Free Download Now | PDF Recovery Tool to Recover Lost PDF File
Last Updated on December 8, 2020 by Jason Ben
One accounting date, our accountant Jessica came to me in the hush and said that she had deleted the invoice (in PDF file type) that sent from a key business partner and the one who sent her the file is off work for a long trip. She had only an afternoon to deal with the problem – How to Recover PDF files. The solution to solve this guilt varies drastically between different situations and conditions, which highly depends on the cause and the operation that she had done. So, can we recover lost PDF files on your device? Yes, we can.
Before talking about PDF Recovery, I would like to let you learn more about pdf file. Or you can just go straight to How to Recover PDF File.
A consensus is that PDF file is an import text file for people to store information and even the sum of human knowledge digitally. As the designated official file type of The United Nations, PDF is used widely around the world and among tons of scenarios.
PDF is created by Adobe for displaying information exactly the same across applications, operating systems, and hardware. And even you can print PDF files in exactly the same display with different printers.
How to Recover PDF File
Method 2: Search the recycle bin for lost PDF files
Method 3: Recover lost, damaged, or deleted PDF files with File History/Time machine
Lost PDF file on your Phone? Try iPhone Data Recovery or Android Data Recovery.
#1 Recover deleted/lost PDF files with Data Recovery Utility
Assuming that you have tried some ways to get back the lost PDF files, then turn to a third-party tool would be a good choice for you, since if the file is disappeared on your computer system, then to find it in your hard disk (or other storage devices) would be rational. I talk about this way first since it is the most feasible one among all ways. BTW, our accountant DID apply this tool to get her PDF invoices back. So I am going to repeat the steps that she did explicitly.
First, I gave her the windows version of Data Recovery Software and she did the installation (She installed the program to Drive D since she had had her PDF files on desktop and desktop is a folder in Drive C, to prevent files overwritten, it is a right choice to install the tool to another Drive. She can install the tool on drive D/E/, you name it.). You can’t download mac version if you are on a Mac. Below, you will have two download links for it.
Second, closed other programs that she didn’t need and just kept those necessary running. You can do that by opening the task manager and end those tasks you don’t need. Then, Launch Data Recovery.
Third, Click Order Later for free trial. Since Jessica had lost PDF files, so she unchecked “Check all file types” and put a tick in the Document option. And then select Drive C:. You should choose the options based on your situation. Any questions, please leave me a message. Then, click Scan button to start the analyzing.
Fourth, actually this analyzing process is very fast due to the small size of Jessica’s Drive C:. So the scanning time totally depends on the size of your drive. It may take you a long span sometimes. Now, you may have all the lost and then re-founded PDF files listed separately (if you can’t find your pdf files, you can search it or try Deep Scan), just select those you want to restore and click Recover button to extract PDF files back to a designated folder.
#2 Search the recycle bin for lost PDF files
If you just “delete” a PDF file instead of “shift delete” or permanently delete. You still got a chance to restore it from Recycle Bin (Trash is the counterpart on macOS). Just open your Recycle bin and locate the PDF file that you need and right-click to restore. You will find the PDF file in the original folder. If you can’t recall the proper directory, then search for the file with the search feature on your system.
#3 Recover lost, damaged, or deleted PDF files with File History/Time machine
I have to say that there is a tiny minority of us back up files periodically with File History on Windows or with Time machine on macOS. For these friends, it is very easy to restore PDF files that have been backed up. I am not going to list the steps here, you can open your back up tool and follow the guide, you will have your files back.
What’s Next
After getting your PDF files back, you may want to make further operation with your PDF files:
- You may want to convert your PDF files to other formats like office file, ePub, image and even web page.
- You may want to edit the PDF file with adding text, changing image, and deleting tables.
- You may want to add comment, split or merge and even copy text from image-formatted PDF file.
In this case, I will recommend you to try pdfelement which I think is the best alternative to Adobe Acrobat.
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