Uh-oh. Can't find something
important on your Mac?
If you regularly back up
with Time Machine,
you can go back in time
to recover lost work files,
folders, apps,
emails, and contacts,
and then restore them
to a previous version.
Let's take a look at how
to restore specific items
from a Time Machine backup.
First, open the app
that held the missing file.
For example, we're going
to restore a lost PDF
from our Documents folder,
so we'll open Documents
in the Finder.
Then click the Time Machine icon
in your menu bar
and select Enter Time Machine.
If Time Machine
isn't in your menu bar,
you can find it
in System Preferences.
Time Machine can help you
browse files from the past,
including old
and deleted versions,
so you can find exactly
the file you need.
You'll see a timeline
on the right edge of your screen
that shows items in your backup
as they were
at that date and time.
Use the arrows to find
the version you're looking for,
or use the Search field
to search for an item
by phrase or date.
You can click the folder name
that appears in Finder
to view results
within that folder
instead of your entire Mac.
When you find
what you're looking for,
click the item,
and then press the Space bar
to preview it
and make sure it's the version
you want to recover.
♪ Music playing ♪
No, that's not it.
♪
It's this one.
Now click Restore
and enter your system password
if prompted.
♪
Phew! You'll find the file back
in its original location.
Crisis averted.
♪
To learn more about
Time Machine,
subscribe to
the Apple Support channel
or click another video
to keep watching.
♪
