How do I restore a previous version of an Excel file in a team?

Excel files stored in Microsoft Teams have access to version history, allowing you to view or restore previous iterations of a file. This provides protection against unintended changes, overwrites, or deletions. Version history gives you peace of mind that you can revert to an older version if needed.

Version history is enabled by default for all files stored in Teams. As edits are made, Teams will save versions in the background, keeping a running record of changes. You can then view or restore from this version history at any time.

Having version history for Excel files in Teams provides several key benefits:

Recover from accidental changes, deletions, or overwrites.
View incremental changes and track editing progression.
Collaborate on files with confidence.

Maintain data integrity and preserve important Excel file states.
Simplify document management with automatic version tracking.

Table of Contents

Enabling Version History in Teams

To enable version history for files in Microsoft Teams, the files must be stored in a SharePoint document library connected to Teams rather than Teams-only storage. SharePoint’s versioning capabilities powers the version history functionality in Teams.

To turn on version history in Teams:

Open Teams and navigate to the channel with the SharePoint connected library where you want to enable version history.
Click on the “Files” tab at the top of the channel.

Click the three dots next to the connected library and choose “Open in SharePoint”.
In SharePoint, click the settings gear icon and choose “Versioning Settings”.
Check the box for “Create a version each time you edit a file in this list or library”.

Adjust any other versioning settings as desired, like number of versions to retain.
Click OK to save the settings.

Now version history will be enabled for files in that SharePoint connected library in Teams. You can view version history by opening a file, clicking the three dots, and selecting “Version history”.

Saving Versions of Excel Files

Teams automatically saves versions of Excel files stored in Teams channels whenever changes are made. There are a few key points on how Teams maintains these versions in SharePoint:

Auto-Save: Excel Online will automatically save a new version of the file up to every 5 minutes when edits are made. This allows you to access previously saved versions that are minutes old if needed.

Manual Save: You can also manually save at any time which will create a new version in SharePoint. This can be done by clicking File > Save in Excel Online.

Frequency: The auto-save happens up to every 5 minutes. So you can access a version history with saves spaced 5 minutes apart for recovery.¹ Older versions are retained for 30 days by default before being deleted.

SharePoint Versions: Teams connects to SharePoint document libraries on the backend. So versions are actually stored and maintained by SharePoint to enable restoring previous edits.

Viewing Version History

To access the version history for an Excel file in Teams, open the file and click on the “Details” option in the header. This will open up a pane on the right side that shows the version history.

The version history interface displays all previous iterations of the file in chronological order, with the most recent version at the top. For each version, Teams shows relevant metadata like the last modified date, the person who edited it, and the version number.

You can click on any entry in the version history to preview that version of the file. This allows you to visually compare changes between versions and see exactly what was added, edited, or deleted.

The version history makes it easy to track changes over time and see who made what edits. This provides transparency and accountability when multiple people collaborate on a file.

Restoring a Previous Version

To restore a previous version of an Excel file in Microsoft Teams, follow these steps:

Open the Teams channel where the Excel file is stored.
Click on the Excel file to open it.

In the upper right corner, click the “More options” icon (•••).
Select “Version history”.
This will open the version history pane on the right side.

Locate and click on the version you want to restore.
Click “Restore”. This gives you two options:
- “Replace current version” – Replaces the current file with the previous version.
- “Make a copy” – Makes a copy of the previous version while keeping the current version.
The restored version will be located in the same Teams channel as the original file.

When restoring a previous version, you have the choice to replace the current file or make a copy. Making a copy allows you to keep the current version while also recovering an older version. The restored file will be located in the same place as the original within your Teams channel.

Setting Version Limits

SharePoint and OneDrive allow you to set limits on the number of versions stored for documents in Teams. This allows you to control storage space used by versions over time. There are a few options for setting version limits:

Major versions – This refers to versions that are manually published or approved as major updates. The default limit is 50,000 major versions, but this can be reduced if needed. Consider if 50,000 major versions are really required for your content lifespan.

Minor versions – Minor versions are saved automatically over time. The default limit is 511 minor versions. Consider if you need to store every minor change made to a document.

You can change version limits in SharePoint or OneDrive settings. Navigate to the library or folder, choose Library or Folder Settings, then Versioning Settings. Here you can set custom major and minor version limits as needed [1].

When considering version limits, balance storage needs with restore requirements. Storing fewer versions uses less storage space. But having more versions provides more restore points if content is accidentally changed or deleted. Evaluate how many versions are really needed for your use case.

Deleting Old Versions

Over time, the version history for an Excel file in Teams can accumulate many unwanted old versions that take up storage space. There are a few ways to delete old versions:

Manually Removing Unwanted Versions

You can manually delete unwanted versions from the version history one by one. Open the file in Teams and click on Version History. Select the version you want to remove and click Delete. Confirm the deletion. This will permanently remove that version from the history (Microsoft).

Automated Cleanup Options

Teams provides options to automatically remove old versions after a set time period. You can configure Teams to delete versions older than a certain number of days or limit the total number of versions retained. This automates cleanup without having to manually prune old versions.

Permanently Deleting All Versions

If you want to completely purge the version history and start fresh, you can permanently delete all previous versions. However, this action cannot be undone. Open the file, click Version History, and choose Delete All Versions. Confirm the deletion. All prior versions will be removed from Teams and OneDrive (Microsoft).

Versioning with Co-Authors

Co-authoring allows multiple people to edit the same Excel file stored in Teams at the same time. This can affect versioning in a few key ways:

When co-authoring, you can see who made each change by going to the Review tab and clicking Track Changes. This will show each author’s edits in a different color. You can click on any edit to see who made it. You can also choose to hide or show specific authors’ edits.

To restore an older version when co-authoring, go to Version History and select the version you want. This will discard all changes made after that version. Be careful, as this will remove edits from all co-authors since that version. It’s best to first merge or address any changes you want to keep from other authors.

With co-authoring, there is no built-in way for one author to reject another author’s changes. The recommended approach is to discuss changes as a team before restoring an older version.

Overall, co-authoring provides powerful collaboration capabilities, but requires more communication to coordinate versioning. Discussing changes before reverting versions avoids overwriting teammates’ work.

Best Practices

When using version history in Microsoft Teams, it’s a good idea to follow some best practices to optimize the feature and prevent issues. Here are some recommendations:

Set version limits to conserve storage space. Microsoft recommends limiting versions to between 50-500 major versions, with no limit for minor versions. You can set these limits in the document library settings. Keeping versions under control prevents bloated storage usage over time (Microsoft).

Restore previous versions judiciously. Only revert to an earlier version when absolutely necessary, as restoring erases all versions created after the restored version. Often it’s better to start a new file and copy over relevant content instead (Microsoft).

Delete unused versions periodically. Old versions take up storage space, so remember to delete outdated minor versions after major milestones. This helps optimize performance.

Avoid simultaneous editing. When co-authors work on a file simultaneously, conflicting versions can be created. Take turns with editing access to avoid version clutter.