If you’ve spent hours even days writing a document in Apple Pages, but left it unsaved or deleted, this guide covers all the solutions.
Ignoring the arguments about iWork Pages VS Microsoft Word, more and more Mac users get used to editing in Apple Pages app. We may spend a lot of time on a Pages file, so whenever we lost the file due to sudden power off without saving or accidental deletion, we get into a panic and don’t know what to do.
Actually it is not that difficult to recover an unsaved or deleted document in Apple Pages, once you learn how in this guide.
Cisdem Data Recovery
Recovering knowledge is required to get back an unsaved Pages document? Not at all. You can start easy and work your way up, because Apple Pages has an autosave feature and it lets users regain their access to a file using different ways, also there are dedicated tools to get the task easily done.
Yes, Pages saves automatically on a Mac, because of Auto-save.
Auto-save is a part of MacOS, allowing an app to autosave the document users are working on. When you are editing on a document, the changes are saved automatically, there will be no “Save” command appears.
In other words, whenever your Pages document is left unsaved due to sudden power off or program crash, you can just launch Pages app again, then it will automatically open the Pages documents that are never saved on your Mac, you just need to edit and save the file as you like.
If it doesn’t work, keep reading on.
File recovery itself is time consuming and not a thing that can be easily done. It involves labor-intensive work to extract the data and each case can be unique. Though there are online and remote services, but many of them are not reliable and the quotes are quite expensive.
Therefore, a data recovery program becomes the game-changer. Whether you want to recover unsaved, deleted or damaged files from different kinds of storage disks and devices, it offers the easiest solution to recover your data offline at a low cost.
Choosing a suitable data recovery program can be overwhelming, with so many options available. By considering the scanning speed, supported formats, recovery rate and features, Cisdem Data Recovery is picked as the most reliable tool to restore Pages document easily. It is designed to restore 1000+ types of files on internal and external hard drive, including Pages, Keynote, Numbers, PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and others. Also, it supports the latest macOS Sequoia and M4 chip.
Free Download macOS 10.11 or later 
tips: Tips: If you cannot find the unsaved Pages document in Unsaved Files Folder, go checking Type > Documents > Pages.
If Pages doesn’t open and recover unsaved document automatically, we can also find the file in AutoSave location according to following steps.
Another quick trick is to make use of the built-in function of Pages --- Open Recent Files. This is how to recover a Pages document that wasn’t saved.
Also, you can try your luck in the temporary folder, if you cannot find your Pages document anywhere on the Mac. Temporary folder stores the temporary files created by the system or a program, there might be a copy of the Pages document there.
If you have synced the Pages document from your Mac to iCloud by saving this file in iCloud Drive folder on your Mac, even if you left the Pages document unsaved on your Mac, the latest edited version will be displayed in iCloud Pages in real time.
You just need to open a web browser and sign into icloud.com, then check the synced version and download a copy.
In the case you just create a new Pages document, you don’t have enough time to name the file before any problems happen, and hence have no idea where you stored the Pages document, here is the solution to recover the untitled Pages document that wasn’t saved.
Accidentally deleted a Pages document, even emptied the Trash bin and realized you deleted the file by mistake? The recovery process can be pain sailing if you find the right solution or tool.
The methods to recover deleted Pages document are quite different from those for recovering unsaved Page document. It depends on if you have a backup or not, if a Pages document is permanently deleted, a professional Pages recovery tool is required.
If you don’t perform any other action on your Mac after deleting the Pages document, you can undo the deletion from Finder menu.
This is an easy yet easily-overlooked way to recover a deleted Pages document. In fact, when we delete a document on the Mac, it is just moved to the Trash bin instead of being permanently deleted. If you haven’t performed the step of "Delete Immediately" in the Trash bin, you can still recover the deleted Pages document.
If you are the one get used to back up files with Time Machine, you are able to recover deleted Pages document with Time Machine backup. Time Machine is a program allowing users to back up their files onto an external hard drive and find the deleted or lost file back when files are gone or corrupted for some reason.
If you’ve enabled the sync-up from Mac Pages to iCloud Pages, even you deleted a Pages document on Mac, the iCloud backup file is still there, you can transfer a copy to your Mac.
Also, if you once sent this deleted Pages document to a contact before, there would be a shareable link, you can check your emails or any other app that you once sent the link.
But what if you don’t have a backup, and the Pages document is permanently deleted? Then it might be time to consider using a professional data recovery program.
That might sound daunting to pick the best, but we have chosen the best one for you, Cisdem Data Recovery. Yes, it can not only recover an unsaved Pages file, but also retrieved permanently deleted Pages document on a Mac.
Free Download macOS 10.9 or later
In conclusion, no matter you want to recover unsaved Pages document on Mac, or recover deleted Pages document, as long as you use the appropriate method, we are able to find them back. Also, we should always remember that, backup all your important files before your files are gone forever.
Connie Yu has been a columnist in the field of data recovery since 2011. She studied a lot of data loss situations and tested repeatedly to find a feasible solution tailored for each case. And her solutions are always updated to fix problems from the newest systems, devices and apps.
Sarah J. Duran
Cisdem worked for me. I started the scanning and went to Unsaved Files, though I could not find the unsaved one with a file name that I remembered, there was an untitled file, I previewed the file and it was the right one! Thanks.
Megan
I found this page useful. Love the tutorial video inserted. I have got back my deleted Pages document successfully.
Gregersenartpoint
Note: to ensure a better recover lost Pages document, you’d better not any anything on your Mac after you lost the Pages document and try the following steps quickly, the sooner the better.
amanda
If you have emptied the trash can, then you should check out the part 3 to recover Pages document on Mac.
JImena Velazco
I just have to say, thank you so much to whomever provided this cheat code to gain access to a Pages doc that did not save. You are a lifesaver!