How versioning works

Versioning maintains a document’s history over time, through successive changes, by preserving one or more document “snapshots”. Versioning in Worldox is optional - optional in the sense that Worldox never forces you to create or replace versions as you open and save documents. New versions can be created if needed only when you do a file Save As.

Why versioning matters

You need to be sure how versioning actually works at your site to avoid any confusion or errors. Most sites use the version on document as last opened method. That may or may not be how it works at your firm.

Note: If you are not sure how versioning works at your site, please ask your Worldox Manager or Administrator.

Once you know which versioning method is in use, this topic tells you exactly what to expect, step-by-step in the versioning process.

Basic Rules

• A simple save - selecting Save from the File menu in Word, for example - replaces the current version with the changed file. There is no option to create versions in a simple save.

• It is when you do a Save As that the version option is presented, in the Save As dialog itself.

Versioning scenarios

Versioning is controlled by special preference settings, available only to Worldox Managers and Administrators. There are two distinct versioning modes, each producing somewhat different results in the same basic workflow:

Click topics below for brief descriptions on what happens in each workflow step for the different methods:

Type your drop-down text here.

Step	What happens
1	We start with the current document, last saved or versioned. Consider this the “master” version.
2	As you open the master copy, Worldox creates a temporary file. This temp file is a record of the master as it was when last opened.
3	Let's say you make some changes to the open file, then save.
4	The changed, saved document remains open: • The master changes. The latest saved document becomes the master. • The temp file remains unchanged. If you were to close the saved file at this point, the temp file would be discarded. However, say you make additional change, then do a Save As. Worldox presents the Save as Version … choice. You decide to save the changed doc as a new version (let’s call it version 2).
5	The changed, saved and versioned document remains open: • The master changes. The newest version (version 2 in this case) becomes the master. • The temp file is preserved as the previous version (version 1, in this case).

In this mode:

Successive versions incorporate whatever changes were made after the previous version opened … and the previous version is always maintained as it was when it first opened.

Step	What happens
1	We start with current document, last saved or versioned. Consider this the “master” version.
2	As you open the master copy, Worldox creates a temporary file. This temp file is a record of the master as it was when last opened.
3	Let's say you make some changes to the open file, then save.
4	The changed, saved document remains open: • The master changes. The latest saved document becomes the master. • The temp file changes. The latest saved document becomes the temp. If you were to close the saved file at this point, the temp file would be discarded. However, say you make additional changes, then do a Save As. Worldox presents the Save as Version … choice. You decide to save the changed doc as a new version (let’s call it version 2).
5	The changed, saved and versioned document remains open: • The master changes. The newest version (version 2 in this case) becomes the master. • The temp file is preserved as the previous version (version 1, in this case).

In this mode:

Successive versions incorporate whatever changes were made after the previous version opened … and the previous version is maintained as it was last saved, not as it was when first opened.

Key differences

The most current (master) document changes as changes are made and saved. However, as long as the file remains open, a copy of the original (pre-changes) master document (the temp file) is preserved unchanged. So, if you opt to create the next version - and the document has not yet been closed - the previous version is saved as it was last opened.

Here too, the master document version changes as changes are made and saved. However, as long as the file remains open, the temp file changes, incorporating any saved changes. So, if you opt to create the next version - and the document has not yet been closed - the previous version is saved as it was last saved.