Versions

Ambience regards the change of contents as the signal of a new version. In the meantime, change of access rights or tags is regarded as the signal of the same version. Please note that if you log in with a new user name and choose to transfer a copy of file into the Repository, it is regarded as a new version even if the contents are the same with the previous version. The only difference between these two versions is the ownership, as shown in the third record in the following table. This feature is designed for recording the complete version history for all the authenticated users and system engines.

Table 2.5. Versions

UserLength (BytesTimestamp
admin02011-09-01 16:51:43
admin502011-09-01 16:52:06
test502011-09-01 16:55:37
admin70*2011-09-01 16:58:15
admin102011-09-01 17:00:52
admin702011-09-01 17:01:29

*Right-click and revert to this version.

Before viewing the previous versions, make sure that you are granted the read access right. It helps you to prevent the outlet of important information. Similarly, you need to be granted the write access right before editing the files. For more details, refer to the Controlling the access rights section. Ambience enables you to edit the files directly. All you need are a properly configured host machine and a network connection.

Save a version

You have the option to save either the current or a previous version, which enables you to look into that version for details. To save a version on the host machine, click the Versions tab, right-click the version and select Save Local.

Delete a version

If you want to remove unnecessary versions from the records, select the file, click the Versions tab, right-click those versions and select Delete.... Deleting the unnecessary versions reduces the time and effort of managing a huge number of version records.

If you delete a file, its version records are still in the store. When you restore a deleted file from the Recycle Bin, the previous versions will also be restored. If you permanently delete a file, the version records will be cleared. However, be cautious to use this feature and make sure you do not delete the versions with significant changes.

Revert to a version

One important purpose of recording the versions is that you can date back to any previous version and revert to it. Undoing the changes you don't need is extremely useful for changes that happen back and forth, which saves a lot of repeated efforts. By clicking the Versions tab, right-clicking a previous version and selecting Revert..., the previous version becomes the most current version. To better serve your tracking needs, the more recent versions are still kept in the records. Table 2.5, “Versions” shows what happens after you choose to revert. Please note that the record in bold indicates the result of the revert action.