It might be possible to recover the shapefile by using the "Previous Versions" function in Windows 7. However, read the cautions below before trying this:
1. Use Windows Explorer to browse to the file.
2. Right-click on the File, then pick"Properties".
3. Choose the "Previous Versions" Tab.
4. Look to see if a previous version is listed. If there is a version, you can potentially restore it with the Restore function in this window.
-----CAUTIONS:
1. Because this process will overwrite data, it is best to back up the information to a different location first so you can fall back on the backup copy if the restore goes awry. Once you restore, it can't be undone.
2. You will need to restore all the components of the shapefile. At minimum, this will include files with the extension .shp, .shx, and .dbf. There may be other files with different extensions also. See this link for ideas on what other extensions may be present:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shapefile
3. If the shapefile is in a folder, one strategy to have all the shapefile components restored at once is the restore the folder instead of the individual files. However, consideration will have to be made for all other data and folders that may be in this folder (and files and folders off those), as they too will be affected by the restore.
Hope this helps,
Christopher Donohue, GISP
