Ok so I'm sick of all these "IT" people saying that it is impossible to find a file that was opened from an attachment and accidently saved (not on the computer) They say that these files are gone forever and that it's impossible to recover these files... IT'S NOT!
First of all I'm not 100% sure how long these files remain on computers, I'm assuming its not longer then a week, possibly not even longer then 1-2 days however I'm not sure they may last a month...
So here we go: if you have opened a file from an email attachment (microsoft files: word, excel, ppt, ect.) and you saved it without using the save as command and here is instructions to find your lost file:
Open up your My Computer or My Documents folder and follow these steps: go to Tools, Folder Options, View tab, and select Show Hidden Files and Folders.
After you have completed this step you will want to set up a similar scenario to when you lost your important file. Create a word document or excel file and send it to your email (Making sure that it is not saved on your computer at all!) then open this attachment without saving it to your computer (like you did earlier which got you in this situation!) once this file is open, go to: File, Prepare, and select Properties. This will come up with a highlighted chart showing the location your file is being temporarily saved at:
Mine shows me this: C:\Documents and Settings\JSOMM\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\A5VYNZU2\target audience graphs.xlsx
Now from here you will want to select this portion of it: C:\Documents and Settings\YOURNAME\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5 leaving out the made up file you created as well as the folder that this file is in!
Once you have copied this part, you will want to paste this into your address bar which will open up the folder *Content.IE5*. You will also notice the hidden folders that you enabled earlier.. You will find your file inside one of the hidden folders in this folder. Just simply go through each folder and type in the first letter of the filename you are looking for and you will eventually find it. If not its been to long and your computer has already removed this temporary file.
I'm sorry I can't break it down any further then that however this is how you will find the file you worked on from the attachment.
Good Luck
- J SOMM