How To Recover Deleted, Lost, or Unsaved PowerPoint Files on Mac?

“Due to a sudden power failure, I lost a 24-page presentation file from the MacBook while transferring it to my pen drive. Unfortunately, I do not have any backup. The presentation is very important. I have spent my blood, sweat, and tears preparing it. I want my presentation back. I am badly searching for answers to a few questions. “How to find an unsaved PowerPoint on Mac?”, “How do I recover a deleted PowerPoint presentation on Mac?” Or is there any way to recover a ppt on mac”. Can anyone help me find the answer and get my lost presentation files back?"
– An excerpt from a forum

If the above problem sounds very familiar to you, then keep reading the article to find various keys to solving your problem.

Table of Contents:

1. Can You Recover Deleted/Missing/Unsaved Powerpoint Documents on Mac?

2. How to Recover Deleted or Lost PowerPoint Files from your Macbook or iMac?

3. How to Recover PowerPoint Files that were never saved on Mac?

4. How to Enable AutoSave Feature on PowerPoint?

5. Reasons why you Usually Lose PowerPoint Files from your Mac system

Can You Recover Deleted/Unsaved PowerPoint Documents On Mac?

You can easily recover your PowerPoint files from any MacBook or iMac. Fortunately, the deleted or lost PowerPoint files can be recovered without losing the quality of the original files. All of the methods are tried and tested by real users as well as tech experts. After using the below-mentioned methods, we can assure you that you can recover your PowerPoint files without breaking any sweat.

Quick hacks to recover PowerPoint Files

If the PowerPoint files you are trying to recover were received by mail or downloaded online, you can simply recover them by following the methods below.

1. Ask the sender to resend the Presentation files.

2. Find them in the downloads folder. If you can’t find the files in the downloads folder, Click here to know how to recover deleted files from the download folder.

How To Recover Deleted Or Lost PowerPoint Files On Mac System?

You can try any of the methods mentioned below, depending on your situation.

1. Recover Mac PowerPoint Files From Mac Trash (The most recommended solution to recover manually deleted PPT files)

2. Recover Older Versions of Saved PowerPoint Files (Method to undo the latest changes made to the folder)

3. Restore PowerPoint Files From Backup (If you have a time machine backup)

4. Recover permanently Deleted PowerPoint Files From Mac Using a Safe PowerPoint Recovery Tool (The sure-shot way to recover deleted or formatted PowerPoint files from your Mac systems)

Method 1: Recover Deleted PowerPoint Files From Mac Trash Bin

The most common question PowerPoint application users usually ask is, “How to recover deleted PowerPoint on Mac?” If you have accidentally deleted PowerPoint on Mac or any file for that matter. The first thing you should do is look for them in the Trash Bin of your Mac system. The moment you delete anything, they end up in the bin of your system (for a short period of time).
Here’s how to restore deleted PPT files from Mac trash.

Step 1: Open the Trash Bin.

Step 2: Find and locate the PowerPoint files that you want to recover.

Step 3: Select the PowerPoint file(s) and click on Put Back option.

You can find the recovered PowerPoint files in the same folder where they were earlier saved.

If you didn’t find your PowerPoint files in the Trash Bin of your Macbook or iMac, you might have either recently emptied the Mac Trash folder or deleted the Powerpoint files permanently. Click here to know how to recover files deleted from the trash bin.

Method 2: Restore An Older Version Of The Saved PowerPoint Files

In case your presentation files are missing from the folder where you have saved them earlier. Thankfully you can now restore an older version of the folder (prior to deletion) where you have saved your PowerPoint files.

Step 1: Launch Finder and navigate to the folder containing the missing PowerPoint files.

Step 2: From the Time Machine menu, select Enter Time Machine to locate the Time Machine backups you generated.

Step 3: Filter for a time prior to the PowerPoint file being lost, damaged, or overwritten. Click Restore after selecting the file.

Method 3: Restore Deleted PowerPoint Files from a Time Machine Backup

WWe always suggest our readers take a backup of their important files, which can be used in unfortunate data loss situations. If you have taken a backup using a Time machine, kindly follow the steps below to know how to restore a Time Machine Backup.

Step 1: Go to Finder > Application, and run Time Machine.

Step 2: Go to Finder > All My Files, and find the PowerPoint files.

Step 3: Use the timeline on the edge of the screen to check all versions, you can select and press Space bar to preview the file.

Step 4: Click Restore to recover the previous version of missing PowerPoint files on mac.

If any one or none of the above methods have not worked out well for you, then you will need a reliable data recovery tool like the one mentioned below to recover PowerPoint on Mac effectively.

Method 4: Recover Permanently Deleted Or Missing PowerPoint Files Using Remo PowerPoint Recovery Software

Remo Mac File Recovery Software is built with advanced scanning algorithms that can effortlessly retrieve deleted and even recover lost PowerPoint on Mac with absolute ease. The tool comes with our award-winning “unique signature scan” feature that is designed to find a particular file on the basis of its file name, size, or extension.

In addition to recovering deleted files from the Mac system, the tool can also recover files from various internal and external storage devices.
Download and Install the Remo now for free!!!

