Document Versioning & Collaboration

There may be times when you need to collaborate with other group members on a Word document, PowerPoint presentation, or Excel spreadsheet.

You can do this by using the document versioning functionality in your Group Resource Library.

Versioning allows you to upload a new version of a document with the same file name without overwriting the original file. Instead of overwriting the original file, you'll simply create a new version of the file that will be added to the original file's Version History.

You can see and access a file's different versions by hovering over the document's name, and using the pull-down menu to select Version History.

Document Versioning

Downloading the Latest Version
To download the lastest version of a document, simply click on the document's file name in the Resource Library.

Downloading the most recent version

This will download the document to your computer.

Editing the Document
Once you've downloaded the document to your computer and opened it using the appropriate application, you can make your edits and additions.

The downloaded document

After you've edited the document, save it to your computer, making sure you keep the original file name intact. If you change the file name in any way, when you upload your version to the website, the system will not see the document as a new version of an exisiting document, but will see it as an entirely new document.

Uploading the New Document Version
After you've made your changes to the document and saved it to your computer using the exact same file name as the original document, it's time to upload it to the Resource Center.

Uploading your new version

Click Add New Document at the bottom of the Resource Center, and then browse to the find your file on your computer.

Browse your computer to find your file

Make sure the Add As a New Version to Existing Files box is checked. Add some comments on your new version so that others know what changes you've made to the document.

Click OK. The Name, Title & Description page will appear next.

Name, title, description page

If you've uploaded your new version correctly by keeping the original file name intact, the library system will recognize that your file is a new version of an existing file, and the Title and Description fields will be automatically filled in with the Title and Description that the original author added to the first version of the file. You'll also see in the lower left-hand corner of the page your version number: Version 3.0

No need to change anything here. If you'd like to add something to the description of the document, feel free.

Click OK when you're done.

After you've clicked OK, the page will refresh to the Group Resources home page, and you'll see that your version is now the most recent version. If anyone clicks on the document title now, they will download your new version.

Downloading Previous Document Versions
If for some reason you need to download any previous versions of a document, hover your mouse over the name of the document, and use the yellow pull-down menu to choose Version History.

On the Version History page, you'll see a list of all the previous versions of a document.

Downloading a previous version

To download any of the versions, click on the date that that version was added, and a copy of that version will be downloaded to your computer.

At some point, there may be a need for you to Restore an earlier version of a document, and make it the one people will download from the homepage of the Group Resources library.

Reverting to a previous version

To Restore a version, hover your mouse over the date of the document, and use the yellow pull-down menu to choose Restore.

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