Can’t find a file in SharePoint or OneDrive? Here’s how to track it down.
Last updated
When you can’t find a file in SharePoint or OneDrive, it has usually been moved, renamed, or saved somewhere else by a colleague rather than deleted. Work through these in order; most files turn up by step 2.
01 · Search properly first.
- Use “Search everything”. At the top of the OneDrive or SharePoint website, the search box looks inside files, not just at their names, so a phrase you remember from within the document will find it even if it’s been renamed.
- Check your Recent list. In OneDrive, open Recent in the left menu. If you opened the file lately, it’s near the top, with a link to wherever it now lives.
- Are you in the right account? A file saved under a personal Microsoft account won’t appear in your work OneDrive, and vice versa. Confirm you’re signed in to the account the file belongs to.
02 · It probably moved, not vanished.
In a shared office, files rarely disappear. Someone moves or renames them. Where to look:
- Look under “Shared with me”. If a colleague owns the file, it lives in their OneDrive, not yours. It shows under Shared → Shared with me in OneDrive.
- Check the right library. On a team site, a file moved to a different document library or folder is still there. Open the SharePoint site it belongs to and look through its libraries, or search from within the site.
- Someone saved over it? If the file’s there but the contents are wrong, right-click it and choose Version history. You can open or restore an earlier version, and it shows who changed it and when.
03 · Still gone? Check the recycle bins.
If it was deleted, it isn’t lost yet. On a work or school account, deleted files sit in the recycle bin for 93 days before they’re permanently removed.
- OneDrive recycle bin. Open Recycle bin in the left menu on the OneDrive website, tick the file, and choose Restore.
- SharePoint has two. Deleted from a team site? Check the site’s Recycle bin first. If it’s not there, try the site collection recycle bin (the second stage), though that one usually needs a site owner or admin.
- Whole folders missing? Settings → Restore your OneDrive can undo every change across the last 30 days at once. That’s the right tool when a lot of files were moved or deleted together, not just one.
04 · Or let KoalaFix do it.
Searching a whole workspace at once is what KoalaFix is built for. Your team member describes the document they’ve lost, and KoalaFix searches OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams and Outlook together, then comes back with where it is. In seconds, no ticket.
05 · FAQ.
Where do deleted OneDrive and SharePoint files go?
To the recycle bin. On a work or school account they stay there for 93 days, then they’re permanently deleted. SharePoint has two: if a file isn’t in the site recycle bin, check the site collection recycle bin, though that second one often needs a site owner or admin.
A colleague moved or renamed my file: how do I find it?
Use Search everything in OneDrive or SharePoint: it searches inside files, not just names, so a word from the document still finds it. If the colleague owns the file, it shows under Shared with me. If they saved over it, open Version history to restore the earlier copy.
How long do I have to recover a deleted file?
On a work or school account, 93 days in the recycle bin. Separately, Restore your OneDrive can undo all changes from the last 30 days. That’s useful when a lot of files were moved or deleted at once, not just a single one.
07 · What KoalaFix can handle.
See the full capability map for what KoalaFix fixes automatically, what asks for approval, and what still needs a person.