lost document (2000)

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Hi, I have a employee that quit today, she hide a word document some place and said we will never be able to find it. And we cant, we tried find files and folders, tried different keywords (nothing). We know it was updated yesterday. Is there anyway to find this document?

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Perhaps she deleted it? Or if she didn’t, she could have created a zip file from the document, or a self-extracting exe file, or … If she protected such a file with a password, it won’t be easy to find it by its contents. Another possibility is that she copied the document to a diskette or CD, and deleted the original. I wish you luck, you’ll need it. If the ex-employee has a grudge, and if the document is important, it might be worth it to try and talk it out.

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Perhaps she deleted it? Or if she didn’t, she could have created a zip file from the document, or a self-extracting exe file, or … If she protected such a file with a password, it won’t be easy to find it by its contents. Another possibility is that she copied the document to a diskette or CD, and deleted the original. I wish you luck, you’ll need it. If the ex-employee has a grudge, and if the document is important, it might be worth it to try and talk it out.

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Would it be easier to re-type it? Are you sure it wasn’t just deleted?? There are so many places to look (if it could be on a server) that if you don’t know the document name, it could be a very arduous process. However, searching by modified date would be a good place to start.

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Would it be easier to re-type it? Are you sure it wasn’t just deleted?? There are so many places to look (if it could be on a server) that if you don’t know the document name, it could be a very arduous process. However, searching by modified date would be a good place to start.

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Another place to look is in her PC’s ‘Application DataMicrosoftOffice|Recent’ folder – that should show a shortcut every MS Office file she worked on, within an office app, on the day she quit. The location of that folder varies, depending on how your systems are configured.

Also, check she didn’t do something simple like changing the filenames extension from .doc to .xls, or something such – a very easy way to hide a document while leaving it in plain sight.

Cheers

Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

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Another place to look is in her PC’s ‘Application DataMicrosoftOffice|Recent’ folder – that should show a shortcut every MS Office file she worked on, within an office app, on the day she quit. The location of that folder varies, depending on how your systems are configured.

Also, check she didn’t do something simple like changing the filenames extension from .doc to .xls, or something such – a very easy way to hide a document while leaving it in plain sight.

Cheers

Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

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Buck,
Assuming the file is still on the hard drives (somewhere ) and not encrypted or otherwise mangled:

• Does this disgruntled ex-employee know much about PCs and Windows? Something “hidden” by someone who wonders about a three-button mouse is different than something hidden by someone who can change the registry.
• What is the computer’s setting for file extensions? (Explorer File Options: “Hide extensions for known file types”.) If the extension isn’t visible, it should still be a *.doc.
• You can do a search purely on modified by date. Look in the Search window for “When was it modified”?
• As an MS Word doc on an MS Windows system, you should be able to also search for a word or phrase inside the file.
• When was the computer last backed up?
  [/list]Good luck slogging!
  Errol

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Hi Buckshot. I am not sure what legal jurisdiction you live in, but I would be talking to my company lawyer or any lawyer for that matter if the company does not have one. In some jurisdictions, this sort of activity could be construed as Theft of Property, particularly if the individual signed any kind of a privacy agreement, or similar document (e.g., ownership lies with the company, etc.), agreeing not to do this as a condition of employment.

I work as a consultant and almost always have to sign some form of secrecy agreement that contains statements of who owns what and what I can and cannot do on their IT systems – hardware and software. I know this may not get the document back, but if you have any of this type of leverage, you might want to have a lawyer talk with her, or at least send her a letter. It does not have to threaten anything, but simply state what has happened and ask for her cooperation. I am not a lawyer, but I do have to sign a lot of contractual documents in my business and they are usually very explicit. HTH

Regards and good luck,

Ron M

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Hi Buckshot. I am not sure what legal jurisdiction you live in, but I would be talking to my company lawyer or any lawyer for that matter if the company does not have one. In some jurisdictions, this sort of activity could be construed as Theft of Property, particularly if the individual signed any kind of a privacy agreement, or similar document (e.g., ownership lies with the company, etc.), agreeing not to do this as a condition of employment.

I work as a consultant and almost always have to sign some form of secrecy agreement that contains statements of who owns what and what I can and cannot do on their IT systems – hardware and software. I know this may not get the document back, but if you have any of this type of leverage, you might want to have a lawyer talk with her, or at least send her a letter. It does not have to threaten anything, but simply state what has happened and ask for her cooperation. I am not a lawyer, but I do have to sign a lot of contractual documents in my business and they are usually very explicit. HTH

Regards and good luck,

Ron M

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Buck,
Assuming the file is still on the hard drives (somewhere ) and not encrypted or otherwise mangled:

• Does this disgruntled ex-employee know much about PCs and Windows? Something “hidden” by someone who wonders about a three-button mouse is different than something hidden by someone who can change the registry.
• What is the computer’s setting for file extensions? (Explorer File Options: “Hide extensions for known file types”.) If the extension isn’t visible, it should still be a *.doc.
• You can do a search purely on modified by date. Look in the Search window for “When was it modified”?
• As an MS Word doc on an MS Windows system, you should be able to also search for a word or phrase inside the file.
• When was the computer last backed up?
  [/list]Good luck slogging!
  Errol

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Hi Thanks for all the help. The Application DatamicrosoftofficeRecent worked. What would we do without you guys?
Again a big thanks

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Hi Thanks for all the help. The Application DatamicrosoftofficeRecent worked. What would we do without you guys?
Again a big thanks

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