Documents
Yesterday’s file is still there, under today’s
Someone saved over the good quote. The re-uploaded price list had the wrong column. The contract fixed in OnlyOffice lost an article. In Files none of these is a problem: every time a file’s content changes, the previous one stays in the history, with number, date and size. Download it, put it back.
It is not a feature to switch on: it just happens
The version is born on its own, whichever way the change comes in: an upload with the same name, a save in the Collaborative editor or the text editor, an annotated or corrected PDF, a file opened locally from the desktop app and closed again. Before writing the new bytes, Files sets the old ones aside — encrypted like the rest of the archive. The history sits in the file’s details, “Versions” tab: those with the “Version history” permission in their access level see it, the others don’t even see the tab. And restoring throws nothing away: the current state becomes a version itself, so you can go back even from going back.
How it works
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Open the details, “Versions” tab
The list from the most recent: “Version 4 · 1.2 MB · 12 March, 16:40”. The number of versions also shows in the Details tab, next to the size.
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Download the one you need
Every version downloads on its own, without touching the current file: to check it on your computer or to send the client the one they had signed.
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Restore, and the current one joins the history
“Restore this version”: the content goes back to that one, the file keeps name, permissions and shares, and whoever syncs from the desktop app receives the change like any other.
Overwriting is no longer deleting.
What you can do
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Whichever way it comes
Upload with the same name, Office and text editors, PDF annotation, filling and editing, desktop save, anonymiser twin: everything creates a version.
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A permission, not an extension
“Version history” is an entry in the access level, folder by folder. The external collaborator works on the file without seeing what was there before.
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90 days, or as many as needed
Every company has its own version retention period: 90 days by default, visible in the settings, changed by the provider on request — even with no expiry.
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Respects the lock
If someone has the file open in the editor or from the desktop app, the restore waits: a colleague’s work in progress is not overwritten.
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In the vault you look, you don’t touch
The versions of a document sealed in the vault are listed and downloaded with the vault open, but not restored: a sealed file does not change.
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Counted in the index
The folder index in Excel reports how many versions each file has: the auditor knows how many times a document was rewritten without opening it.
Frequently asked questions
Do versions take up space?
Yes, every version is a whole, encrypted file. That is why the retention period exists: once the set days have passed, old versions are deleted from the server, the current file is not.
Can I compare two versions?
Not inside Files: download them and compare with the program you use. For Word documents, OnlyOffice’s review mode in the Collaborative editor tracks changes as you write.
Are the trash and versions the same thing?
No. The trash keeps deleted files for 30 days; versions keep the previous content of a file that still exists. A deleted file takes its history with it.
What if the file is under retention?
A document under a retention lock is neither replaced nor restored until the set date: the version that counts is the protected one.
The other Files features
Move your company files to the cloud
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Alex