closed without saving. It does not keep old versions of files you saved on purpose, so an empty list there is expected.
Protect the next document
Keeping important documents in OneDrive or SharePoint turns on version history with no extra work. For local files, Windows File History keeps hourly copies on an external drive, and Word can keep the previous version next to each document if you enable Always create backup copy in Options, Advanced, Save. The exact wording may differ between Word versions.
When it won't work
- Version history, File History, restore points and Word backup copies were all off, and no copy exists elsewhere.
- The drive is an SSD with TRIM, so the deleted temporary file was cleared soon after the save.
- Many files were written to the same drive after the overwrite, reusing the space that held the old version.
- An older copy found by a scan may be incomplete if parts of it were reused, and will then only open after repair or not at all.
How FileFix Ultimate helps
- Finds Word .wbk backups, AutoRecover copies, ~WRL temporary files and files in the Office UnsavedFiles folder in one read-only search.
- Opens shadow copies, the source of Previous Versions, as a recovery source.
- Scans for older DOCX and DOC copies left on the disk and saves them only to a different disk.
- Rebuilds a damaged DOCX package when an older copy will not open, as a new file.
FileFix Ultimate is free for personal use, works offline and never writes to the drive you are recovering from. Business use needs a one-year licence per PC. Check the signature before you run it.
Frequently asked questions
I replaced a Word file with another file of the same name. Can I get the first one back?
Copying a file over another replaces it the same way as saving over it. Check Previous Versions and version history first; on a hard drive, a scan may find the replaced file as a deleted entry.
Where is Version History if I do not see it in Word?
It appears for files saved in OneDrive or SharePoint. For files on a local folder, Word does not keep versions, so use the Previous Versions tab in File Explorer instead.
What is a .wbk file next to my document?
It is Word's backup copy of the previous saved version, created when Always create backup copy is on. Rename a copy of it to .docx or open it from Word with All Files selected to read the earlier text.
Does Track Changes help after I saved over the text?
Only if Track Changes was on before the edit. Then the deleted text is still in the document as a tracked deletion and you can reject the change. It does not help after changes were accepted or tracking was off.