How to Recover Earlier Versions of Word Documents
Microsoft Word is a word processor application available for Windows and Mac platforms. It is part of the Microsoft Office Suite products that also include Excel and PowerPoint. Saving documents frequently prevents accidental loss from a computer glitch or crash. Documents may be overwritten, accidentally or intentionally, making it difficult to view earlier versions. Recover older versions of a document by accessing the temp files of Microsoft Word.
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Instructions
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Windows XP
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1
Click "Start" from the System Tray located at the bottom of the desktop. Click "Search" from the Start Menu and then click "For Files or Folders."
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Type "*.TMP" in the "Search for files or folders named" box.
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3
Point to the arrow in the "Look in" box and then click "My Computer."
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4
Click "Search Options" and then select the "Date" box. Click "in the last n days" and then modify the n value to the number of days to the earlier version of you word document.
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Click "Search Now."
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Click "Details" from the View Menu. Click "Arrange Icons" and then click "by Date" in the View Menu.
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Scroll to the document that matches the date of the earlier version you wish to open. Click the document to select it and then click the drop-down arrow next to the "Open" button located in the bottom of the screen and select "Open and Repair." The earlier version of the Word Document launches.
Windows Vista
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8
Click "Start" from the System Tray located at the bottom of the desktop and type ".tmp" in the Start Search box. Press "Enter."
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Click "Other" from the "Show only" toolbar.
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Scroll to the document that matches the date of the earlier version you wish to open. Click the document to select it and then click the drop-down arrow next to the "Open" button located in the bottom of the screen and select "Open and Repair." The earlier version of the Word Document launches.
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References
- Photo Credit document image by Marvin Gerste from Fotolia.com
