Creating a New Version

Once you have enabled version control on a document, changes you make to that document can be saved as new versions of the document. There are several ways to save document modifications as a new version, depending on the type of document and the way you modify it. When you save modifications as a new version, the newly-created version will be the latest version of the document.

When you create a new version from an update that has modified the images pages, text, or electronic file portion of the document, you will be prompted to provide optional version comments and/or labels. You can also manually add or modify a version comment or label.

You can also import image or electronic files as new versions directly into the document.

Note: While most elements of a document will be saved in the version history, properties that apply to the entire document cannot be stored in the history. See Information Stored in the Version History for more information.

Page and Metadata Modifications

If you make changes to the pages of a document (such as adding or removing pages, or replacing one page with another), to the document's text, to annotations applied to the document's pages, or to the document's metadata, the changes will be saved as a new version as soon as you release your lock on the document. (This will happen when you save and close the document for documents that are not checked out, or when you check in the document if it is checked out.) This process is automatic and will happen immediately upon saving, unless the document has been checked out.  If the document has been checked out, a new version will not be created until the document is checked in. See Saving Changes to Your Documents for more information.

You can also manually save as a new version by opening the File menu and selecting Save As and then New Version in the document viewer.

Microsoft Office Document Modifications

If you make changes to a Microsoft Office electronic file (such as a Word document or an Excel spreadsheet) using the Laserfiche Office Integration, you can choose to save changes as a new version using the Save to Laserfiche command and selecting as a New Version. You will also be prompted to save the document to Laserfiche when you close the Office application, and can choose Save as a new version at that point. Again, if the document has been checked out, a new version will not be created until the document is checked in. See Updating an Electronic File in Microsoft Office for more information.

Note: If you modify a document's metadata while working with that document using the Laserfiche Office Integration, changes to the metadata will be saved in the same version as the modifications to the Office file.

Other Electronic File Modifications

If you make changes to other electronic files, you will be prompted to save the document to Laserfiche when you close the application, and can choose Save as a new version of the document. Again, if the document has been checked out, a new version will not be created until the document is checked in. See Updating an Electronic File for more information.

Modifications to Checked Out Documents

Document Check In/Check Out is a way that a user can manage documents they are working with. If a document has been checked out, all saved changes to the document will be collected and saved as a single version at the time the document is checked in. Changes to the document made and saved before check-in will be saved, but will not be added as a new version until check-in.

Tip: If you want to minimize the number of versions made when modifying a document, you can use Check In/Check Out to reduce the number of versions created.

Importing a File as a New Version

You can import a file from your computer as a new version of an existing document. This will make the file the newest version of the document. If the file is an electronic document, it will replace the existing electronic file portion of the document in the new version; if the file is an image, it will replace the pages of the document in the new version.

To import a file as a new version of a document in the Windows client

  1. Select a document, then open the Version History dialog box in one of the following ways:
    • Open the Metadata dialog box or Metadata Pane for any document, and then select the Versions tab.
    • Open the Tasks menu and point to Version Tracking, then select Version History.
  2. The version history will open. Right-click and select Upload Version, or click the Upload Version button.
  3. Browse to the file you want to import as a new version. Select it and click Open. This will open the Import to Laserfiche dialog box.
  4. Right-click the folder and select Track Versions for New Documents. This will open the Start Tracking Versions dialog box.
  5. Optional: Type a comment for the version in the Comments option, and one or more labels in the Labels option.
  6. Optional: Use the tabs on the Import dialog box to modify the fields, tags, and/or digital signatures for the new version of the document.
  7. Click OK. The file will be imported as a new version of the document.

To import a file as a new version of a document in the web client

  1. View the version history for a document and click the More button.
  2. Select Upload New Version.
  3. Click the Browse button and select the desired file.

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