How do I recover a file that is no longer in my home screen. I am also unable to open from the shared drive where I stored a copy.

Have you cleared the Cache since accessing it?

Occasionally users have found that having their 'home' directory in Windows mapped to a network drive has caused an issue where the User file and the Cache files are stored in the same place.

Cache location is shown under the preferences dialog, as part of General Settings.

If the project (CPTX) file is stored in this location, clicking the 'Clear Cache' button on this screen will delete it.

NO WARNING, no 2nd chance, just gone!

Of course, if you have an IT department that has made the mistake of mapping your user folder to a shared drive there is some chance that they have a backup of your file, if it was on the network drive long enough for a backup to happen before the cache was cleared.

Suggested resolution:

1) Check with your IT department on the possibility of restoring the project file from a backup.

2) CHANGE your Cache folder to a local location on the C drive that is NOWHERE near your project files.

3) Change your project files to a different local location on the C drive than the cache. (I.E. both local, but separate!)

4) Ensure "Generate Project Backup" is checked in the above dialogue box.