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The version history of items in SharePoint lists allows you to track and manage changes made to list items or documents, allowing you to:
  • Track changes
    • Each time a list item or document is modified, a new version is created (if versioning is enabled)
    • Changes include edits to metadata, content, or attachments
  • Versions
    • Each time a form is saved or submitted, a new version is created
  • Retention
    • Admins can configure how many versions to keep (e.g., retain only the last 10 versions)
    • Older versions may be automatically deleted if a retention policy is set
  • Visibility
    • In libraries with draft items enabled, only users with specific permissions (e.g., document authors or approvers) can see minor versions
  • Restore and Compare
    • You can view, restore, or delete previous versions directly from the item or document’s version history
    • SharePoint allows you to compare the content of different versions in some cases

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How to use version history

  1. Enable Versioning
    • Go to the Library/List Settings -> Versioning Settings
    • Configure versioning to track major and/or minor versions
  2. View Version History
    • Open a document or item in the list
    • Select the Ellipsis (…) or use the Version History option from the context menu
  3. Restore or Delete Versions
    • From the Version History dialog, you can restore a previous version or delete unnecessary ones

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Use cases

  • Audit Changes: Track who modified an item and what changes were made
  • Error Recovery: Restore a previous version if incorrect changes were made
  • Drafting and Publishing: Manage draft versions and publish finalized ones

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Viewing form version history

  1. Navigate to the forms list
  2. Highlight the form you want to view the version history for
  3. Click Version History on the Items tab of the ribbon. You may need to expand the menu to see this. Version history button on the ribbon
  4. You can see the details for each version of the form. To restore a previous version of a form, hover over the drop-down arrow beside the date stamp and click the relevant option. Version history dialog with restore option
Never restore forms to the 1.0 history version. This will create corrupted forms.

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Flow version history

We do not recommend using version history for Flow items, as it may restore rules that are no longer valid and cause a process failure. The only things affected when restoring a previous version of a Flow are Rule actions and Flow Settings. We recommend exporting the flow in XML format before making changes, so you can re-import it to restore the flow to its previous state if needed.