Team pages and certain other site pages have a Shared Documents section. By default, only the current version of a document is available to site users in a document library. However, if your organization is concerned about version control, you can choose to retain previous versions in the library. Site users can then view previous versions to locate lost content or to discover the source or date of a particular change.
- Log into your SharePoint site, e.g., yourdomain.sharesrvr.com.
- Navigate to a page with a Shared Documents section.
- On the Quick Launch bar, click the Shared Documents link.
- Click the Settings drop-down menu, and select Document Library Settings.
- From this page, you can make changes to the general settings, permissions and policies, communications, columns, and views of the selected document library. Changes you make on this page do not affect the entire site.
Under General Settings, click the Versioning settings link. - From this page, you can specify whether:
- New and changed documents must be approved by a specific person before they are available from the site.
- Windows SharePoint Services retains prior versions of updated documents.
- Site users can see draft documents that haven’t been declared final.
- Users must check out documents before editing them.
- Users can create multiple types of content from the New menu.
Each of these options is useful when developing content in a collaborative environment.
Note: The Content Approval option is part of the new Windows Workflow Foundation functionality. If you use Office SharePoint Designer 2007 to create and manage SharePoint sites, you can attach workflows to document libraries and lists. These workflows monitor events and conditions within the library or list and then take action, such as routing a file for approval or sending an email message.
- In the Document Version History section, select the Create major versionsoption button. You can select the version options that fit best with the expected frequency of document updates. You can also specify how many previous versions of a document should be retained.
- In the Require Check Out area, select the Yes option button.
- Click the OK button.
