Recovery of an excel file after changes were saved

[The O]

Hi all.
I had an excel file which I use as a sort of template.
I inadvertantly changed the file and saved it under the original name...
Looking for help I got to an article called: How To Recover MS Excel File If
Unwanted Changes Are Made (Article ID : 150368 -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/150368
That article specifically says that the original version of the file is
deleted after the new version is saved which means that it is still on the
HD, albeit deleted. The article also says that it IS possible to recover the
file, but it doesn't say how...
I can't find the file in the recovery bin. I stopped using the computer as
soon as I found out so as not to write anything on that file's space.
Please help.

 

[Stephen]

Hi all.
I had an excel file which I use as a sort of template.
I inadvertantly changed the file and saved it under the original name...
Looking for help I got to an article called: How To Recover MS Excel File
If
Unwanted Changes Are Made (Article ID : 150368 -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/150368
That article specifically says that the original version of the file is
deleted after the new version is saved which means that it is still on the
HD, albeit deleted. The article also says that it IS possible to recover
the
file, but it doesn't say how...
I can't find the file in the recovery bin. I stopped using the computer as
soon as I found out so as not to write anything on that file's space.
Please help.

There are dozens of free "file undelete" programs, such as Restoration and
Handy Recovery. Try a Google search.

It may be an Excel file you are trying to undelete, but it isn't Excel that
can do this for you.

 

[David Biddulph]

The KB article to which you refer says:
"Third-party programs are available that can recover deleted files."

If you Google for "recover deleted files" you'll find countless examples,
which may or may not work for you.

Hopefully you'll remember in future to use the "Always create backup" option
when you save a file, then if you save over the top (once) you'll have a
backup to which you can go back. The other advice is to ensure that you
keep a separate backup of all your files on a regular basis. If you use
this file as a sort of template, don't you have a backup of it? Further
advice, of course, is that if you are going to change something, it is wise
to do a "Save As" the new filename as the *first* operation before you
forget. And yet another thought is to make your file read-only if you're
not expecting to change it.