[6 Ways Offered] Accidentally Deleted Excel File, How to Recover?

Have you inadvertently deleted a worksheet pane that contains critical data while working on an Excel document? It is a catastrophe! Presently, there are typically two alternatives available to you. One is to close the Excel file without saving to restore the deleted worksheet, while the other is to select the save button to retain all the changes but forfeit the opportunity to undo deleted files. It isn't easy to decide, as each option will necessitate a trade-off.

How to recover deleted Excel file

In this part, you'll see 6 ways to recover deleted Excel files.

Method 1. Recover a deleted file in Excel before saving

There is no Undo option available when a document is deleted in Excel. The simplest method to retrieve it is to close your workbook without saving the modifications and subsequently reopen it. The worksheet that was previously removed will be reinstated. However, what if you have made numerous critical modifications to your workbook and are adamant about preserving them? What is the process for recovery?

Step 1. Navigate to the "File" menu and select "Save As" to save your Excel document with a new filename.

Step 2. Reopen the original Excel document.

Step 3. Transfer the worksheet that was deleted from the original file to the newly renamed document.

This method will enable you to retain all of the modifications you have made to the Excel document and restore the data from the deleted worksheet to the newly renamed Excel document.

Method 2. Recover deleted Excel file from Recycle Bin

The Recycle Bin is a unique folder that the Windows operating system employs to temporarily store deleted objects. Therefore, it is also a viable option to retrieve deleted files from the Recycle Bin.

Step 1. Double-click the Recycle Bin icon on your Desktop to open it.

Step 2. Find the file that you want to recover.

Step 3. Right-click the file and select Restore from the menu.

Step 4. Then the Excel file will be restored to its previous location.

Method 3. Recover deleted Excel file from Cloud

If you consistently back up your computer's data to the cloud, such as Google Drive or One Drive, you may be able to retrieve expunged Excel files from the cloud.

Step 1. Open your browser and navigate to One Drive’s official website.

Step 2. Login with your credentials if you haven’t logged in.

Step 3. In One Drive, find the Excel file that you need.

Step 4. Select it and click Download on the top toolbar.

Step 5. After that, the file can be downloaded to your PC.

Method 4. Recover deleted Excel files on Windows 10/11

The Excel document may be lost as a result of a variety of factors, including unintended deletion, hard drive formatting, device damage/corruption, OS malfunction, and more. Avoid despair when confronted with these circumstances. AOMEI FastRecovery can assist in the restoration of the lost Excel file, despite its irrevocable removal.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI FastRecovery. Choose the exact partition or disk where your data lost and click Scan.

Step 2. Then, the recovery tool start to scan and search. lt will execute the “Quickly Scan" first to find your deleted data fast, and then execute the “Deep Scan" for searching other lost data.

Step 3. Once the scan is completed, all deleted files, recycle bins and other missing files will be displayed. Please select the file you would like to recover and then click "Recover".

Step 4. Then, select a folder path to save your recovered files.

Step 5. Wait patiently for this process of recovering ends.

Method 5. Recover deleted Excel file via Previous Versions

If you have enabled the Windows Backup function and saved your Excel file in a folder that is backed up by this function, you can also select the "Restore previous versions" option to recover the deleted Excel file.

Step 1. Go to the original folder of the deleted Excel file.

Step 2. Right-click it and select the Restore previous versions option from the menu to check the previous versions of this folder.

Step 3. Select the version that includes the deleted Excel file and click Restore to retrieve the document.

Method 6. Recover deleted Excel file from File History

The File History feature on your PC can be utilized to retrieve your Excel file if it has been enabled.

Step 1. Press the Windows and S keys simultaneously to open the Search window.

Step 2. Type “restore files” in the search window, and click Restore your files with File History under Best Match.

Step 3. Locate the file you want to recover, select it, and click the Restore icon on the bottom to recover it to its original location.

Bonus tips: How to avoid accidental file deletion

1. Enable automatic saving

Auto-Save is a feature that is available in certain versions of Excel. The Auto-Save feature enables the program to save each time a user ceases typing, without necessitating that the user first click on the Save button. This can decrease the likelihood of a file being lost by continually saving multiple versions of each file as users work on it.

2. Generate backup data

Another method to prevent the inadvertent deletion of your work is to generate backup files. Perhaps the most straightforward approach is to save two variants of each file as you work on it. This can be accomplished by conventionally storing a workbook, and subsequently duplicating the file to generate two distinct, identical versions.

Conclusion

This post offers six strategies to assist you in recovering the Excel file that was deleted. Until the Excel file is effectively recovered, you may attempt each one individually. AOMEI FastRecovery is an excellent option for file recovery using a Windows application.