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File Versions

Appending file names with indicators like v2.1 and 2013 03 23 is an inconvenient way to track the iterations of a file and dramatically increases the storage needs. By contrast, Egnyte automatically creates a new version of a file each time a change is saved for an existing document. The Administrator has set up version policies to dictate how many versions are collected before the old versions are moved to trash. Read on to learn more about file versions and how to "promote" old versions to replace the existing file.  

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View Versions

Restore Old Version

Additional Information

View Versions

To view a file's versions, first select the List view or Condensed view option. Versions are not visible with the Large icons view.

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The number indicated next to the icon that looks like a clock is the file's version count.

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For any given file, only a certain number of versions will be retained. By default, this maximum number of versions is 3, but Admins can change this value through a setting in the Egnyte domain if the respective plan allows it. This setting can be found under Trash and Retention Policies.

Only three versions will be kept for the following file types, regardless of the account setting: Microsoft Outlook/Exchange (.pst and .ost), Microsoft Access (.mdb), QuickBooks (.qbb), and email (.eml) files.

Restore Old Version

  1. Click the version icon.
  2. Locate the old version to promote to the current version and click the icon highlighted below.

    Screen_Shot_2019-11-21_at_12.30.38_PM.png

  3. The selected version is now the current version and will be shown when users preview or access the file through a link. 

Additional Information

Egnyte always orders file versions by their modified date when determining the current version. When restoring an old version (or making a version current) through the WebUI, the timestamp is overwritten with the present time.

If a user is trying to copy and replace a file through the Desktop App or Storage Sync, they'll need to be aware of some caveats. When users attempt to copy a file in Windows File Explorer or Mac Finder with an older timestamp than the latest version that is available in the Web UI, the file is uploaded but treated as an older version. This means that anyone can still access the file from the version history window in the WebUI. If the newest version needs to be promoted, choose the Make current option from version history in the WebUI. Alternatively, the file can be revised to update it's modified date to the current date, so it's regarded as the newest version based on modified time.

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