Is it possible to restore a spreadsheet that was accidentally overwritten?

Do you have a backup version?

Did you email someone a copy (check your sent folder or ask for a copy back)?

Was it stored on a network drive? Get your IT staff to restore from a backup
tape?

Is there a copy in the recycle bin?



Laura wrote:

Is it possible to restore a spreadsheet that was accidentally overwritten?

--

Dave Peterson

Aside from the suggestions Dave made, there is no purposeful saving of older
workbook versions built into Excel. However, I use a free utility called
AutoSafe (I've disabled Excel's own autosave feature), available from
http://jkp-ads.com, which regularly saves a backup in a directory you
choose. When it saves a new backup, the old one is in the recycle bin. I
allow typically a few days of backups to accumulate in the recycle bin, so I
can retrieve something critical.

- Jon
-------
Jon Peltier, Microsoft Excel MVP
Tutorials and Custom Solutions
http://PeltierTech.com
_______


"Laura" wrote in message
...
Is it possible to restore a spreadsheet that was accidentally overwritten?

If a file has been deleted it (normally) goes into the Recycle Bin in which
it will stay until it is emptied.

At this point the chances of recovery decrease dramatically. As you use the
computer there is a chance that some or all of your file will be
overwritten. You may like to use something like Restoration, available free
from http://www.snapfiles.com/get/restoration.html. It is advisable to
download and install this on another hard disk (if available) to decrease
the possibility of overwriting your file.

Regards.

Bill Ridgeway
Computer Solutions

"Laura" wrote in message
...
Is it possible to restore a spreadsheet that was accidentally overwritten?

i have the exact same problem just now, accidentally pressed the save key at
the wrong time and lost almost all of my work. since none of the conditions
you set below apply to me, doe it mean i have lost all that data forever?



"Dave Peterson" wrote:

Do you have a backup version?

Did you email someone a copy (check your sent folder or ask for a copy back)?

Was it stored on a network drive? Get your IT staff to restore from a backup
tape?

Is there a copy in the recycle bin?



Laura wrote:

Is it possible to restore a spreadsheet that was accidentally overwritten?

--

Dave Peterson

Yep. If you can't find a backup copy, that data is gone.

One of the things I do when I know I'm making significant changes is:
file|open
select my file in the dialog
click on the dropdown arrow on the Open button
and open the file in Readonly mode.

That way I can't overwrite my original workbook (well, without doing a bunch of
junk).

I sometimes save files with names like:

book1_2006_07_25.xls

And if I'm making lots of changes and really scared I'll mess it up, I'll even
have files that look like:

book1_2006_07_25__09_58.xls
later
book1_2006_07_25__14_33.xls


Yes, I can have lots of clutter in those folders--but it's saved me a few
times--and it's pretty easy to clean up that clutter when I know that everything
is ok.

(Disk space is cheap. Your time is expensive.)



JoelP wrote:

i have the exact same problem just now, accidentally pressed the save key at
the wrong time and lost almost all of my work. since none of the conditions
you set below apply to me, doe it mean i have lost all that data forever?

"Dave Peterson" wrote:

Do you have a backup version?

Did you email someone a copy (check your sent folder or ask for a copy back)?

Was it stored on a network drive? Get your IT staff to restore from a backup
tape?

Is there a copy in the recycle bin?



Laura wrote:

Is it possible to restore a spreadsheet that was accidentally overwritten?

--

Dave Peterson


--

Dave Peterson