Purging Versions

As files in the vault are worked on over time, versions are created, taking up room in the vault. The versions range from the initial draft version, to versions representing work in progress to the final version. Using the Purge Wizard, you can manage the version history in a vault. Versions that are no longer needed can be purged from the vault, creating a more compact vault database and improving the overall performance of a vault.

The Purge Wizard allows you to specify criteria for removing versions from a vault. You specify the conditions that must be met in order for a file version to be kept in the vault. Versions that do not meet the specified criteria are then removed from the vault.

Note: You must be assigned the role of Administrator or Document Editor II to perform this action. Contact your vault administrator to verify your role. File versions being purged as well as all related files must be checked into the vault before purging

Basic rules of purging:

The latest version in a revision cannot be purged (the revision is never removed). To remove a file and all of its versions from a vault, use Delete.
The leading version of a revision cannot be purged.
File versions linked to items in Vault Professional cannot be purged. To remove a version linked to an item, the item must first be deleted from the item master.
File versions that are labeled cannot be purged.
File versions marked as Controlled by the life cycle definition may not be purged.
Only the first, last, or first and last versions in a released state can be purged.
Older versions of files that are currently checked out can be purged.
Children with a dependent parent version cannot be purged until the parent version has been purged.
The Administrator role can override purge restrictions and force the removal of versions, except for versions that are linked to items.
For Autodesk Vault Workgroup, Collaboration, and Professional editions. Files are purged based on revision and lifecycle rules unless version selection rules are defined during purge set-up.

Purge Versions

Note: You must be assigned the role of Administrator to perform this action. Contact your vault administrator to verify your role. File versions being purged as well as all related files must be checked into the vault before purging. Automatically published .dwf files are not directly supported.

Select a file or files and then from the Edit menu, select Purge.
Or

Right-click a file, and then select Purge.
The wizard lists the file or files that were selected from the main pane. Click Add Files to include other files from the vault.
To exclude a file from being purged, select it from the list and then click Remove.
The parents and children of a selected file can be included in the purge. Right-click on a file in the list and select Add Parents or Add Children to include the related files.
Click Next.

Click the Purge file versions within the Null revision check box if you want to purge versions not defined by revision and life cycle rules. This action enables the Specify the version selection criteria box.

Specify the version selection criteria

In the Specify the version selection criteria box, turn on the check box next to each of the selection rules to determine the data to be purged:

Versions except latest	Specify how many file versions to leave in the vault.
Versions older than days	Specify how old the files to purge should be.
Exclude versions where comment contains:	Enter a text string contained within the Comments field of the files in the vault. Any files containing this string will be excluded from the purge process.

Click Next.
If there are any restrictions on the versions to be purged, the restricted versions are listed as well as the reason for the restrictions. Click Finish to purge those versions that are not restricted or click Cancel to exit the Purge Wizard.
If you have been assigned the role of Administrator, you can choose to purge even the versions that are restricted. Turn on Ignore restrictions (Purge unconditionally) and then click Finish to override any purge restrictions.

Note: Versions that are restricted because they are linked to items in Vault Professional cannot be purged unconditionally. The corresponding item must be deleted from the item master before the version can be purged.
The Purge Results screen summarizes the versions that were successfully removed and the versions that were not purged due to vault restrictions.
You can choose to generate a report as an Excel file (.xls) and save it locally or in the vault by performing one of these options:
- To save the report locally, click Save. On the Save As dialog, navigate to the folder structure where you want to store the file locally. Enter a name for the report and click Save.
- To save the report in a vault, Click Send to Vault to display a list of vault folders. Select the vault in which you want the report saved, enter a name for the report, and click Save.
Click Close

Purge Versions from the History Tab

You can also purge specific versions from a file using the History tab.

Select a file and then click the History tab.
From the History tab, select a file version or versions and then select Edit Purge.
The Purge Wizard starts at the Restricted File Versions screen, indicating which of the selected versions cannot be purged. Follow steps 7 through 9 above to finish purging.