How to restore previous versions of a word document​？

Restoring previous versions of a Word document is a crucial skill for anyone who works with documents regularly, whether for personal, academic, or professional purposes. Sometimes, changes to a document can go wrong, and you may want to revert to an earlier version for a variety of reasons. Whether it’s a minor mistake or a major loss of data, Word provides several tools to restore earlier versions of a file. 

1.Word document

It’s inevitable that at some point, you will find yourself needing to recover a previous version of a Word document. This could be due to an accidental deletion, an unwanted formatting change, or a series of edits that didn’t go as planned. Fortunately, Microsoft Word provides several built-in methods to restore older versions of your documents, whether you are working locally or via cloud services like OneDrive. 

2. Version History in Word

Microsoft Word automatically keeps track of changes made to documents. These are often referred to as “versions” and can be saved as part of Word’s AutoSave feature or the manual save operations you perform. Version History enables you to view previous versions of a document and restore it to a particular point in time.

Key Concepts in Version History:

AutoSave: A feature that automatically saves your document periodically, typically every few seconds or minutes. This can be a lifesaver if you forget to manually save a document or if your computer crashes unexpectedly.

AutoRecover: A feature in Word that temporarily stores the versions of a document being worked on, in case the program crashes. These are usually saved in a designated AutoRecover file.

Versioning: Version history is an essential feature in Word when using cloud storage services like OneDrive and SharePoint. These services track every change made to a document, and you can view or restore any of the previous versions.

3. Using the “Undo” Feature

One of the quickest ways to restore a previous state of a Word document is by using the “Undo” feature. This is often the simplest solution if you’ve made a mistake and want to go back to the most recent saved version before the error occurred.

How to Use Undo:

Keyboard Shortcut: Press Ctrl + Z (Windows) or Cmd + Z (Mac).

Undo Button: You can also click the “Undo” button on the Quick Access Toolbar, located at the top-left corner of the Word window. It’s the circular arrow icon.

Each time you press undo, it reverses one action. If you need to undo multiple actions, you can keep pressing Ctrl + Z or Cmd + Z until you reach the desired version.

4. Using AutoSave in Microsoft 365

For users of Microsoft 365. AutoSave is an extremely useful feature. AutoSave continuously saves your work to OneDrive or SharePoint, so if you need to restore a previous version of a document, you can easily access it from the cloud.

Steps to Restore a Version Using AutoSave:

Open the Word document you’re working on.

At the top of the document, near the title, you should see the “AutoSave” slider. If you’re using a document saved to OneDrive or SharePoint, AutoSave will be turned on by default.

Click on the “Version History” link next to the file name. This will open a pane showing all the saved versions of the document.

Select the version you want to restore.

You can either view the version or click “Restore” to make it the current version.

This method is incredibly efficient if you are using cloud-based Word documents, as all previous versions will be listed in chronological order.

5. Restoring Previous Versions from OneDrive or SharePoint

If your document is stored on OneDrive or SharePoint, you can take advantage of the cloud version history to restore older versions of the file.

Steps to Restore a Previous Version from OneDrive or SharePoint:

Go to the OneDrive or SharePoint website and log in.

Navigate to the folder containing your Word document.

Right-click on the document and select Version History.

A list of all versions of the document will appear, along with timestamps indicating when they were saved.

Click on the version you want to restore.

You will be given the option to Restore, View, or Compare the selected version with the current one.

This is particularly helpful if you’ve made multiple edits over time and need to find a particular version for reference or rollback.

6. Recovering Previous Versions Using File History (Windows)

For local documents saved on your computer, Windows provides a useful tool called File History, which is available on Windows 10 and 11. This tool automatically backs up your files to an external drive or network location and allows you to restore previous versions.

Steps to Restore a Previous Version Using File History:

Right-click on the Word document you want to restore.

Select Properties from the context menu.

Go to the Previous Versions tab.

If File History is enabled, you will see a list of previous versions of the file.

Select the version you want to restore and click Restore.

File History must be enabled before you can use this feature, so it’s important to set up File History beforehand to ensure your documents are being regularly backed up.

7. Using the Document Recovery Feature in Word

Microsoft Word has a built-in Document Recovery feature, which is especially useful if Word crashes unexpectedly or if you lose a document due to a system failure.

Steps to Recover Documents Using Document Recovery:

Open Microsoft Word.

Look for the Document Recovery pane on the left side of the screen. This will appear if Word detected an unexpected shutdown.

From the recovery pane, select the document you want to recover.

Word will display any autosaved versions or unsaved drafts of your document.

Even if you didn’t explicitly save the document, Word’s recovery feature can often retrieve data from temporary files.

8. Manually Restoring Previous Versions from Backup

If you regularly back up your computer, whether through external drives or cloud services, you can manually restore a previous version of your Word document.

Steps to Restore from Backup:

Go to your backup location, whether it’s an external hard drive, a network drive, or a cloud backup service.

Locate the version of the document you want to restore.

Copy it back to your local file system.

This method requires that you have an established backup strategy in place, so it’s important to regularly back up important files.

9. Using Time Machine (Mac OS)

If you are working on a Mac, Time Machine is an excellent tool to restore previous versions of a document. Time Machine continuously backs up your files and allows you to browse through earlier versions.

Steps to Restore a Word Document Using Time Machine:

Open the folder that contains the Word document you want to restore.

Launch Time Machine by clicking the Time Machine icon in the menu bar or opening it from Applications > Utilities.

Use the timeline on the right to navigate to the date and time when the document version you want was saved.

Select the version of the Word document you want and click Restore.

Time Machine is an excellent feature for Mac users who need to recover earlier versions of their files.

10. Using Microsoft Word’s Built-in File Recovery Options

Microsoft Word has several built-in tools for recovering unsaved or deleted files, which may come in handy if the previous methods don’t work.

Steps to Recover an Unsaved Document:

Open Microsoft Word.

Go to File > Open.

Scroll down to the Recent section and click on Recover Unsaved Documents at the bottom.

From the dialog box, select the unsaved file you want to recover.

This method works well for documents that were not saved before a crash but were still in progress.

11. Preventing Future Document Loss

To avoid the need to restore previous versions in the future, there are several preventative steps you can take:

Enable AutoSave: Always ensure AutoSave is on for documents stored in OneDrive or SharePoint.

Use AutoRecover: Enable AutoRecover to save temporary versions in case of an unexpected shutdown.

Set Up File History: Ensure File History is activated on Windows.

Regular Backups: Perform regular backups of your documents to external drives or cloud services.