Saved document has gone out of the blue

[LizLoves]

Hello, all.

I am currently using Open Office 3.4.1, on Windows 7. I went to open a document this morning, only to find that it has disappeared. I never deleted it, by accident or otherwise (no sign of it in the recycle bin). It wasn't backed up (*sigh*). No recent computer crashes or anything like that. Trying to open it from the recent documents tab yields an error message telling me the file doesn't exist. I ran a search of my whole computer, and the file turned up in a "recent items" folder, but when I click on it, I get the message: "The item that this shortcut refers to has been changed or moved, so this shortcut will no longer work properly".

I've never had a problem of this sort before, and I'm flummoxed. Even if my document is gone for good (I have a sinking feeling it is), does anyone know why this would happen and how I can prevent it in the future?

Thank you.

[RoryOF]

Try an undelete utility, such as Recuva or PhotoRec. You need try only one of these, and the sooner the better.

[LizLoves]

I'm giving it a go... thanks!

[LizLoves]

No luck, unfortunately.

[Bill]

You may be able to restore a previous version of the file:

Previous versions of files: frequently asked questions

[LizLoves]

I'd tried that already, and tried again at your suggestion. Got hopeful for a second when a previous version actually popped up, but it will neither open nor restore.

[John_Ha]

It sounds like you have moved the document to a different folder.

Search your entire PC for the document by going to Start ..., typing in a word you used in the document in the Search box, and pressing Enter. W7 will now search your PC to find all Word, Writer documents, PDF files etc which contain that word (so it's best to use a less common word!) and all files with that word in the filename. Click See more results, and click the Date modified column to sort them into date order. Look for the most recent ones.

If this solves the problem, please edit your original post title to [Solved].

[John_Ha]

Trying to open it from the recent documents tab yields an error message telling me the file doesn't exist.

That's not quite correct - the error message means the file does not exist at the location you specified. It might exist elsewhere.

Even if my document is gone for good (I have a sinking feeling it is), does anyone know why this would happen and how I can prevent it in the future?

Always set AutoRecovery to save a copy of the file every few minutes while you are working on it - it protects you against things like power cuts, OS freezes etc. Tools > Options > Load/Save > General ...

Always??? set Create a backup copy to ON - this keeps the previously saved version of the file fred.odt as fred.bak in the Backup folder. Tools > Options > Load/Save > General ... The Backup folder location is shown by Tools > Options > OpenOffice > Paths ... - you may need to switch on Show hidden files (Control Panel > Folder Options > View ...) to be able to see the folder and its contents. Why ??? Because you should remember that highly_personal.bak will still be there long after you deleted highly_personal.odt!!

If you are lucky, you might be able to un-delete some of the temporary files which Writer wrote while you were editing the .odt file, and then deleted when you closed Writer. Act quickly - they risk being overwritten the longer you leave it. Note that this only works if you were editing a .odt file - it does not work if you were editing a .doc file.

Using RECUVA to un-delete Writer temporary files which are now deleted

Another on RECUVA

These may also be helpful.

Using 7-ZIP

Inside an odt file

Hints on how to prevent it happening

[LizLoves]

Definitely did not move the document. I hadn't so much as touched it for a few days, which is part of why this is so befuddling. I've run multiple searches of the whole PC. It only turns up a "shortcut" that won't open (as mentioned in my original post). It's like a ghost file. Sadly, RECUVA didn't turn up anything.
I have changed my settings to create backup copies now. I'm not actually that concerned about freezing/crashing, etc., because I am super OCD about saving my work while I am editing it. It gets re-saved every minute or two. Is it reasonable to hope that the backup will work in cases like this, where the document just vanishes for no apparent reason? I'm half afraid to do anything new with Open Office now.
Thanks to everyone, for trying to help!

[thomasjk]

Multiple backups are always best. Don't depend solely on the .bak file.

