Recover Unsaved Microsoft Project Files

Updated 5 November 2026 · Standard formula, shown below

If Microsoft Project closes before you save, your unsaved work is not necessarily gone. You can recover it through the built-in AutoRecover feature, the Recover Unsaved Documents tool, or by checking temporary files. This article explains each method step by step, what to do if the standard recovery fails, and how to prevent data loss in the future.

How Microsoft Project Handles Unsaved Work

Microsoft Project, like other Office applications, has an AutoRecover feature that saves temporary copies of your project at regular intervals. By default, AutoRecover saves every 10 minutes, but you can change this interval. When Project crashes or you close it without saving, the next time you open the program it should show a Document Recovery pane on the left side of the screen. This pane lists any files that were recovered, including versions that were never saved by you.

Additionally, Project keeps a separate copy of files you have never saved at all. These are stored in a special folder and can be accessed through the Recover Unsaved Documents dialog. Understanding these two mechanisms is the key to getting your work back.

Method 1: Use the Document Recovery Pane

When you restart Microsoft Project after a crash or forced shutdown, the program usually opens with the Document Recovery pane. This pane shows all files that were open when the problem occurred. Each file may have multiple versions, such as the last AutoRecovered version and the original saved version.

Open Microsoft Project.
Look for the Document Recovery pane on the left side of the window.
Click the drop-down arrow next to the file you want to recover.
Choose Open to view the file, or Save As to immediately save it to a permanent location.
If you don’t see the pane, go to File > Open > Recent and look for a button labeled Recover Unsaved Documents at the bottom of the screen.

If the Document Recovery pane does not appear automatically, you can manually trigger it by going to File > Info > Manage Versions and selecting Recover Unsaved Documents.

Method 2: Find AutoRecover Files Manually

If the Document Recovery pane is empty or doesn’t show your file, you can search for the AutoRecover files directly. These files have the .tmp extension or start with the project name followed by a tilde (~). The default location for AutoRecover files in Microsoft Project is:

Windows 10/11: C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles
Older versions: C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Project

To find them:

Press Win + R to open the Run dialog.
Type %localappdata%\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles and press Enter.
Look for files with the .tmp extension or files that start with ~$.
Copy any promising files to your desktop and change the extension to .mpp.
Open them in Microsoft Project.

If you don’t find anything there, search your entire system for *.tmp files that were modified around the time you lost your work. You can also search for the name of your project file with a tilde prefix, such as ~$MyProject.mpp.

Method 3: Check the Recycle Bin and Shadow Copies

If you saved the file at least once but then made changes that you didn’t save, the original saved version may still be intact. Check the Recycle Bin for a deleted copy. If you use Windows File History or System Restore, you can also try restoring a previous version of the file:

Right-click the folder where the file was saved.
Select Properties > Previous Versions tab.
If a previous version is listed, select it and click Restore.

This works only if you had saved the file at some point and if File History or a restore point was enabled before the loss.

What to Do If Standard Recovery Fails

Sometimes the built-in tools don’t find anything. In that case, try these steps:

Search the entire drive for files with the .mpp extension. Use File Explorer and type *.mpp in the search box.
Look for backup files created by Project. Go to File > Options > Save and check the AutoRecover file location box to see where Project is saving backups.
If you use a cloud service like OneDrive or SharePoint, check the version history online. Right-click the file in your web browser and select Version history.
Use a third-party file recovery tool that can scan for deleted files. These tools work best if you stop using the drive immediately after the loss, because new data can overwrite the deleted file.

How to Prevent Future Data Loss

The best recovery is the one you never need. To protect your work:

Set AutoRecover to save every 5 minutes. Go to File > Options > Save and change the minutes in the Save AutoRecover information every box.
Make sure the Keep the last autosaved version if I close without saving checkbox is ticked.
Save your project to OneDrive or SharePoint so that version history is automatically maintained.
Use File > Save As to create a new copy of your project at key milestones.
If you close Project by accident, immediately reopen it and check the Document Recovery pane before doing anything else.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does Microsoft Project keep unsaved files?

Unsaved files are typically kept for 25 days by default. After that, the system may delete them. You can change this duration in the same Save options dialog where you set the AutoRecover interval. If you are looking for a file that is older than that, it may be gone permanently.

Can I recover an unsaved file if I didn’t have AutoRecover enabled?

If AutoRecover was turned off, your chances are much lower. However, you can still check the UnsavedFiles folder and look for temporary files. In some cases, Project creates a temporary file even when AutoRecover is disabled, but this is not guaranteed. The best approach is to enable AutoRecover now so you don’t face this problem again.

What is the difference between AutoRecover and Recover Unsaved Documents?

AutoRecover saves periodic copies of files you are working on, whether they were previously saved or not. Recover Unsaved Documents specifically opens the folder where Project stores copies of files that have never been saved by you. Both are part of the same system, but the Recover Unsaved Documents tool gives you direct access to the unsaved file folder.

Why didn’t the Document Recovery pane appear after a crash?

The Document Recovery pane usually appears after an unexpected shutdown, but it can fail to show if the file was not open long enough for AutoRecover to create a copy, or if the AutoRecover file became corrupted. You can still manually open the UnsavedFiles folder to look for the file. If you find a .tmp file, rename it to .mpp and try to open it.

Can I recover an unsaved Project file on a Mac?

Microsoft Project is not available for Mac, so this article applies to Windows. If you are using a Mac, you would be using a different project management tool, and its recovery options will be different. For Windows users, the methods described here are the standard ones.

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