Every operating system backs up previous versions of files and offers an easy way to go back in time. If you use a cloud storage service
, it also keeps previous versions of your files.
, it also keeps previous versions of your files.
This is often useful when dealing with some sort of office document.
But, any time you’ve modified any type of file and want to go back,
it’ll work.
Windows 7
On Windows 7, the Previous Versions feature
allows you to restore older versions of your existing files. Just
locate a file in Windows Explorer, right-click it, select Properties,
and click the Previous Versions tab. You’ll see any available previous
versions.
These older versions of files come both from backups created with
Windows Backup (if you use that backup system) and the automatic System
Restore feature. This means that you should be able to restore previous
versions of some files without configuring anything — System Restore
will be there for you — but it’ll certainly work better if you also
enable Windows Backup.
Windows 8 and 8.1
Microsoft changed the way this works in Windows 8 and 8.1. The old “Previous Versions” feature was removed, as was Windows Backup.
Instead, Windows now uses File History. Connect an external drive or
point Windows at a network drive and set up File History on that
location. Windows will then back up your files automatically. You’ll be
able to restore previous versions of them by right-clicking a file,
pointing to Properties, and using the options on the File History tab.
Crucially, System Restore no longer keeps backup copies of previous
versions of your files. As File History isn’t enabled by default, this
means you can’t restore previous versions of files unless you’ve gone
out of your way to set it up. Former Windows 7 users might have a rude
awakening if they expect Windows to automatically back up previous
versions of files — it won’t, by default.
Mac OS X
Macs offer several features for this. The first is “Versions,” which
works in applications specifically designed for it. This includes text
editors, office applications, image editors, and so on. For example, it
works in the included TextEdit and Preview applications.
Open the file you want to view a previous version of in that
applicaiton, click the File menu, and point to Revert To. You’ll see a
list of previous versions of the file, and you can click “Browse All
Versions” to flip through them.
You can also use Time Machine
for this, assuming you’ve set upg Time Machine backups. Launch the Time
Machine application, select a time, and choose a specific file at that
time. Use the Restore button to restore it.
On Mac laptops, Time Machine actually creates backup copies of files
on your Mac’s local hard drive. Time Machine should have some previous
versions of files available to you, even if you haven’t performed a Time
Machine backup to an external drive in a while.
Linux Desktops
Linux desktops don’t tend to have this feature built in, and they’re
generally not automatically creating backups of your files. If you use a
backup tool — like the Backups tool included in Ubuntu (also known as
Déjà Dup) — you may be able to recover backup copies of previous files
from the backup tool. Check the backup software you use for more help.
Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Other Cloud Storage Services
Cloud storage services generally store previous versions of your
files. This gives you another way to get previous versions of files back
if your desktop operating system fails you. This feature generally
isn’t exposed in the desktop client, though — you should visit the
service’s website or perhaps use a mobile app to access it.
For example, on Dropbox’s website you can right-click any file and
select Previous versions to see a list of previous versions of the file
you can restore. On Google Drive’s website, you can right-click a file
and select Manage versions if there’s a previous version available. On
OneDrive’s website, right-click a file and select Version history.
Note that your cloud storage service won’t keep previous versions
forever. Depending on the service you use, the previous versions may be
deleted after a period of time (like 30 days), when there are too many
previous versions of the file, or to free up space. Don’t rely on the
previous versions feature as a historical record!
From Your Backups
If you use a different local backup program — in other words, not
Windows Backup on Windows 7, File History on Windows 8 or 8.1, or Time
Machine on Mac OS X — that backup program is obviously a good place to
go find previous versions of your files, too. Head to your backup
software of choice and perform a search for the file you want to see a
previous version of.
This process is similar to restoring from backups — after all, each
previous version of a file is just a backup of an older file — but
operating systems expose this function in a different way.
It may even be easier to restore a previous version of a file than recover a backup of a deleted file —
just witness cloud storage services. They won’t help you get a file
back if you’ve emptied it from your trash, but will keep many previous
versions of files you haven’t deleted.
Article Credit: Chris Hoffman
Image Credit: MattysFlicks on Flickr
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