<p>I was distracted by a phone call, and when I went back to work on the spreadsheet, I accidentally “saved” a blank page into the file I was using, thereby overwriting the actual file which contained the first 4 month’s worth of accounting data for my business.</p>
<p>ACKKKKK!!! :(</p>
<p>This JUST happened, and I have not exited from the Excel program. Is there anyone out there with some tricks, or words of wisdom, or even any ideas… can I get this data back?</p>
<p>I am not really a computer person…we do have an external hard drive with a back-up feature…not sure if or how to get to the file, but I assume at the very least, I can go grab the file from the last time it was backed up. I would have to wait for DH to come & do this later tonight after work.</p>
<p>I would LOVE to get today’s real file if possible…thereby not having to call in the DH. ;)</p>
<p>Hmmmm, you know how Excel files have different Sheets? Maybe you’re just looking at a blank SHEET and your original info is still there? Look on the bottom of the screen and see if you’re looking at “Sheet 1”. That’s the only thing I can think of for now.</p>
<p>Do you know if your Excel is set up to do a backup copy? If so, you should be able to recover because your previously saved copy is saved…see below…</p>
<p>Automatically save a backup copy of a workbook
You can use AutoRecover to have Microsoft Office Excel automatically save a backup copy every time that you save a workbook. The backup copy is a copy of the previously saved version of your workbook. As a result, you have the current saved information in the original workbook and all previously saved information in the backup copy. Each time that you save the workbook, a new backup copy replaces the existing backup copy. Saving a backup copy can protect your work if you accidentally save changes that you do not want to keep or delete the original file.</p>
<p>Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Excel Options.
In the Save category, under Save workbooks, select the Save AutoRecover information every check box.
In the minutes box, type or select a number to specify the interval for how often you want to save files.
Tip The more frequently the files are saved, the more information can be recovered if a problem (such as a power failure) occurs while a file is open.</p>
<p>Note AutoRecover is not a replacement for regularly saving your files. If you do not save a recovery file after you open it, the file is deleted and any unsaved changes are lost. If you save the recovery file, the recovery file replaces the original file (unless you specify a new file name).</p>
<p>melbert: I have had great luck typing my exact dilema into google and searching for answers. Try doing this and leaving program alone for a bit if it’s not too late,</p>
<p>I wonder if you could reopen the computer as of yesterdays date? This might actually work.</p>
<p>Article below not really that helpful but it gave me above idea. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>This is probably of no help but odds are the file exists unless you’ve been using the computer a lot since or you’re unlucky. The file sits in data blocks on the drive. When you saved a blank page, you didn’t erase those blocks; you just changed what is considered as being in that document, sort of like changing the name on a notebook and thus losing track of whatever was in it. Problem is you need software to search and recover that and it’s expensive and not on your computer.</p></li>
<li><p>Look for temp files. If you’re using a Mac, then Excel will create temporary files that will sit in a cache. You can google how to find these. I don’t know if you can get to those on Windows, but you can google that too. The temp files may well include the spreadsheet. These files can be easy to read or nearly impossible depending on the software. It’s been years since I mucked with Excel temp files so I don’t know.</p></li>
<li><p>Check the backup drive. </p></li>
<li><p>Next time, first thing you do is “Save as” when you open a document and save it with a different name or version number. That way you are working on a new version.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>UPDATE: I have given myself a head-ache from holding my breath so much today. I tried alot of things…thanks so much for all your suggestions. (the email attachment was a good idea!)</p>
<p>I was really out of luck…nothing seemed to work.</p>
<p>When all else fails, admit defeat. I called DH and he walked me through how to find a particular file on the external hard drive which does a periodic back-up. The Excel sheet had been backed up (as of YESTERDAY- can you believe it!?), I was able to find it, and restore it, and now all is right with the world- well at least my little corner of the world.</p>
<p>I now can start breathing regularly…and I have learned alot about backing up and saving spreadsheets. 8)</p>
<p>Thanks again to all who offered suggestions!</p>