need my word file back

[OliviaClaire]

Anyone out there know how to get back deleted Word files? I accidentally hit Option + Command + Delete on multiple files yesterday and now I’m kicking myself. Any ideas on how to get it back? Appreciate any help!

 

[IWT]

Okay; first off: do you have a Backup (BU) such as Time Machine or a Cloner?

Even if "yes", did you BU to either manually because an hourly BU to TM might miss critical data. On the other hand, if you kept your data on the Mac for any reasonable time before deleting it, it should be possible to recover these from TM.

And BTW, Word has an automatic BU facility if activated by yourself.

Ian

 

[MacBiter]

If you haven't written to your main drive (or not much) you might be able to retrieve the file using undelete software. There are applications like Data Rescue (which I have ancient versions of), and Disk Drill which is an existing application and there may be a trial version?.

 

[Rod]

They may well be gone forever other that using data retrieval software as MacBiter suggests above.
Personally I never use that key combination command because, "it bypasses the usual confirmation dialog that asks if you’re sure you want to delete the items. Make sure you intend to delete the contents of the Trash before using this combination, as it’s irreversible."
I also use OneDrive to backup all Word files as well as Auto Save in Word that way even if my Mac crashes (which it has done) all my Word docs are available on my other devices.
This is on top of a Time Machine Backup and a Carbon Copy Cloner backup. You might think that's overkill but in my experience you cant have too many backups.

Obviously this is all "closing the gate after the horse has bolted" but maybe would prevent this unfortunate situation in the future. Believe me we've all done it at some time so I sympathise, the above suggestions are just insurance.

 

[Jimmysb]

BU is imperative, I use TM once a day, so the most I could loose is a day's work, which for me these days is very little . We all have these little accidents, and recovering 'lost' files from TM is quite easy.

 

[IWT]

Totally agree, Jim B.

Ian

 

[OliviaClaire]

Time machine was not a help for me. already tried.

 

[Rod]

If your TM backups are frequent and have occurred since the creation date and before the deletion date of these documents they should be in Time Machine even if in an earlier state.

With respect, are you sure you are using Time Machine correctly?

 

[OliviaClaire]

yes, I tried it many times. i think the file was from recent and i might not have that backed up in Tm

 

[Jimmysb]

yes, I tried it many times. i think the file was from recent and i might not have that backed up in Tm

I back up to TM daily (on automatic), I. know some people only back up if they have made changes to files, but if you forget then something goes wrong, it is too late. So I may have lots of incremental BUs with very little change, but I have the important changes as well, I can only loose 24 hrs of work, which for me is not a lot

 

[Randy B. Singer]

This DOES NOT help the original poster. (At least not retrospectively.)

But for folks who routinely create documents (or other sorts of files) that are very important, and they want to make sure that they are never accidentally deleted, I recently ran across this really useful app:

TrashRecover (free)
https://www.corecode.io/trashrecover/index.html
(If you've ever deleted a file and then changed your mind and wanted to have it back, TrashRecover is for you!
NOTE: To be able to recover trashed files with TrashRecover, you need to have installed it BEFORE you've accidentally trashed a file that you now want back. This isn't a data recovery program.)

 

[OliviaClaire]

Thanks all. I got them back using Stellar Mac Data Recovery. i thought i lost them forever.

 

[pm-r]

Thanks all. I got them back using Stellar Mac Data Recovery. i thought i lost them forever.

That is great news and congratulations on your success.

Just out of curiosity, what Map model and macOS version are you using and were your files on an HDD or SDD?

For my previous experiences with some of the Stella Mac software products I had occasion to use, I found them to be excellent and they worked well.



- Patrick
=======

 

[Rod]

OliviaClaire, thank you so much for reporting back on your positive outcome. Sadly many do not. I personally did not know about Stellar Mac Recovery so I will be taking note of that for future recommendations.
Congratulations on your successful recovery of what we're obviously very important documents.
Do check back from time to time, I'm sure your experiences can benefit others.

 

[OliviaClaire]

That is great news and congratulations on your success.

Just out of curiosity, what Map model and macOS version are you using and were your files on an HDD or SDD?

For my previous experiences with some of the Stella Mac software products I had occasion to use, I found them to be excellent and they worked well.



- Patrick
=======

@pm-r
I'm using a M2 year 2022 running macOS sequoia.....it was in my internal storage in documents folder. I'm glad to hear you've had a good experience with Stellar software as well!
tbh, I was a bit skeptical at first, but their refund policy gave me some peace of mind.