How To Recover Replaced Word Document On Mac

Almost everyone has accidentally replaced a valuable file at to the lowest degree once in their life. All it takes for such a fault to happen is just 1 click of the mouse. Luckily, in that location are a few ways out of such an inconvenient situation.

So how to recover overwritten files on Mac? What should you exercise if you don't have a backup available with the original file? Read on to become an answer to all your questions.

Where Do Replaced Files Go along Mac?

It can happen insanely fast: you create a new file called, for example, invoice.docx, and when saving the file, it occurs to you that there already is a file with such a proper name on your Mac. And so you go asked whether y'all desire to replace it with the new ane and if you click Yes instead of No, it may seem like the old file is gone forever.

Just what happens to the replaced file? Overall, here's how file overwriting works:

The original file gets flagged past macOS as deleted.
The new file gets saved somewhere on the disk.

This is particularly true with mod SSDs. When y'all overwrite a file, the drive performs wear leveling, and therefore at that place are high chances that the other file will be saved to a different location. In this process, the original file doesn't actually get erased (it only stays ignored), making it possible to recover it.

However, there are many different file systems and implementations of them, and so if y'all want to recover a file replaced by another file with the same proper name, information technology is best to stop using the disk where that file is located and first the recovery process every bit soon as possible.

4 Methods to Recover Replaced Files on Mac

In general, if you accidentally overwrote a file, there are four main ways you can recover it: with the help of data recovery software, via Fourth dimension Machine, from a cloud backup, or using your file history. You lot should choose a suitable method depending on your situation.

Here are stride-by-step instructions for each file recovery method.

Method #1: Data Recovery Software

Using data recovery software is 1 of the quickest and hassle-free ways of recovering overwritten files on your device. A slap-up example of such software is Disk Drill. It is a reliable and versatile data recovery tool that can exist used for restoring overwritten files on Windows and Mac computers.

It volition be possible to recover an accidentally replaced file on your Mac with the help of such software merely if the file is however physically located on your disk and hasn't been overwritten with new data.

Important: Equally soon as you find that a file has been mistakenly replaced, end using the disk on which the file is located. This will increment your chances of successfully recovering it.

Thanks to this solution, you'll be able to recover overwritten files on Mac without a Fourth dimension Car backup.

Follow these steps to recover saved over files on Mac via Disk Drill:

Important: It is best not to restore the overwritten file to its original location to avoid file corruption.

Method #ii: Fourth dimension Automobile

Time Machine is a congenital-in macOS tool that tin can be used for various purposes, including for recovering accidentally replaced files on Mac. Even so, in that location is one major drawback of this software: if your backup doesn't contain the original file, you won't be able to restore information technology.

Here's what y'all should practice to recover a file that was replaced via Time Machine:

That's information technology! After doing this, the original file should reappear on your Mac.

Method #3: Cloud backups

If instead of backing up your Mac via Time Auto, you lot use a cloud backup service, it's possible to use that service to restore replaced files. Whether you lot're using iCloud or whatsoever other online fill-in service (Dropbox, Google Bulldoze, or OneDrive), the process of recovering overwritten files should be hurting-free and quick.

Keep in mind: if y'all're using iCloud as your backup service, information technology will store your deleted files for xxx days earlier erasing them permanently. This is a good thing since yous'll have some time to think the needed files.

Here'due south how to recover replaced files on Mac via iCloud:

If you're using a different online backup service, you should exist able to get back a file you replaced as long as that service keeps a history of changes made to your files and as long as you've completed a backup at the right time.

Method #4: Document Versions

Many apps that are used on a macOS-powered computer (such as Pages, Keynote, Word, Excel, and others) have a feature called Revert To that lets you view your file history.

If you desire to recover an overwritten file on your Mac straight through the app that fashion used to create that file, hither's what you should practise:

Find the file that yous wish to restore and open information technology. Then from the top screen menu, click File > Revert To and then click Browse All Versions.
Scroll through all of the bachelor file versions using the arrows on the right of the screen.
Once you've found the needed version, click the Restore push button to recover the file (or if you want to save both the overwritten file and the other version, printing and agree the Option central and click Restore a Copy).

If you demand to restore a file through not-native macOS apps (Microsoft Discussion, for instance), do the following:

Double-click the needed file to open up it.
From the top menu, click File > Browse Version History (or if you're using Microsoft 365 for Mac, apply the app'southward title bar to choose the needed document and and then click Scan Version History).
Click the needed file version.
In one case the chosen file version opens, click File > Salvage to save the recovered file on your Mac.

Depending on the application you lot're using, the process of recovering overwritten files may slightly differ.

FAQ

It depends on your situation: if you've been backing up your Mac frequently, you tin can use Time Machine or the deject service that you're using to recover your overwritten Word document. Too, y'all can use specialized third-party software for this chore (for example, Disk Drill). Or y'all can employ Microsoft's built-in feature to recover the needed version of your file. To do it, click File > Browse Version history and click the needed file version to open it.

The best way to undo a replaced file on Mac is via Time Machine. However, if yous oasis't been backing up your estimator oftentimes, there is a run a risk that the tool doesn't have the needed file version. In such a case, you should use third-political party data recovery software.

Basically, yous take three options when information technology comes to recovering an overwritten file on your Mac: Time Machine, cloud service, or third-party data recovery tool. Your choice should be based on whether you lot do backups regularly or if you apply a cloud service. If you don't use Fourth dimension Motorcar or a deject backup service, your best pick is to effort out a specialized tool.

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