How to Recover Lost/Unsaved Inkscape Files

This post shows you the practical ways to recover unsaved and deleted Inkscape files. Look down for details.

Workable Solutions Step-by-step Troubleshooting
Fix 1. Recover unsaved Inkscape file You can rescue the unsaved files from the Autosave backup file if the Inkscape Autosave feature is activated. Go to "Edit" > "Preferences" > "Input/Output" > "Autosave"....Full steps
Fix 2. Recover deleted Inkscape file If you have lost some saved Inkscape files by accidental deletion, or other reasons, you can resort to a professional file recovery tool...Full steps

"Last night, I was in the middle of drawing a picture, and Inkscape crashed all of a sudden, only giving me three options: search for a solution to the crash and close Inkscape, close Inkscape and determine the solution. I chose the third one, and Inkscape closed with my word unsaved. After I resumed the program, my previous work did not show up. My work has closed without saving because Inkscape crashed! Is it possible to recover unsaved Inscape files after the crash?"

Being a professionally qualified vector graphics editor software, Inkscape allows users to create or edit vector graphics such as illustrations, diagrams, line arts, charts, logos and more, and most of which are large. For this reason, Inkscape crashes a lot with dire horrible consequences that users will lose the Inkscape file unsaved. If you are looking for a way for Inkscape crash recovery, follow the guides in Part 1. If you need to recover the deleted Inkscape file, you can use the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard in Part 2.

Part 1. How to Recover Unsaved Inkscape File

Since Inkscape 0.48, you can easily rescue the unsaved files from the Autosave backup file if the Inkscape Autosave feature is activated. If you're editing a file while the software shuts down unexpectedly, Inkscape will attempt to save the document when it crashes.

To check if the Autosave is in use, go to "Edit" > "Preferences" > "Input/Output" > "Autosave".

If Inkscape saves documents successfully, the automatic backup location is C:\Documents and Settings

The documents are called: "New document 1.2019_03_03_12_34_29.0.svg"

1. On Unix (Linux, Mac OS X, *BSD, etc.), Inkscape Autosave location is:

  • Your home directory as filename..#
  • /tmp/filename..#
  • The current directory as filename..#

2. On Windows, Inkscape tries to save in %UserProfile%:

  • XP/2003: C:\Documents and Settings\
  • Vista/7: C:\Users\
Notice:
Not every time you can use the Autosave for Inkscape crash recovery. To avoid unexpected data loss, you can do the following operations when using Inkscape.
1. Update Inkscape to the latest version.
2. Turn on the Autosave feature with a short interval and safe location for saving files.
3. Get into the habit of keeping files manually at all times.

Part 2. How to Recover Deleted/Lost Inkscape File

If you have lost some saved Inkscape files by accidental deletion, hard drive formatting, virus attack, or other reasons, you can't resort to the Autosave function anymore but ask for help from a professional file recovery tool.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is a professional data recovery program that supports hundreds of file formats of files, including Inkscape, and Illustrator. In the same way to recover lost Illustrator file after a crash, you can recover deleted or lost Inkscape files after the crash without effort.

Step 1. Run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. Choose the drive where you lost files and start scanning by clicking "Search for Lost Data". This software allows you to recover lost data from all devices, including HDD, SSD, USB drive, SD card, pen drive, camera, etc.

select a location to scan

Step 2. Browse the full scan results. You can choose the file type you need by clicking on the file type filter. EaseUS data recovery software supports 1000+ file types like photos, videos, documents, emails, audio files, and many more. 

Choose files to recover

Step 3. Select the files you want to preview. Click "Recover" and set a storage location or Cloud drive to save the recovered data. 

Recover lost data

 Download for Win Recovery Rate 99.7%
 Download for Mac Trustpilot Rating 4.8

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Updated by Daisy

Daisy is the Senior editor of the writing team for EaseUS. She has been working at EaseUS for over ten years, starting as a technical writer and moving on to being a team leader of the content group. As a professional author for over ten years, she writes a lot to help people overcome their tech troubles.

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Written by Jean

Jean is recognized as one of the most professional writers in EaseUS. She has kept improving her writing skills over the past 10 years and helped millions of her readers solve their tech problems on PC, Mac, and iOS devices.

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