When we handle a vast dataset in Excel, sometimes it becomes required for us to get the earlier version of our spreadsheet. Besides that, sometimes we accidentally close our file without saving it. Excel has amazing features to get back those types of files. If you are also interested in knowing how to recover the previous version of the Excel file, then download the practice workbook and follow us.
How to Recover Previous Version of Excel File: 4 Easy Methods
To demonstrate the approaches to recover the previous version of an Excel file, we consider a dataset of 10 text strings. So, our data set is in the range of cells B5:B14.
The name of our worksheet is Recover Previous Version of Excel File.xlsx. We will try to get the earlier version of this file.
1. Recovering from Version History
We can get the previous version of our spreadsheet from Excel’s built-in feature called Version History. For recovering a file by this option, you have to always keep your Autosave feature On. The steps of this process are given below:
📌 Steps:
- First of all, select File > Info.
- After that, select the Version History option.
- A side window called Version History will appear on the right side of our spreadsheet.
- Then, in this box, click on the Open version option to open the earlier version of our Excel file.
- Finally, you will see that the previous version of your Excel file is opened, Now, click Restore to save the file in your desired location on your computer.
Thus, we can say that our working method worked successfully and we are able to recover the previous version of our Excel file.
Read More: How to Recover Overwritten Excel File with No Previous Version
2. Retrieve Previous Version from Manage Workbook Option
An Excel built-in feature called Manage Workbook can also help us retrieve the previous version of our Excel file. Using this option we can also open the unsaved file and save it. The procedure of this process is explained below:
📌 Steps:
- At the beginning of this process, select File > Info.
- Now, select the drop-down arrow of the option Manage Workbook.
- After that, choose the option Recover Unsaved Workbooks.
- A dialog box entitled Open will appear.
- Then, select the file and click Open. The file will open in Excel.
- The file will open in Microsoft Excel.
- After that, in the File tab, select the Save As command to save the file at your desired location.
So, we can say that our process worked successfully and we are able to recover the previous version of the Excel file.
Read More: How to Recover Corrupted Excel File
3. Using File Properties to Get File
The previous version of an Excel file can also be restored from the Properties option of your device. For that, you must have to keep Turn On the File History option on your device. Otherwise, you cannot able to use this method. Follow these steps to recover your previous version of the Excel file:
📌 Steps:
- Select the file on your device.
- Now, right-click on your mouse and choose the Properties option. You can also press ‘Ctrl+Enter’ on your keyboard to launch the dialog box.
- A dialog box called Recover Previous Version of Excel File Properties will appear.
- Then, select the Previous Versions tab.
- After that, select your desired file from the list of earlier versions of that life and click Open.
- Finally, click OK to close the dialog box.
- You will see Microsoft Excel will open the file.
In the end, we can say following the steps properly you can recover the previous version of your Excel file.
4. Recover Unsaved Files from Document Recovery
Sometimes our Excel file accidentally closes without final saving due to power failure or hardware failure. In this case, Excel automatically provides you the option to recover your file data. If you don’t recover your file at that time, it will get lost forever from your device’s memory. It is a very easy process. The steps of this method are shown below as follows:
📌 Steps:
- Carefully, double-click on that file with your mouse to open it.
- As the file opens, a side window titled Document Recovery will appear on the left side of your spreadsheet.
- Now, click on the drop-down arrow beside the file name shown in that window and click on the View option. The file will open in Excel and you will see the last modification done before the failure.
- Again, click on the drop-down arrow beside the file name shown in that window and select Save As to save the file at your desired location.
- Besides, you can go from the File > Save As to save the file.
- Finally, click on Close to close the window.
At last, we can say that through this process you can recover the previous version of an unsaved file.
Download Practice Workbook
Download this practice workbook for practice while you are reading this article.
Conclusion
That’s the end of this article. I hope that this article will be helpful for you and you will be able to recover the previous version of the Excel file. If you have any further queries or recommendations, please share them with us in the comments section below.
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