After Microsoft Word for Mac stops responding or after you use the Force Quit command to end a Word for Mac session, you may only recover some documents when you restart the program

After Microsoft Word for Mac stops responding or after you use the Force Quit command to end a Word for Mac session, you may only recover some documents when you restart the program. Additionally, the documents that you recover do not contain the changes or additions that you made in your last Word for Mac session.

To resolve this issue, try to open the AutoRecovery files that you saved during the session. By default, Word for Mac saves all the AutoRecovery files in the following folder location: Macintosh HD/Users/username/Documents/Microsoft User Data

To open the AutoRecovery files, follow these steps:

1. Close Word for Mac.
2. On the Go menu, click Home.
3. Open the Documents folder, and then open the Microsoft User Data folder.
4. Locate all the files that start with the words "AutoRecovery save of."
5. For each file that matches this criteria, rename the file. Then, add the ".doc" file name extension.
   
   Note When you do this, the icon changes to a Word document icon.
6. If the icon does not change to a Word document icon, follow these steps:
   1. On the File menu, click Preferences.
   2. Click to select the Show all file extensions check box.
   3. Close the Advance box, and then repeat step 5.
7. Double-click the file. The document now opens in Word for Mac.

Note If the AutoRecovery files are not in the Microsoft User Data folder, verify that the default location has not changed. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Start Word for Mac.
2. On the Word menu, click Preferences.
3. Click File Locations.
4. Note the folder location that is listed for AutoRecover files.
5. Click OK. Then, quit Word.
6. Repeat the steps that are listed at the start of this section. However, instead of performing steps 2 and 3, open the folder location that you noted in step 7d.