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Version Control For Microsoft Office Documents

Anonymous
2015-01-07T05:31:53+00:00

Hello! I would like to ask what are the available version control for Microsoft Office documents (Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Access)? Whick one would you recommend?

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  1. Paul Edstein 82,861 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2016-02-01T03:19:18+00:00

    Office has built-in, automagic version control.  Every time you save a file a new "version" is created.

    That is not a feature of Office. Depending on your setup, it may be something that's offered by your backup software or via an operating system restore point. Word 2003 & earlier did have a form of version management (which is quite different to anything discussed in this thread), but that facility has been deprecated.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-04-13T16:45:46+00:00

    Microsoft Office 2010, 2013, 2016 - none have native version control. You can use Sharepoint though.

    For individual work custom macro for saving backup copies could be sufficient.

    Some use Git revision control, although I do not have personal experience. There was a discussion here.

    For business environment it's best to find a proven 3-rd party solution. I have an impression that not many companies have built on this demand. Spreadgit and Helix have been around for a while, a new promising XLTools add-in appeared recently. Each solution has its perks, but normally covers one specific Office application.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-01-31T23:34:11+00:00

    Office has built-in, automagic version control.  Every time you save a file a new "version" is created. To view, compare, and restore previous versions of a document, select File -> Info -> Versions (File -> History in Office Mobile).

    What you do not get with built-in version control is an implicit branching capability.

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-01-07T18:20:11+00:00

    If you have Sharepoint, it has the ability to do version control (built in, you just have to turn it on). It can save each updated copy of a file to give you an audit trail, while only showing you the current version in the UI.

    There are many areas where I find SP to be tedious to use for file repository purposes, but I do like the version control it provides.

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  5. Jay Freedman 207.6K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2015-01-09T15:19:47+00:00

    I haven't used TFS, so I can't give you a personal opinion. However, you might find the answers in the thread at http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2709902/team-foundation-server-vs-svn-and-other-source-control-systems useful.

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