How to Recover Deleted Excel File on Mac

Ever deleted an Excel file on your Mac and thought, “Eh, I don’t need that”—until you realize it held critical info you now desperately need? Or maybe you cleaned out some files, only to find out you tossed something important? While it might feel like the file is gone forever, there are actually solid ways to bring it back. Our team has helped plenty of people recover their deleted Excel files on Macs, and after years of handling file mishaps, we’ve put together a few simple steps to help you find lost Excel files on Mac. Let’s get started.

Start with Basic Search and Trash Recovery

You should always start with the simplest steps to recover your deleted Excel file on a Mac. Maybe it’s not even deleted—just hiding somewhere. Let’s run through a couple of quick methods to find it.

Search for Lost Excel File with Finder’s Filters

You can use Finder’s search to look across your Mac quickly and thoroughly; it has all kinds of filters to narrow down your results. Here’s how to make the most of it:

1. Click the Finder icon in your Dock.
2. Enter the file name if you remember it. If not, type “.xls” or “.xlsx” to display all Excel files on your Mac. This pulls up every Excel file.
3. Use the “+” button below the search bar to refine your results.

Here are some specific tips for filtering:

• Date Modified – Set this to the day you last worked on the file. For files you created or edited in the past week, setting a date range can help you zero in faster.
• File Size – If you remember the file’s approximate size, add this filter. For instance, if your Excel file was large due to extensive data, set a minimum file size to filter out smaller, unrelated files.
• File Location – You can expand your search by selecting “This Mac” or narrow it down to a specific folder, like Documents or Downloads.
• Name Variations – If you’ve forgotten the file name, try partial names or keywords from within the file. Finder can pick up on these variations and may still identify the file you’re after.

You can alternatively use Spotlight to search across your whole Mac. Press Command + Space to open Spotlight, then type the file name, or use “.xls” or “.xlsx” to pull up all Excel files. Spotlight scans everywhere on your Mac.

Nothing in Finder? Check the Trash for Recently Deleted Files

The Trash might seem like the obvious place, but we can’t ignore it—we have to mention it to be thorough. When you delete a file on your Mac, it usually heads straight to the Trash, where it stays until you decide to empty it. Think of it as a “just in case” holding area for files you’re not quite ready to part with. This gives you a chance to restore anything you deleted by accident, your Excel files included.

To retrieve a deleted Excel file from the Trash, open the Trash from your Dock and scroll through the files. Recent deletions will usually be near the top, so if you just deleted the file, it should be easy to spot. Once you find the file, right-click (or Control-click) on it and select Put Back. This will restore the file to its original location, so you’ll find your deleted Excel file right where it was on your Mac before you deleted it.

If you don’t see your Excel file in the Trash, maybe you already emptied it, or it did so automatically. By default, the Trash holds files for 30 days and then clears them out—so if it’s been a while, you’re basically left with two options: backups or data recovery apps.

How to Recover Deleted Excel Files on Mac with Backups (If You Have Them)

In our experience, most people don’t have backup features activated on their Mac—it’s just human nature. We often need to get burned once before realizing the importance of backups. But if you happen to be among those who set up Time Machine or iCloud Drive, you’re in luck.

Option A: Time Machine

Time Machine, Apple’s backup tool, first landed with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and gave Mac users a much-needed “oops” button for lost/deleted files. If you had Time Machine set up, it’s been quietly saving snapshots of your system, so it might be super easy to recover your Excel file on Mac. Here’s how to work the magic:

1. Plug in your Time Machine drive.
2. Open the folder where you last saved the file.
3. Click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar, then hit Browse Time Machine Backups. You’ll see the “time travel” timeline pop up on the right.
4. Scroll through the timeline to find a version of the folder from when your file still existed. Time Machine’s snapshots let you go back to any backup point.
5. Once you spot your Excel file, click it and hit Restore. Time Machine pops it right back to its original home, good as new.

Option B: Cloud Backups

macOS makes it easy to use cloud storage, with several options to keep your files backed up and accessible from any device. You’ve got Apple’s built-in iCloud, plus popular options like Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive; all provide you with a safety net in case you accidentally delete an important file, like an Excel spreadsheet.

iCloud Drive is Apple’s own cloud service, seamlessly built into your Mac. Once you sign in with your Apple ID, iCloud is ready to go. By default, it backs up your Desktop and Documents folders, so any files saved there are automatically stored in iCloud. This setup means that even if you delete a file on your Mac, there’s a good chance iCloud has it ready for recovery. Here’s how to check iCloud and recover permanently deleted Excel files on Mac:

1. Go to iCloud.com, and log in with your Apple ID.
2. Once you’re logged in, click on iCloud Drive. Here, you’ll see all the files stored in your iCloud folders.
3. In iCloud Drive, look for the Recently Deleted section in the sidebar. Files deleted within the last 30 days should still be here. If you see your Excel file, select it and click Recover to restore it.
4. If it’s not in “Recently Deleted,” head to iCloud Settings (from the main iCloud menu), scroll down to the Data Recovery section, and click on Restore Files. This option sometimes holds older backups of deleted files.
5. Once you restore the file, it goes right back into its original location in iCloud Drive. Open Finder on your Mac, check iCloud Drive, and you should see the file ready to go.

