How To Restore Previous Version Of Word Document On Windows & Mac

Have you made substantial changes to an Office Word document only to feel that the previous version of the document was far better than the current one? Has someone made changes to a Word document, but do you like an earlier version? This guide shows you how to restore the previous version of a Word document.

Office Word program keeps a history of all changes made to Word documents so that you can view the changes made and restore the version you would like to, if and when required.

Before we tell you how to restore the previous version of a Word document, remember that the feature is available only when you store the Word document in OneDrive or SharePoint in Microsoft 365. In other words, if you store a Word file on your PC, you cannot restore the document to its previous version.

NOTE: For personal Microsoft accounts, Office Word keeps up to the last 25 versions.

Restore the previous version of a Word document on Windows 11/10

Here is how to restore Office Word to a previous version.

Step 1: Launch the Office Word app and open the document that you want to restore to the previous version.

Step 2: Once the Word document is open, click the down arrow icon next to the Word document name in the title bar or name of the Word document (refer to the picture below) and click Version History.

Step 3: Clicking the Version History opens the Word document in a separate window. The right side of the Word document now displays (in the new window) all available versions of the Word document along with the details about the time when it was saved and who made changes to the document.

Step 4: Click on a version to see it. To restore the Word document to that version, click the Restore button in the top bar. That’s it!

Restore the previous version of a Word document on a Mac

Step 1: Open the document in the Word app.

Step 2: Click on the name of the Word document in the title bar and then click Browse Version History.

Step 3: Select a version on the right side and then click the Open Version link to open the selected version in a separate window.

Step 4: If you are satisfied with the version, click the Restore button. You can also click the Compare button to compare the two versions and then take a call.