Word/Excel file accidentally overwritten: get the previous version back?
OneDrive/SharePoint version-track automatically on every save. Usually you have your previous version back within 30 seconds.
Try this first
- 1Open the file in Office online (browser) or via OneDrive web. Right-click the file > "Version history".
- 2Click an earlier version to preview. "Restore" puts it back as the new current version; intermediate versions stay available.
- 3Working via Outlook or Teams attachments: open the file online, not the downloaded copy, to access version history.
- 4For files outside OneDrive on local disk: right-click > Properties > "Previous versions" tab only works if Windows File History is on.
When to bring us in
If version history is also gone, or the file was never in OneDrive, restore falls back to the backup system. For clients we do that in about an hour.
See also
- We have backups but we do not know if they workA backup that cannot be restored is not a backup. Testing matters as much as taking the backup.
- Suspected ransomware: what to do RIGHT NOWThe first 30 minutes are critical. One wrong move spreads the damage. Read before acting.
- Someone accidentally deleted an important folderUsually fine to recover. The trick: do not save anything new on that drive until you know how.
None of the above fits?
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