Has there ever been a time where you felt sick in the stomach realising you have saved over the perfect Excel file? 

Maybe it was a simple edit, or a realisation at a later stage that the previous version of the spreadsheet really was what you needed after all?

You aren’t on your own.

The amazing news is, if you saved your file to OneDrive or SharePoint, Excel 365 has got your covered!

Even if you didn’t save the file separately, Excel 365 has a built in feature often enabling you to easily recover what you thought you had lost.

Working in business today, efficiency and accuracy really matter. Regardless of if you are working on a simple sales spreadsheet, analysing staff data or more complex analysis, the thought of losing data is frustrating, stress and costs time.

That’s why knowing how to access previous versions of your Excel 365 files can be a lifesaver!

3 Ways to Access Previous Versions

Check them all out or choose one that seems easiest or works in for you.

1. File Drop Menu

• Click the File Name Drop menu

With the Excel file open

• Click the drop arrow beside the file name (it’s at the very top of the screen above the ribbon titles)
• Click on Version History.
• A pane will appear on the right side of the Excel window with details of various modifications, click on one to open it up. From there you can choose to save the file.

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2. Recover An Unsaved Workbook

Have you closed the Excel file without saving it?
Excel may have saved a temporary version of your file.
Give this a try

• Open Excel 365
• Click the File tab and see if it displays in Recent open it from there.

If it isn’t showing there, try clicking More workbooks then scroll down to Recover Unsaved Workbooks button at the bottom of the screen.

• If you see your file, simply open it and click Save As!

NOTE: Because this process relies on Excel’s AutoRecover feature, you need make sure these settings are turned on. 

The settings can be turned on by clicking the File tab, choosing Options from the bottom and from the Save section, check to make sure the Save AutoRecover version if I close without saving option is selected.

You can also set up timing so it does it every 10 minutes, or less if you prefer and it shows the Autorecover location!!

Want to see it in action? Watch the video below

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3. Version History (Microsoft 365 with OneDrive or SharePoint)

A majority of Excel users will save files to OneDrive or SharePoint if you are in a corporate environment.

Not only is this helpful from a back up and access perspective, but Excel automatically tracks the changes you make to the spreadsheet and saves versions of it in the background… how awesome is that!

Here’s how to access them:

• First, open the Excel file you want to access a previous version of
• Click the File tab and choose Info then Version History.
• Review the saved versions.
• When you find the one you want you can either click restore to go back to that version of choose Open to check it out before deciding.

Want to see Version History in Action? Check out my video below.

All these options are great “in case of emergency” tools if you ever need to go back in time!

Donna’s Tips

• Check or turn on AutoSave in Excel, even changing the default timing to 5 minutes could be a lifesaver!
• Ensure you save files to OneDrive or SharePoint to make sure you can access a full history of versions.
• Take the time to read boxes that come up on your screen in Excel. They are generally there to tell you something important and it is worth paying attention!

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