Seems a fools errand but I have to ask.

[Dearelliot]

I had a story written, maybe 20 hours or so, amd lost it. I use word pad, and always saved it, and today while writing my fingers touched something and suddenly all I had was three words on the screen and it's gone any help for recover...but I doubt I can.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I assume you tried undo. Most likely you inadvertently selected all then started typing.

I write in Google Docs. I periodically copy the contents to a Literotica draft. And then I typically share the new section with @Djmac1031 (and others sometimes) as a PM here. So I’ve basically got three copies.

 

[Milo9012]

I had a story written, maybe 20 hours or so, amd lost it. I use word pad, and always saved it, and today while writing my fingers touched something and suddenly all I had was three words on the screen and it's gone any help for recover...but I doubt I can.

I've had the same thing happen to me.
To bad word pad doesn't have an auto save feature.

 

[MrPixel]

I know the cows are out of the barn here, but I, personally, am loathe to write anything I care about on something like a pad or phone that relies on a touchscreen. One stray touch, and no telling what is going to happen... or just happened... that you don't know how to back out of. My wife does it all the time. I try to help, I do, but if I can't re-trace her steps including unintended screen touches, it's usually gone, whatever it was.

Yes, that's your tool of choice, but beware, it carries unique risks.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I know the cows are out of the barn here, but I, personally, am loathe to write anything I care about on something like a pad or phone that relies on a touchscreen. One stray touch, and no telling what is going to happen... or just happened... that you don't know how to back out of. My wife does it all the time. I try to help, I do, but if I can't re-trace her steps including unintended screen touches, it's usually gone, whatever it was.

Yes, that's your tool of choice, but beware, it carries unique risks.

I think it maybe is a factor of how accustomed the user is to a phone. I’ve not lost anything since I stopped using Note at the very beginning.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

I had a story written, maybe 20 hours or so, amd lost it. I use word pad, and always saved it, and today while writing my fingers touched something and suddenly all I had was three words on the screen and it's gone any help for recover...but I doubt I can.

You say you always save. Presumably you do not write 20 hours without saving. You write for a half-hour, an hour, save, write another half-hour, save ... You should have your last save containing the first 19 hours of writing, no?

 

[Dearelliot]

I guess I should but I dont...I've screwed up somehow.
Thanks guys for the help.

 

[TheWorldBuilder]

I do almost everything on my tablet (including writing this) with the important exception of article, story and technical writing. I want something with both automatic and manual backups.

 

[Vitriolhack]

I had a story written, maybe 20 hours or so, amd lost it. I use word pad, and always saved it, and today while writing my fingers touched something and suddenly all I had was three words on the screen and it's gone any help for recover...but I doubt I can.

I am assuming you have a Windows desktop. Try looking for your temp directory. Type %temp% or temp in the search bar. Then look for something that seems to look like your text. You never know.

I feel your pain, good luck, looking forward to reading your story.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I assume you tried undo. Most likely you inadvertently selected all then started typing.

I write in Google Docs. I periodically copy the contents to a Literotica draft. And then I typically share the new section with @Djmac1031 (and others sometimes) as a PM here. So I’ve basically got three copies.

Incidentally, sending @Djmac1031 a copy has another benefit (for him). At least four times recently I’ve been reviewing a story he has edited and I’m like, “Why did he change that, I meant something different entirely? That’s really ugly / makes no sense / is all wrong.”

Then - as I’m an anal control freak - I go back and look at the text I originally PMed him - to see what it was before the edit - and inevitably think, “You dumb bitch, that shit is exactly what you wrote in the first place.”

It saves him from all sorts of trouble

 

[Abbafan]

I had a story written, maybe 20 hours or so, amd lost it. I use word pad, and always saved it, and today while writing my fingers touched something and suddenly all I had was three words on the screen and it's gone any help for recover...but I doubt I can.

I hate those hot buttons. I never use them. Every once in a while I hit some button combination by accident that'll fuck things up. Nothing but trouble.

 

[jsmiam]

This will depend on a bit of luck, but try this:

• I’m assuming you closed it already? Otherwise hit control-Z (undo) and cross fingers. More than once perhaps. Sounds like you closed it already though.
• Otherwise, Using Windows explorer, aka file explorer aka files, (Windows-key E opens it regardless of what you or your version of Windows calls it), navigate to the location (folder aka directory) you saved it to.
• Right click on the file and choose properties. Cross fingers
• Click on the previous versions tab. Cross fingers.
• If previous versions exists, pick the newest one before the accident. Cross fingers.

This all depends on your exact version of windows. But you won’t know until you try.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

I know the cows are out of the barn here, but I, personally, am loathe to write anything I care about on something like a pad or phone that relies on a touchscreen. One stray touch, and no telling what is going to happen... or just happened... that you don't know how to back out of. My wife does it all the time. I try to help, I do, but if I can't re-trace her steps including unintended screen touches, it's usually gone, whatever it was.

Yes, that's your tool of choice, but beware, it carries unique risks.

OP said they wrote in "WordPad", which is a sort of minimal word processor that comes with many versions of Windows. It's not bad.

My practice is to save at least once every day or three with a new version number. The novel I'm currently working on is on version 27, but there were unnumbered other versions in there, too. (Ready for my volunteer proofreader!)

--Annie

 

[Actingup]

It’s worth checking out online help fora for WordPad and also for the operating system and file system you’re using. You won’t be the first to have done this.

 

[dirk2024]

Incidentally, sending @Djmac1031 a copy has another benefit (for him). At least four times recently I’ve been reviewing a story he has edited and I’m like, “Why did he change that, I meant something different entirely? That’s really ugly / makes no sense / is all wrong.”

Then - as I’m an anal control freak - I go back and look at the text I originally PMed him - to see what it was before the edit - and inevitably think, “You dumb bitch, that shit is exactly what you wrote in the first place.”

It saves him from all sorts of trouble

So the takeaway here is, we should all start sending our WIP's to @Djmac1031 ?

Got it! I'll start with my backlog soon. Thanks!

 

[MrPixel]

OP said they wrote in "WordPad", which is a sort of minimal word processor that comes with many versions of Windows.

Ah. Okay. Not a Windows person. "Pad" obviously got me going on the tablet tangent. Thanks!

 

[Comshaw]

One of the other places to check is the trash bin. As a sausage-fingered typist I have in the past deleted something without realizing what I did and later found it in the trash bin. If it's there, you should be able to recover it. If it's not there, you could also check the deleted files on your computer and recover it that way. I learned a long time ago that when Windows deletes a file, it isn't gone. All the operating system does is remove the title of the file from the registry. If you haven't over-written it with another file, it's still there waiting for you.

Comshaw

 

[AG31]

One of the other places to check is the trash bin.

Yeah, I'd think this is the best bet, since you had saved it at other points and weren't solely dependent on what you'd just typed.

 

[EmilyMiller]

So the takeaway here is, we should all start sending our WIP's to @Djmac1031 ?

Got it! I'll start with my backlog soon. Thanks!

Or mail it to yourself - even with cloud backup and so on, it helps to have extra redundancy.

 

[TheLobster]

Yeah, I'd think this is the best bet, since you had saved it at other points and weren't solely dependent on what you'd just typed.

Overwritten files are not deleted. It’s merely their content that gets replaced by a new version. You won’t find the old ones in the Windows trash, because it only keeps deleted files.

As for OP’s problem, @jsmiam offers probably the most applicable advice for attempting recovery.