No Backups? Recover Deleted Excel Files on Mac with Data Recovery Tools

If your Excel files are permanently deleted and you have no backups, there is data recovery software that can scan your Mac’s drive or any external storage where you had them—like external hard drives or flash drives. When you delete a file, it’s marked as “deleted” but still takes up space on the drive until it gets overwritten with new data. Until that happens, recovery tools can still retrieve it. That’s why acting fast is key; avoid using the drive where the file was stored to keep it from being overwritten.

There are quite a few options for data recovery software on Mac, each with its own strengths and features. Here are some of the top tools available to help you recover deleted Excel files and other important data:

All these apps are capable recovery tools, but if we had to choose one, it would definitely be Disk Drill. It’s incredibly versatile and easy to use. Over the years, we’ve recovered tons of files with Disk Drill from all kinds of storage devices and scenarios. Frankly, we have yet to find something it can’t handle. So, to help you out, we’ll demonstrate with Disk Drill how to perform Excel file recovery on Mac.

How to Use Disk Drill to Recover a Permanently Deleted Excel File

First things first—download and install Disk Drill. Head to the official CleverFiles website to get the latest version, and make sure to always download software from official sources to keep things secure and malware-free. If your Excel files were deleted from your Mac’s internal drive, it’s best to install Disk Drill on an external drive if you can. This avoids any risk of overwriting data on your main drive.

1. Once Disk Drill is installed, open it up. You’ll see a list of all storage devices connected to your Mac, including internal and external drives. Choose the drive where you lost your Excel file—most likely “Macintosh HD” if it was saved on your internal drive.
2. Click Search for lost data to start. Disk Drill will go through your drive to find recoverable files. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour (it depends on your drive’s size). Disk Drill may run both a quick and deep scan to make sure it finds everything that’s recoverable.
3. You can wait for Disk Drill to finish the full scan, or click Review found items to start looking through files that have already been detected. The list will keep growing as Disk Drill continues the scan, so you can get a head start if you see your file early. To make things easier, use the search bar or file type filters—just type “.xls” or “.xlsx” to zero in on Excel files and quickly find what you need.
4. To make sure you’ve found the right file, try to hover over it in the list. You’ll see an eye icon pop up—click on it, and Disk Drill will open a preview of the Excel file so you can confirm it’s what you need. Once you’re sure, select the file and click Recover.
5. When you choose where to save the recovered file, pick a different drive or external storage if possible. If you choose the same drive, Disk Drill will show a warning message: “Selected destination folder is on the same disk where the deleted files are located, the newly recovered files may overwrite other recoverable data.” It’s always safest to save to a separate drive to avoid any risk of overwriting other recoverable files.

The free version of Disk Drill lets you scan your drive and preview files that can be recovered. But to save those files, Disk Drill will prompt you to upgrade to the PRO version, which gives you full recovery with no limits. In our opinion, Disk Drill is a smart investment. Not only does it recover deleted data, but it also packs in a lot of extra features. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the free tools Disk Drill includes:

• Byte-for-Byte Backups — Creates an exact clone of your drive, so you can work from a backup instead of risking the original. This is especially helpful for data recovery.
• Guaranteed Recovery — When activated, this feature keeps copies of files that get moved to the Trash, which makes it easier to restore them even after deletion.
• Recovery Vault — Maps out your files, so if they’re accidentally deleted, Disk Drill has a higher chance of bringing them back intact.
• Clean-Up Tool — Identifies large or unnecessary files that may be clogging up your storage.
• Duplicate Finder — Locates duplicate files that are taking up extra space, so you can delete the extras to keep things organized and optimized.
• Data Shredder — Permanently deletes files so they can’t be recovered, which is great if you want to keep sensitive data private.
• S.M.A.R.T. Monitoring — Monitors the health of your drive and gives you early warnings about potential issues before they lead to data loss.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve checked Finder and the Trash and still can’t find your Excel file, you’ve got two main options—backups or data recovery software. With backups, it’s pretty straightforward: if you had one set up, you probably wouldn’t be reading this article. When it comes to data recovery tools, though, it can be harder to know which one to trust. Our advice? If in doubt, go with Disk Drill. It has some of the best recovery results out there, and it’s super easy to use—no technical knowledge needed.

But if you’re not comfortable with data recovery software or if the data is too important to risk, professional recovery services are an option. Just keep in mind that these services are expensive, and if your data has already been overwritten, even the pros might not be able to help. It’s smart to be prepared for this possibility if you decide to go that route.