Word, Excel, AutoCAD and SketchUp all keep spare copies of your work: an AutoRecover or autosave copy every few minutes while you work, and a backup of the previous version each time you save. None of these is a format of its own. An .asd file is a Word document, a .xar is an Excel workbook, a .bak or .sv$ is an AutoCAD drawing and a .skb is a SketchUp model, each saved under a name the program uses for itself. That is why double-clicking one does nothing useful: Windows and macOS do not know which program it belongs to, and the program only lists it in its own recovery screen.
This page looks at the file's first bytes to learn what it really is - a Word 97-2003 document, a .docx, an .xls, .xlsx or .xlsb workbook, a DWG drawing or a SketchUp model - and saves it under the right name, unchanged, so its program opens it normally. A Word document is shown on the page as well, and can be saved as a .docx or as plain text; other kinds open in the viewer for them on this site. If the file is damaged and nothing can read it, the readable text is salvaged from its bytes. It is free to use, with no account and no upload limit, and it runs entirely in your browser: nothing is uploaded, and while the page stays open, a feature you have already used keeps working offline.
- How do I open an .asd file?
- Drop it on the box above. An .asd file is a Word AutoRecover file: an ordinary Word document, usually in the Word 97-2003 format, under a name only Word's recovery uses. The page shows what is in it and saves it under the name Word opens normally (most often .doc), or as a .docx. In Word itself, use File, Info, Manage Document, Recover Unsaved Documents, or File, Open, Browse with the file type set to All Files, and choose the .asd.
- Word says the .asd file is corrupt, or crashes opening it. Can it still be recovered?
- Often in part. An AutoRecover file written while Word was crashing can be cut off or damaged. If its layout can still be read, it is shown and saved as normal; if not, the page salvages the readable text from it and says so. What was never written to the file - typing after the last AutoRecover save - cannot be got back by any tool.
- Can I just rename a .wbk, .xar or .bak file?
- Yes, if you give it the right extension, and that is all the page's Save button does. The catch is knowing which one: a .wbk may be a .doc or a .docx, an Excel AutoRecover file may be an .xlsx, an .xlsb or an .xls, and a workbook with macros needs .xlsm, or Excel refuses it. The page reads the file to pick the right one.
- What is a file whose name starts with ~$?
- A lock file. While a document is open, Word, Excel and PowerPoint put a tiny file named ~$ and the rest of the document's name beside it, to tell others it is in use; it holds only the name of the person who has it open, not the document. It is normally deleted when the document is closed, and one left behind after a crash can be deleted safely once the document is closed everywhere.
- My .asd file is not from Word. What is it?
- If its name is a sound file's name followed by .asd (kick.wav.asd), it is an Ableton Live analysis file: Live saves one beside every sample, with its waveform overview and any default clip settings saved for it. It holds no document and Live makes it again if it is deleted. The page tells the two apart.
- Why is the AutoRecover file older than my last changes?
- Word and Excel save AutoRecover information every 10 minutes by default, so up to that much work may be missing. To lose less next time, set a shorter interval under File, Options, Save, Save AutoRecover information every, and keep "Keep the last AutoRecovered version if I close without saving" ticked.