By default, version control is not enabled for Community Types or communities, but this can be an incredibly useful feature for working groups who are dealing with certain file types, like Word documents, PowerPoint slides, etc. Enabling version control allows these users to upload multiple versions of a file, serving to both create an archive of past versions for historical referencing and ensure previous content is never lost.

So, let's learn how to enable version control at both the Community Type and individual community level.

Enable version control for a Community Type

Community Types serve two important purposes:

• They categorize similar communities together, helping to keep them organized,
• and they enable you to set defaults for important configuration settings and access permissions that apply to every community within them.

This means enabling version control for a Community Type enables it, by default, for all communities belonging to it (you can always update it for specific communities within the Type if needed, however).

To enable version control for a Community Type:

1. In the Admin Toolbar, click Admin.

2. Navigate to Community > Communities > Types.

3. Select the desired Community Type in the list and click Edit.

4. Scroll down to the Permissions area and check the Members can work collaboratively on library entries box.

5. Scroll to the bottom of the dialog and click Save.

Enable version control for a community

While enabling version control for a Community Type is an ideal way to enable it for all of its associated communities, you can also enable version control on a per-community basis if more direct control is needed.

To enable version control for a community:

1. In the Admin Toolbar, click Admin.

2. Navigate to Community > Communities > Libraries.

3. Click to select a Library in the list.
4. In the resulting Preview Panel, check the Members can work collaboratively on library entries box.

5. Click Save.

Example of version control in action

See Upload Multiple Versions of a File to learn how you and your users can use version control to work collaboratively in a Resource Library. You'll learn how to download a file and upload your version.