Reverting to a previous version of a document in Excel means going back to an earlier saved state of that file. There are several reasons why users may want to revert to an older version:
To recover lost work if changes were accidentally overwritten or the file became corrupted.
To undo major changes that ended up not working out and you want to go back to a previous draft.
To retrieve an element or section that was deleted from the current version.
To access an older version that contained data or formatting that is now different in the latest saved copy.
To roll back to a version before edits were made by other collaborators.
Having the ability to revert can be invaluable for restoring lost or compromised work, fixing mistakes, and retrieving old material that still has value.
Enable AutoRecover in Excel
Excel’s AutoRecover feature can help you recover previous versions of a file in case of a crash or accidental overwrite. AutoRecover saves versions of your file at set intervals so you can restore an earlier version if needed.
To enable AutoRecover in Excel:
- Open Excel and click the File tab.
- Click Options.
- In the Excel Options dialog box, click Save.
- Check the box next to “Save AutoRecover information every:” and set the interval, such as every 10 minutes.
- Click OK to save the settings.
With AutoRecover enabled, Excel will now automatically save versions of your file periodically as you work. You can then access previous auto-saved versions if needed to revert to an earlier point.
Sources:
[How do I turn on AutoSave? | Microsoft Support](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-do-i-turn-on-autosave-dbd19b49-ff3a-48f5-8294-671e33a6712c)
[How to Turn On AutoSave in Excel (An Easy Guide) | Trump Excel](https://trumpexcel.com/turn-on-autosave-excel/)
Recover Unsaved Versions
If you have ever worked on an important Excel file without saving it and then accidentally closed the file, you know how frustrating that can be. Thankfully, recent versions of Excel have an AutoRecover feature that can help you restore unsaved work.
By default, AutoRecover saves a temporary copy of your Excel file every 10 minutes while you’re working on it. You can access these unsaved versions as follows:
- Open Excel and click File > Open.
- Click “Recover Unsaved Workbooks” at the bottom of the Open pane.
- Locate the unsaved workbook version you want to restore. The entries will be named “AutoRecovery save of WorkbookName.”
- Click the version you want, and click Open.
This will open the unsaved AutoRecover version so you can save it as a regular workbook file. Keep in mind that earlier unsaved versions will replace more recent ones, so you’ll only have access to the most recently auto-saved copy.
You can adjust the AutoRecover settings in Excel to save versions more or less frequently. Go to File > Options > Save and check the box for “Save AutoRecover information every:”.
Enabling AutoRecover and adjusting its frequency can help safeguard your work against unexpected file closures. Just remember to manually save your Excel files regularly as well.
Recover from Backup
If you have backups of your Excel files, you can restore a previous version of a file by replacing the current file with an older backup version. Here are the steps:
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Locate the backup copy of the Excel file you want to restore. This may be on an external drive, cloud storage, file server, etc. depending on your backup solution.
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Copy the older backup version of the Excel file and paste it in the same folder location, replacing the current version of the file. Be sure to keep the file name exactly the same.
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When prompted to replace the file, click Yes.
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Open the Excel file, and you should now see a previous version from the date of the backup you restored.
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The original version will still be in the Recycle Bin if you need to access it.
This allows you to roll back to a previous backup version of an Excel file if you need to undo changes or recover lost work. Just be sure you have regular backups of important Excel files.
For more information, see this guide on restoring previous versions of Office files from backup.
Retrieve from SharePoint or OneDrive
If you have the Excel file synced to SharePoint or OneDrive, you can restore a previous version from there. SharePoint and OneDrive keep version histories of files, so you can revert back to an older version if needed.
To restore a previous version from SharePoint or OneDrive:
- Open SharePoint or OneDrive in a web browser and navigate to the Excel file.
- Click on the file to view it.
- Click the “Open Menu” button next to the file name and select “Version History”.
- In the version history, find the version you want to restore. Hover over it and click the arrow to open the menu.
