This morning an emergency email came in from my corporate client who I was trying so hard to get the copy out to in record time. In my haste, I had sent them the wrong document draft, and it was all because I must have opened up an attached file straight in MS Outlook and forgot to do a Save-As to the correct folder. I haven't made this type of error in years. I blame it on the fact that I was on the phone with the project manager while simultaneously editing the copy. Multi-tasking is bad. Multi-tasking when you're half starving due to your new "healthy eating" campaign is also bad.
So, for anyone out there who has committed such a dastardly deed, here's how to rectify it.
The missing file is hiding in the Temp folder of your PC. Unfortunately, that folder is buried deep in the hierarchy of folders and is tough to locate. So here's one solution.
1. Hit START, the SEARCH.
2. Click on ALL FILES AND FOLDERS
3. Under "a word or phrase in the file," type OLK
(OLK is the folder where the temp files from MS Outlook are stored.)
4. Under "look in," highlight "My Computer."
5. While still in the Search box, scroll all the way down. Check the boxes that say "Search hidden files and folders" and "Search Subfolders".
6. Hit Search. When the OLK folder shows up, double click that. Look for the filename that you would have called your document, then the most recent version. MS Outlook puts a number in parenthesis after the filename each time a new version is created. For example, your file might be called DogDayCare (4).
7. Make sure you open that file and do a SAVE-AS to the appropriate folder where you intended to store in the first place.
In addition to the above, you can check out the advice that this person shared... the project manager sent me this link to help solve the problem. Thanks, Liz!
http://www.groovypost.com/howto/microsoft/outlook/find-the-microsoft-outlook-temporary-olk-folder/
