Where Are Temporary Word Files Stored? How to Locate

If you like using Microsoft Word, you might find yourself in a situation where you thought you saved your Word document but didn't. Now, locating the document can be a nightmare. Besides that, you can lose your Word documents on your PC in many ways. Some of these ways are hard disk failure, accidental deletion, virus attacks, etc.

Where are temporary Word files stored? This post will take you through the steps of locating temporary Word files on both Windows and macOS.

However, the best part is that Word creates and stores a copy or temporary file of the document you didn't save. This will help you whenever you want to recover your lost document. Stay tuned!

How to Locate Temporary Word Files in Windows

In this section, we'll paint out different ways in which you can locate temp Word files on Windows. To save time, you can directly copy and paste this path to locate temporary Word files in Windows:  C:\Users\admin\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word.

For Windows, you can use these methods:

Fix 1. Locate Unsaved Word Files with Recovery Software

Try EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to locate temporary Word files and unsaved Word documents. This software allows you to recover your temporary Word documents, regardless of how you lost them.

Apart from Word files, you can recover unsaved PowerPoint, Excel, photos, videos, audio files, and more. It scans files deeply to find your unsaved files. After that, filter the files according to path or type and select the files you want to restore.

Here are the steps you need to follow when using EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to recover unsaved Word files.

Step 1. Click the download button on this page and install the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard on your Windows computer. After launching the software, click local disk to scan.

Step 2. Click "Type" and check the "Unsaved Files". All the MS Word files will show up, and you can choose "doc/docx" to recover unsaved Word documents.

Step 3. Scroll down to find the unsaved MS Word file, and click "Preview" to check the document. Click "Recover" and choose a location to save the selected documents. (This software can also help you recover deleted Word documents.)

You can share this unsaved Word recovery post with your friends or colleagues if you find it helpful.

Fix 2. Locate Word Temporary Files by Using Recover Unsaved Word Documents

Microsoft Office Word has a functionality that allows you to recover any of your unsaved documents from MS Word. 

Step 1. Open a Microsoft Word file.

Step 2. Go click the "File" tab at the top left.

Step 3. Then, select "Open" > "Recover Unsaved Documents" option.

Step 4. You'll see a list of "unsaved documents". Choose the one you need by checking its dialog box.

Step 5. Open the recovered file and save it.

If you can't find the "UnsavedFiles" folder, navigate to AppData > Roaming > Microsoft > Word. You'll find temporary files there, then copy them to a new folder before attempting to open them as Word documents. You can use a similar method to find the Excel temp file location.

Fix 3. Locate Temp Files Using File Explorer

You can use File Explorer to search temporary Word files on your Windows. Here's how to go about it.

Step 1. Press the "Windows key and E" simultaneously on the keyboard to open File Explore.

Step 2. Type in .temp in the search bar in the top-right corner, then press "Enter" on the keyword.

Step 3. Choose the temp Word file you want from the list.

Don't hesitate to share these two methods on social media!

Fix 4. Locate Word Temp Files Using Run Dialog

Using Run Dialog is another way to locate temporary files in the system's temporary folder. Explore this location using the following steps:

Step 1. Press the "Windows key + R" at once to open the Run Dialog.

Step 2. Enter %temp% and click the "OK" button

Step 3. A list of temporary files will be displayed. Go ahead and locate the file you need.

By the way, if you want to restore unsaved Word files, you need to enable AutoSave and AutoRecover in advance：

Step 1. Open the Word application, then go to the "File" tab.

Step 2. Select "Options".

Step 3. Check "Save Autorecover information every", then go ahead and set any amount of minutes from 5 to 10.

Step 4. Now check the "keep the last autosaved if I close without saving" option and click "OK."

You can locate temporary files for macOS by checking the following passage:

How Do Temporary Word Files Work

Temporary Word files play an important role in the functioning of Microsoft Word. This happens when you create or edit a document. The application will generate temporary files, ensuring the document is safe and facilitating a smooth editing experience.

Usually, temporary Word files are abbreviated as ".tmp" extensions, which serve as backup copies of the document being worked on.

Whenever you change the Word document, it saves the changes to the temporary file in the background. Word application stores them in a designated temporary folder on your computer. 

Also, you need to note that the temporary file is typically deleted automatically once you save the document. 

To Wrap Up

This article has demonstrated that locating temporary files isn't a hassle if you are a Windows user. You can try out these methods and see which one works for you.

However, I suggest you download the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to be safe. This software will guarantee you a high recovery sucrate for your lost or unsaved files.

Temporary Word Files FAQs

You can find more information about where temporary Word files are stored.

1. Where are the unsaved Word files stored in Windows?

By default, Microsoft Word saves these files through the AutoRecover feature in this path: C:\Users[Username]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles. However, the exact location depends on the Word version and the system settings. Verify Word's AutoRecover settings for precise detail.

2. How can I find temporary files quickly?

You can use the built-in File Explorer to locate temporary files quickly. 

Step 1. Press the "Windows key + E" simultaneously to open File Explorer, 

Step 2. Type %temp% in the search bar and press Enter. 

Step 3. This will direct you to the Temp folder containing temporary files. 

3. Can I recover unsaved Word without temp files?

Yes, you'll need to use the Word Autorecover feature. These are the steps to follow to achieve that.

Step 1. Select the "File tab", then click "Info," then choose "Manage Documents."

Step 2. Click "Recover Unsaved Documents".

Step 3. Select "Open" when you've already selected the files you want to retrieve.

Step 4. Choose the "Save As" button and save your Word file.

4. Where are temporary Word files stored on a Mac?

You can locate temporary files for Mac OS Word in the Temporary folder. The Mac operating system generates these temporary files in the system's Temporary folder (TMP folder). There's a chance you might recover your lost work from there.