4 Ways to Recover Unsaved Microsoft Project Files

Various factors can cause Microsoft Project file loss, such as app crash, human error, computer glitch, power failure, virus attack, disk damage, unstable network, etc. Nobody wants to deal with MS file recovery, especially when a Microsoft Project file is unsaved? But no worries. This article will offer an extensive selection of easy solutions to recover Microsoft Project files, whether they are unsaved or corrupted.

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Recover Lost, Deleted Microsoft Project Files

• Recover lost, deleted MS Project files in .mpp, .xml, .pdf, ,xps, etc.
• Recover MS Project files from internal and external storage device
• Also recover other unsaved Microsoft Office documents: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Keynote, Pages, Numbers, etc.
• Repair damaged videos, photos or documents with ease
• Support 1000+ files recovery: video, photo, document, email, archive, bookmark, etc.
• Applicable to different data loss situations: deletion, formatting, virus attack, system upgrade/downgrade, human errors, etc.
• Recover files to local drive, external media and cloud
• Recover data from NAS/Linux/RAID/Partition/iCloud/Crashed PC & Mac

Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7 Free Download macOS 10.15 or later

Where's Microsoft Project Autorecover Location？

It is lucky that Microsoft Project allows auto saving files without hitting the Save button, which helps to recover an unsaved MS Project file.

The AutoRecover location in Microsoft Project is a critical resource to restore unexpectedly lost files. The path where Microsoft Project files are stored can vary depending on your system settings. But in most cases, it is located here: C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive\Documents. You may save it on your local drive, or cloud drive.

To find the Microsoft Project auto save location, you can open the program, go to File > Options > Save, and check the default file location in the box. Also, you and customize the location, interval or others as needed.

How to Recover Unsaved Microsoft Project Files?

Speaking of recovering Microsoft Project files not saved, things would be simpler if you have synced the files with any cloud services like OneDrive. In that case, unsaved MS Project files might be available in cloud backup. Otherwise, see below for 4 options to recover unsaved files in Microsoft Project 2024/2021 or older versions.

1# Recover Unsaved MS Project File with AutoSave Feature

Although Microsoft Project is excluded from any of the suites of Microsoft Office, it's still designed with a helpful backup feature --- AutoSave, like those MS Office products. Once enabled, this built-in feature will save any changes you have made to your MS Project files, thus reducing the risk of losing unsaved data. This is how to restore unsaved Microsoft Project files using AutoSave:

1. Open MS Project app > select File tab.
2. Scroll down to choose Options.
3. Go to Save > find the AutoSave folder from the Default File Location box.
4. Copy, paste and enter this folder path in File Explorer > look for autosaved files by searching Autosave_Projectname.mpp or other similar extensions.
5. Locate the most recent .mpp files > double-click on them to save them to a safe location as you like.

2# Recover Previous Version of Microsoft Project File

In addition to born feature in MS Project, another system backup feature --- Restore Previous Versions could come to rescue concerning unsaved Microsoft Project file recovery. Likewise, this function will back up files and folders inside your Windows automatically if File History has been turned on before any accidents, which makes it possible to trace your MS Project file not saved. Check out the instructions below:

1. Launch File Explorer > go to the folder where you set to save your MS Project files.
2. Right-click on its empty space > choose Properties.
3. Select Previous Versions tab > choose the backup that may includes your unsaved Microsoft Project file > click Restore to get back it.

3# Recover Microsoft Project File from Temp folder

Temp folder refers to the temporary files directory on your PC. When unexpected software crashes happen, MS Project app will automatically save temp copies of your documents, so that the unsaved file tends to be kept in Temp folder temporarily. Where are MS Project temp files stored? The storage location should be: C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Local\Temp. Here are the steps to recover unsaved Microsoft Project files from Temp folder.

1. Press Win+R to initiate Run windows.
2. Input %temp% into the box > click OK to enter Temp folder.
3. Search for unsaved MS Project files with file extensions like .mpp, .mpt, .msp, etc.

4# Use The Best Microsoft Project Recovery Tool

If you want the highest chance of MS Project file recovery, the top priority should be making use of a professional data recovery tool. Here Cisdem Data Recovery is the most recommended one. Among a plethora of competitors on the current market, Cisdem stands out with its signature one-click recovery method and wide range of extra features.

It’s one of the best data recovery programs designed to restore unsaved, deleted, formatted and lost files from PC, laptop, USB flash drive, SD card, digital camera and other commonly-used storage devices. Besides MS Project files, Cisdem is capable of retrieving all kinds of Microsoft Office documents, covering Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook emails...

More reasons to consider Cisdem Data Recovery:

• Recover more than 1000 file types: document, photo, video, audio, archive, email, etc.
• Recover unsaved files in multiple formats
• Repair damaged images, videos and even documents
• Support crashed PC/NAS/Linux/RAID/Partition recovery
• Locate wanted files efficiently using file filters and search bar
• Preview recoverable items before recovery
• Export or import scanning results to skip rescanning
• Highly compatible with Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista and macOS Tahoe, Sequoia, etc.

Guide on how to recover unsaved/deleted Microsoft Project files:

1. Free download and install Cisdem Microsoft Project File Recovery on your PC. Launch it.
   Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7
2. Choose Data Recovery > Hardware Disk from the left panel, select the location where you lost your MS Project files, and click Search for Lost Data.
3. Cisdem will display scan results based on different file categories. To recover unsaved Microsoft Project files, go to Type > Documents > .mpp and specify the desired files. 
4. Select the MS Project files you need to restore, and click Recover to get them back.

And you can check the video from Cisdem's Official to find back your lost MS Project:

Bonus: How to Recover Corrupted MS Project File?

With respect to repairing a corrupted Microsoft Project file, there are 2 choices: repair within MS Project app and use online repair tool. Let’s dive into the finer details.

1# Recover Corrupted .mmp File in Microsoft Project

MS Project has a feature for sharing files that can also be used to repair corrupted files. See below for how to access it.

1. First we need to add the Save for Sharing button to the little Quick Access Toolbar. To do this, click Customize Quick Access Toolbar icon.
2. Choose More Commands.
3. In the Project Options dialogue, choose commands from All Commands > locate Save for Sharing.
4. On the right, select the button below which you want add Save for Sharing > click Add in the middle > click OK.
5. Open the corrupted MS Project file.
6. Click Save for Sharing button.
7. A Save As window will pop up. Select the location where you want to save the .mpp file to be generated > click Save.
8. Close the project you just saved.
9. Open the .mpp file you just saved.
10. Go to File > Save As > Save button in the Project Web App section.
11. Continue to click Save to recover corrupted MS Project file properly.

2# Repair Corrupt MS Project File Online

If you think the above method is too complicated, alternatively, it’s suggested to try a piece of online Microsoft Project file repair tool. Take Recovery Toolbox for Project for instance, follow up the step-by-step guide below to recover a damaged Microsoft Project file online.

1. Visit Repair Project Online with your browser.
2. Click Select File button to upload your corrupted MS Project document.
3. Enter your email address > click Next Step.
4. Wait for the project to be repaired.
5. After repairing, you can click Preview to see the repaired result. If satisfied with the result, you need to pay for downloading the repaired Microsoft Project file.

Bottom Line

That sinking feeling when you can’t find your MS Project files which have taken much of your time and energy, is something many of us know too well. Fortunately, this article comes in great handy to tell about how to recover unsaved Microsoft Project files without effort. The most recommended way to recover unsaved MS Project file is adopting Cisdem Data Recovery. More importantly, it’s always a good practice to keep a backup going to stop future issues from removing your files.