How to fix information lost added to Spreadsheet in microsoft excel?

Question

How to fix information lost added to Spreadsheet in microsoft excel?

Judy Shemtob 0

I cannot find saved information added to my spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel on my MacBookA Air after 7/8/2025 to present date. I had gotten a message a week ago that I was out of memory and to close apps. Since then I have not been able to see the many lines that were added regarding manuscripts submitted to publishers.

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2 answers

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Answer 1

Judy Shemtob 0

I pressed command and space and searched for the word manuscript. I could not find any with dates after 7/28/25. There were many dates after that going into 2026. I still am missing many entries that were saved.

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Answer 2

Emma1-N 14,925 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Welcome Judy Shemtob,

I'm sorry your manuscript submission records are missing. I know how stressful that is, and I'll help you try to get them back.

To help me narrow it down:

Are the workbooks saved on your Mac, in OneDrive, or in iCloud Drive?
After the "out of memory" message, did Excel close unexpectedly, or did you choose "Don't Save" on any workbook?
Do you use Time Machine backups?

In the meantime, please try these steps:

Step 1: Unhide rows Press Command + A, then go to Home > Format > Hide & Unhide > Unhide Rows. If a column heading has a filter arrow, go to Data > Clear to show all rows.

Step 2: Check AutoRecover files In Finder, press Shift + Command + G. Paste the path below, replacing <username> with your Mac user name: /Users/<username>/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Library/Application Support/Microsoft If you find your workbook there, open it and save it right away with File > Save As.

Step 3: Restore an earlier version (OneDrive or Time Machine)

OneDrive: In Excel, select the file name at the top of the window and choose Browse Version History. OneDrive keeps version history for 30 days.
Time Machine: Open the workbook's folder in Finder, open Time Machine, go back to a backup from before the error, and click Restore

Looking forward to your update.

Judy Shemtob 0 Reputation points

2026-11-07T19:33:41.68+00:00

Thank you for your email, Emma1-N. I saved them on the Mac, possibly on Desktop-I Cloud many times. I did not use OneDrive or Time Machine. I do not understand the directions you wrote and cannot follow them. Please help.

Judy
Emma1-N 14,925 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-11-10T07:02:17.0366667+00:00
Hello Judy Shemtob,

Thank you for writing back. I'm sorry my last message was hard to follow. Let's take this one small step at a time. You don't need to be good with computers to do this.

Step 1: Search for your spreadsheet

On your keyboard, find the key that says "command". There's one on each side of the long space bar at the bottom.

Hold down "command", and while you're holding it, press the space bar once. Then let go of both keys.

A small search box will appear in the middle of your screen.

In that box, type one word from your spreadsheet's name, for example manuscripts.

A list will appear under the box. Look for any files with that name. There may be more than one.

Click a file once to open it, and check whether your newer lines are there.

If they aren't, close it and open the next file in the list.

Step 2: If you find your missing lines

Click the word "File" at the very top of your screen.

Click "Save As".

Type a new name, such as Manuscripts NEW, and click "Save".

This keeps a safe copy of your information.

If you can't find it

Please reply and tell me:

The name of your spreadsheet (or a word in the name)

How many files showed up when you searched

I'll guide you through the next step.
Emma1-N 14,925 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-11-11T07:05:47.06+00:00

Hello Judy Shemtob,

Is there any update from you? Please let me know, I will be here to assist you.