Each time you save changes, a new version of the file is created in your workspace.
The previous version moves to the OldVersions\ folder.
Other designers using Inventor can see the new version only after you check the file back in to the workgroup location in semi-isolated projects, or save the file in shared projects, and they refresh their view of the assembly.
Actions when you save file
Several actions happen automatically when you save a file.
- A new version writes to a new file, in the same folder.
- When the new file version is successfully on disk, the original file moves to a subfolder named OldVersions\ in the folder it was in. It is renamed to file name.version.ext, where version is a decimal version number. For example, file name.0003.ext is the name for version 3 of file name.ext. If there are versions 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in the OldVersions\ folder, and you restore version 3 to the current version, it is numbered version 7 to avoid conflicts with the existing versions 4, 5, and 6. Problems can occur in future sessions if you delete files from the OldVersions\ folder using Microsoft Windows Explorer.
- Finally, file name.newVer.ext is renamed to file name.ext.
Every save writes a new globally unique version ID to the file to identify it. Each session remembers which version ID it is accessing. If you try to reopen the file at the normal location, and the version ID is changed, the program assumes someone else saved it or checked it in. The appropriate version of the file opens from the OldVersions\ folder. The version of the file that opens is used from that point forward to access additional information. The old version of the file is restored, but not the state of an assembly.
Controls for file versions
In a project, a changeable value controls the number of versions saved in the OldVersions folders.
After you save a file, other designers who reference the file continue to see the old version until you check in the file to the workgroup.
In a Shared or Semi-Isolated project, you can see updates to files that are referenced from the server only after you refresh, or reopen the assembly.
Uses for old versions of files
You can restore previous versions of files, but (in Inventor, it is not possible to restore the previous state of an assembly.
The files in OldVersions\ are used for:
- A manual form of error recovery or backups.
- Opening earlier versions of files to load segments. If the earlier version of a file is not found, a message displays, and you Browse or Cancel:
In Browse:
Open old version (Save not allowed).
Restore old version to current version Restores and opens the old version, Not available when the current version is checked out to someone else.
Open current version The open is redirects to the current version.
File versions and PDM systems
A facility provided through the PDM API allows some added control over the creation and management of OldVersions\ to accommodate the controls in PDM systems.