Additionally, the software is compatible with all versions of macOS, including the newest Ventura, Monterey, and Big Sur.

Steps To Recover PowerPoint Files on Mac Using Remo Mac File Recovery Software

Step 1: Download, install and run Remo Recover for Mac on your computer.

Step 2: From the next screen, select the Recover Files option.

Step 3: In the next screen, you will see two options: Recover Lost Files and Recover Deleted Files; Choose the appropriate option to recover the PPT files from your Mac.

Step 4: The software shows the volumes available on the Mac operating system; choose the drive om which PPT files must be retrieved and click on the Next button.

Step 5: The software immediately scans and shows the recovered data on your screen. Validate the deleted PowerPoint file recovery process by seeing the recovered files using the Preview option.

Step 6: Once you are pleased with the PowerPoint recovery on Mac, please activate the tool and save the recovered PowerPoint Presentations or PPT Files to a location of your preference.

Remo can not only retrieve PowerPoint files but can also effortlessly recover unsaved or deleted word files from Mac.

How To Recover Powerpoint File Not Saved on Mac?

If you have not enabled the autosave feature or if you have not saved any PowerPoint files due to any reason such as unexpected power failure or any other reason. Here are ways to recover unsaved PowerPoint files on Mac.

1. Recover PowerPoint Files that were never saved on Mac from the Saved Drafts Folder

2. Recover Unsaved PPT Files on Mac from TEMP Folder

3. Recover Unsaved Mac PowerPoint Files using the AutoRecover Option

Method 1: Recover PowerPoint Files from the Saved Drafts Folder

Follow the steps mentioned below to restore unsaved PowerPoint mac files.

Step 1: Open the PowerPoint on your PC.

Step 2: Click on the File tab in the top left corner > Choose Open > In the Recent section.

Step 3: Click Recover Unsaved Presentations in the bottom right corner.

Step 4: The Saved Drafts folder will open. Find your files and double-click on it to open. Then save the file.

Method 2: Recover Unsaved PPT on Mac from the TEMP Folder

You can recover any unsaved files from the Temp Folder aka the temporary folder. Where all the files get automatically saved for a short period of time. Here is how you can access the unsaved files and get them back.

Step 1: Go to Applications > Utilities > and double click on the Terminal.

Step 2: In Terminal, type open $TMPDIR to get to the TEMP folder.

Step 3: Locate and access the TemporaryItems folder in the TMP folder. Right-click on the unsaved PowerPoint file and select Open with Microsoft PowerPoint.

Step 4: Save the Word file to a different place by selecting File > Save As.

Method 3: Use AutoRecover Option to Recover Unsaved PowerPoint Files

If you've been having trouble with auto recover PowerPoint Mac, keep in mind that the files are saved temporarily in the autosave folder. You must first discover the PowerPoint autosave location Mac to resolve the issue.

Step 1: Select Go to Folder from the menu.

Step 2: Navigate to the autosave folder: /Users/username /Library/Containers/com.Microsoft.Powerpoint/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery.

Step 3: Once you've found the file you're looking for, open it in Microsoft Office and save it to your computer.

We highly recommend you enable the AutoSave option in PowerPoint. So that you may never lose any unsaved PPT files in the future. Luckily, by default, the latest versions of the PowerPoint application come with an active AutoSave option.
If you are using, an older version or the AutoSave feature is disabled on your Mac system. Follow the steps to activate it.

How To Enable AutoRecover or AutoSave option in PowerPoint?

Step 1: On PowerPoint menu, you will find on option called preferences, Click on it.

Step 2: Click Save.

Step 3: In the Save Auto Recover info box, enter how frequently you want the program to save documents. The user can also preview the previously saved documents.

Step 4: Adjust the frequency according to your requirement.

Step 5: AutoSave automatically saves the file once the has finished working.

If you want to know why other Mac users lose their PowerPoint files, read the next section, which talks about the most common reasons behind the loss of PowerPoint files on Mac systems.

Common Reasons Behind PowerPoint Files Missing or Lost on Mac Computers.

Below listed are a few reasons why most users lose their PPT files from Mac:

• Accidental Deletion – In some cases, you might unknowingly delete the .ppt files.
• Corruption of File system.
• Application Crash – In some scenarios, the application may start to malfunction and the PowerPoint files may be inaccessible.
• Lost files during partial transfer process – Partially transferred PPT presentation files due to facing sudden power surge or power failure or even system crashes result in PowerPoint files missing from the location.
• Virus Attack – Virus or other malware attacks are very unfortunate yet one of the most common issues faced by thousands of computer users every day. You might have downloaded PowerPoint files received from any unreliable source.
• Formatting – Accidentally formatting the disk where you have saved your files. Can also lead to data loss.

Important Note: Accepting files without anti-virus scanning may result in PowerPoint file application crashes.

Closing Thoughts

Hopefully, by now, you know how to recover deleted slides in PowerPoint in Mac or iMac. Irrespective of whether the files which are no longer available on your system were saved or never saved, the methods explained here will help you get back all of your PPT files safely.