[John_Ha]

I cannot believe that the document file has just disappeared as you describe it because, much as I vigorously complain about Windows, there just is not a way for it to happen. The only way I can think for it to disappear is if you were editing the .odt file while it was attached to an email, by opening it while you were reading the email. In that case, the .odt file is stored in the email system's temporary folder and the .odt file may have been deleted when you closed the email client. I use Thunderbird for email, and it prevents me editing an attachment specifically to save me from that error - I am forced to choose where to save it.

If you weren't doing that, keep looking for it. Make sure you first switch on Hidden files by Control Panel > Folder options > View ..., and tick Show hidden files. Also Un-tick Hide extensions for known files and un-tick Hide protected system files. Can you now find it? Use Start > Search as described above and search for *.odt, search for the file name (without qualifier just in case you saved it as .doc), search for words you know were in the file. When you go to See more results, scroll down to the bottom and click Custom in Search again ..., and be sure to select all your drives, and do a new search.

[LizLoves]

Multiple backups are always best. Don't depend solely on the .bak file.

That sounds prudent. I'm a writer, and pretty careful about making backups in general. This one just slipped through the cracks.

There was no emailing involved. Hidden files are set to be shown, and I unticked the other options as you suggested. No change. All that comes up is the same infuriating shortcut in the recent items folder that won't open.

Never had a problem like this in years of using word processors. I promise I'm not as stupid as I probably sound.

[John_Ha]

If you look carefully, that shortcut is stored in C:\Users\Lizzie\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent items\ and the odt file itself won't be there. Navigate to the shortcut, and r-click it - what location is it pointing to?

Have you tried Start > Search and type in query? or type in draft? What happens when you do?

Have you searched the C:\ disk? And have you searched the D:\ disk?

[jrkrideau]

Might I suggest Dropbox as a useful backup approach?

[John_Ha]

Assuming that you have two physical disks, and not one disk partitioned into two disks, backing up to the alternate disk would be very simple, very fast and effective for most scenarios.

[LizLoves]

If you look carefully, that shortcut is stored in C:\Users\Lizzie\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent items\ and the odt file itself won't be there. Navigate to the shortcut, and r-click it - what location is it pointing to?

Have you tried Start > Search and type in query? or type in draft? What happens when you do?

Have you searched the C:\ disk? And have you searched the D:\ disk?

Says it's still where it's supposed to be. Grr.

Start>Search leads to the same shortcut file mentioned above, and so does searching C:\ disk. Nothing comes up searching D:\.

[Villeroy]

[Open File Location]

[John_Ha]

And what happens when you look inside C:\users\Lizzy\Desktop\P&P\M and D\I(Dragons)...? I guess you cannot see it.

In summary, I think there are only two methods to delete a file without it going into the Recycle bin - use a program to delete it (eg delete it from a window in Writer), or r-click the file and go shift/delete. In both cases, a copy can be un-deleted by Recuva.

If you did not delete the file, you either moved it elsewhere, so search for recent files; or renamed it. In both cases Recuva will not see the original file, but you might be able to un-delete some of the potentially quite old temporary files which Writer wrote while you were editing the original file. See the following, which only work if you were saving as .odt files.

Using RECUVA to un-delete Writer temporary files which are now deleted

Another on RECUVA.

[LizLoves]

Thanks much for all the help, but I'm throwing in the towel. Though I really wanted to recover this document, it is not worth losing my sanity over. Thanks again.

[RoryOF]

Although I have not lost a document in years of heavy use of OpenOffice, I make a point of manually backing up any extended documents being worked on. I do this just before every morning or afternoon editing session, by saving the last version to MyDocument20150816.odt (where the 2015 08 15 is the date); I can add the time if necessary. When a session is complete it is also helpful to close the document, then OpenOffice, and then powerdown the computer. Trying to do these three actions in one operation or at extreme speed can cause file loss. The few extra seconds taken will be a lot less than the time needed to rewrite a damaged or vanished file.