Working with Recovered Files
Microsoft Office applications automatically try to recover files when something, such as a power outage, goes wrong with your computer. The recovered file may not have all of the data that was originally included in it, but it will usually have what was there prior to the last save. This makes it even more important to let the applications automatically save the document every few minutes. In rare cases though, no information is retained even if AutoRecover is running. In our experience, a partially recovered file is better than no file at all.
Making Sure AutoRecover Is Turned On
You can see where recovered files are stored from an application's Options page, and change or configure AutoRecover options:
- Open Word 2007 and then click the File menu button, and select Word Options.
- Click Save in the left pane.
The Save tab is where you will configure AutoRecover. - Make sure Save AutoRecover information every 10 minutes is checked. You can change this to any number of minutes you'd like.
- Note the AutoRecover file location, in our computer it is C:\Documents and Settings\Joli Ballew\Application Data\Microsoft\Word.
- Click Browse to change this location. We will advise against this for now though, at least until you have the approval of your network administrator or have more experience with Office 2007.
Locating Recovered Files
Generally, when a file is lost, you do not have to go looking for it. The next time you open the application, you will be given options for selecting from the recovered files Microsoft Office has collected.
These recovered files are shown in the Document Recovery task pane, which you will see on the left side of the application's interface. The Document Recovery task pane allows you to open files and view what was repaired, and compare recovered versions. Generally, you will want to select the version that was the last one saved, it will usually contain the most data. You can then save or delete the other versions, and begin work again on the recovered file.