- Select “Restore” to revert the file back to that version. This will create a copy of the old version while keeping the current version as well.
With SharePoint and OneDrive version histories, you can easily restore an Excel file to an earlier version. Just be sure the file is synced to SharePoint or OneDrive before the unwanted changes occur.
Use File History
File History is a backup feature in Windows that can help you restore previous versions of Excel files. Here’s how to use it:
1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the location of the file you want to restore. Right click on the file and select “Restore previous versions” from the context menu.
2. This will open the file versions window. You’ll see a timeline of available previous versions of that file. Click on the version you want to restore.
3. A preview of that version will open. Click “Restore” to save this version to the original file location, overwriting the current version.
File History keeps periodic backups of files in its archive. By default, it saves hourly copies for the past 24 hours, daily copies for the past month, and weekly copies for all previous months. So you can restore older versions up to however long File History has been enabled.
Just keep in mind that File History won’t help if you didn’t have it turned on before losing or overwriting your file. But overall it provides a simple way to revert to previous versions of files.
Check Revisions
Excel allows you to track changes made to a workbook so you can see a file’s revision history. This allows you to revert to an older version if needed.
To check a workbook’s revision history in Excel:
- Go to the Review tab and click on Track Changes
- In the Track Changes pane, you will see a list of revisions, with the most recent changes at the top
- Click on a previous revision date to see what the workbook looked like at that point in time
- To revert to an older revision, right-click on the desired revision date and select Restore
This will revert the workbook back to the selected earlier revision. All changes after that point will be removed.
Tracking revisions is useful for seeing a history of changes made to a workbook over time. This allows you to easily revert back to an older version if needed.
Use Version History
Excel’s version history allows you to view or restore previous versions of a workbook. This can be helpful if you want to revert changes made to the file over time.
To access the version history, first open the Excel file. Click on the File tab, then select Info. In the right pane, click the button next to Versions to open the version history.
This will display a list of previously saved versions, with details like date modified and the user who made the changes. Click theRestore button next to the version you want to revert to. This will create a copy of that version and open it, allowing you to view or edit the previous state of the workbook.
The original latest version remains untouched, so you can toggle between the two to view the changes. To permanently overwrite the latest version, save the restored copy using the same name as the original file. This will replace it with the previous version.
Version history is enabled by default in modern versions of Excel, with the last few versions automatically saved. To increase the number of revisions stored, you can adjust the AutoRecover file location storage settings. This provides an easy built-in option for reverting unwanted changes to Excel workbooks.
Source: View previous versions of Office files
Consider Third Party Tools
In addition to the built-in version control features in Excel, there are third party tools you can use for more advanced version control of spreadsheets:
One option is to use a file syncing service like Dropbox or Google Drive. These services will keep previous versions of your Excel files stored in the cloud, allowing you to restore to an older version if needed.
Another popular solution is to use Git, a version control system commonly used for software development. With Git, you can manage branching and merging of Excel spreadsheet files, maintain a full revision history, and collaborate with others on Excel docs. Services like GitLab and GitHub provide GUI clients and cloud hosting for Git repositories.
There are also dedicated version control systems for spreadsheets, like Spreadcheat and Trackerty. These tools are designed specifically for collaborative editing and version management of Excel and Calc docs.
The advantage of using a dedicated third party version control system is more advanced features tailored to spreadsheets. However, it requires learning a new tool rather than relying on Excel’s built-in capabilities.
Recap Best Practices
Here are some key best practices to keep in mind when enabling version control in Excel:
Use consistent and clear naming conventions for different versions (v1, v2, etc.). Relying solely on dates can get confusing. Source
Enable AutoRecover and set it to save versions incrementally as you work. This way you have backups in case of crashes. Source
Use the Excel version history feature to view and restore previous versions. Enable this in Options. Source
Store files on services like SharePoint or OneDrive to utilize versioning capabilities. Source
Leverage the track changes and comments features to enable collaboration and reviewing versions. Source
Use third party tools like Git for more robust version control if needed. Source
