SharePoint supports versioning on records (lists) and files (document library). This is useful for functional/technical application management if they need to investigate who made which change when and as input if a restore of data is needed.
SharePoint versioning should not be used when multiple versions of a record/file must be stored. Additional records/files must be created then. Power Apps cannot access older versions at all and Power Automate only with some complex setup.
It is recommended to enable versioning on all lists and document libraries. The maximum number of versions is 50000. In case of a list, I set it to this maximum. The number of versions I set for a document library depends on the business solution because a large number could result in a lot of storage usage.
Document libraries support major/minor versioning. Minor versioning is not recommended to configure unless you have a very specific case for it and you work with files directly in SharePoint.
You must have sufficient rights on a list/document library to configure column indexing. The following default permission levels allow this:
- Design
- Edit
- Full Control
Below, the steps are given on how to configure versioning on a list/document library:
- Go to the settings page of the list/document library.
- Select the option
Versioning settings. - List
- Make sure
Create a version each time you edit an item in this list?is configured asYes. - Set the required number of versions and click on the
OKbutton.
- Make sure
- Document library
- Make sure
Create major versionsis selected and an appropriate number of major versions is configured. - Set the required number of versions and click on the
OKbutton.
- Make sure
Video
This video demonstrates how to enable versioning on a SharePoint list and a SharePoint document library and how to view the version history:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=munE3JsuO9M (🎥 2023-10-15)