Finding specific things

Tracking down a Word file you saved

Updated 2026-10-30 · 4 min read

Word saves to whichever folder the Save dialog was pointing at, and on many Macs that is OneDrive. Here is how to check where a document went, how to find all your .docx files, and what to change so it stops happening.

Where the file went

Word has no single Word folder. It saves where the Save dialog is pointing when you click Save, so a document is in one of three places:

1. A OneDrive or SharePoint folder. Microsoft's save help says that if you want to save to your computer rather than OneDrive or SharePoint, click On My Mac in the dialog. If you see an Online Locations button instead, the dialog is already showing a folder on your Mac.
2. A folder on your Mac, often the last one you used, or Documents.
3. A temporary AutoRecover copy if you never saved. That is a separate case; see Recovering unsaved Word and Excel documents.

Quickest check on a document that is open now: choose File > Save As (⇧⌘S). The dialog starts in the folder the document is in (Microsoft's steps call it the current folder), so read the location there, then click Cancel.

Recent files

In Word, File > Open Recent lists the latest documents, and ⌘O opens Word's Open dialog, whose Recent list Microsoft says includes files you opened on your other devices. Open one, then use the Save As check above to see its folder.

Finder keeps its own list. ⇧⌘F opens Recents, which Apple describes as the files you viewed or changed recently, from any app. Control-click the document there and choose Show in Enclosing Folder to jump to the folder that holds it.

OneDrive files that are not on the Mac

A document saved to OneDrive is stored online. It is also on the Mac only if the OneDrive app is installed and syncing, in which case it appears under OneDrive in the Finder sidebar, possibly as an online-only file. Without the app you won't find it by browsing Finder: open it from Word's Open dialog under the OneDrive entry, or sign in to OneDrive in a browser.

Changing where new documents go

Microsoft's help says only that Office saves to "a default working folder"; it documents no switch that sets that folder. One setting it does document is in Word > Preferences > Save: untick Turn on AutoSave by default to turn AutoSave off by default for all files. AutoSave works on files stored in OneDrive and SharePoint, so with it on, Word leans towards saving new documents there. Community answers also point to Word > Preferences > File Locations, but reports conflict on whether it still lists a Documents entry, so check it without counting on it. Even then, Word may open the dialog in the folder of the last file you saved. Clicking On My Mac in the dialog is the fix that always works.

Documents that arrived as attachments or downloads

A Word file you opened from a web page is the copy your browser saved, normally in Downloads, and an attachment opened from Mail is a copy Mail keeps in a folder of its own inside your Library. If you edited such a file and pressed Save, the edit went to that copy. Use File > Save As and pick a folder you will remember. For a web download, look in Downloads first (⌥⌘L in Finder); for Mail, see where Mail keeps attachments.

Temporary owner files

While a document is open, Word can create a small file in the same folder whose name starts with ~$, usually hidden. Microsoft calls it an owner file: it holds the name of the person who opened the document, not the document's text, and Word normally deletes it when the document closes. One left behind after Word quit unexpectedly is harmless. The real document is the file without the prefix.

Finding every Word document

In Finder, press ⌘F, choose This Mac, click the + to add a rule, set Name to ends with and type .docx. Do the same for .doc if you have older files. Results arrive from Spotlight's index, so Finder searches skip some folders.

In Terminal, Spotlight can list them. This command is read-only:

mdfind -onlyin ~ 'kMDItemFSName == "*.docx"c'

The c after the pattern ignores case, so REPORT.DOCX is listed too. Add -count before -onlyin to see only how many there are.

A faster way to a half-remembered name

In Everywhere, .docx lists every Word file by name, and a word from the title narrows it: .docx budget. When you remember a phrase from inside the document rather than its name, contains: reads the text of .docx files, ahead of time in Documents, Desktop and Downloads; elsewhere, pair it with a name word, as in report contains:henderson. Older .doc files are matched by name only, and OneDrive folders are only included once Everywhere has Full Disk Access.

Common questions

Where are Word documents saved on a Mac?

Wherever the Save dialog pointed: a OneDrive or SharePoint folder, or a folder on your Mac such as Documents. Click On My Mac in the dialog to choose a local folder.

How do I find a Word document I saved on my Mac?

Try Word's File > Open Recent, then Finder's Recents (⇧⌘F). If that fails, search Finder for names ending in .docx.

Why does Word save to OneDrive instead of my Mac?

When you are signed in, the save dialog often opens on OneDrive. Click On My Mac to switch to local folders; the default setting varies by Word version.

How do I list all Word files on my Mac?

In Terminal, mdfind -onlyin ~ 'kMDItemFSName == "*.docx"c' lists them. You can also search Finder for names that end in .docx.