Version History and Restore
Every version of a document is kept, can be downloaded on its own, and can be brought back — as a new version, never by rewinding.
Where to find it
On a record, open the Documents pane and press History against a document. Each version shows its number, filename, size, author, date and comment.
Restoring copies forward
The behaviour worth understanding before you need it. Restoring version 2 of a five-version document writes version 6, pointing at version 2’s file. Nothing is deleted and nothing is renumbered.
Setting the current version back to 2 is the obvious implementation and the wrong one: it makes versions 3 to 5 vanish from every reader while still existing, and “v5 was here yesterday” is not a state a document library may ever be in.
It also makes the operation safe to repeat and safe to undo. Restoring the restore is just another copy forward, so there is no state a nervous user can reach that they cannot leave.
Every version has its own download
Each link is built for that version and is checked again when it is followed. Handing somebody a URL is not the same as granting them access — the download gate runs either way.
What restore refuses
- The current version — copying it forward produces two identical versions and a history that says something happened when nothing did.
- A version whose file has gone — disposed of under retention. The version record deliberately outlives the file so a destruction certificate can say what was destroyed; restoring one would produce a current version that cannot be opened.
- Somebody else’s check-out — and it names who holds it.
- A withdrawn document.
Two versions can share one file
A natural consequence of copying forward, and the rest of the system expects it. The download gate authorises any version a stored file belongs to, and the access log records one entry per document.
A version is not a draft
If several people are working towards a new version, that is check-out, or a separate draft document. Every version added is visible to everyone who can read the document.
Worked example
A policy is updated, and a fortnight later somebody notices the new version dropped an appendix. The previous version is restored from the history pane; it lands as the newest version, the mistaken one is still there with its own date and author, and the audit trail shows exactly what happened and when.
Recommendations
- Write a version comment. It is the only place “what changed” is recorded.
- Restore rather than re-upload an old file — the chain stays honest.
- Check the history before assuming a document is wrong; it may be the version that is wrong.