Document Versions
Board materials are often corrected after they are first uploaded: a signed copy replaces the unsigned one, or a page is fixed. When you replace a document's file, Boardwise keeps the earlier file as a previous version. Nothing is deleted, and the record shows who replaced the file, when, and why.
How Versions Work
Every document starts at Version 1, the file it was first uploaded with. Each time the file is replaced, the new file becomes the next version (Version 2, Version 3, and so on) and the earlier files stay in the document's version history.
The newest version is the current one. It is what people see when they open the document, what a meeting's agenda links to, and what is included in a download of all the meeting's documents.
Replacing the file does not change the document's name, its folder, the meetings it is attached to, or who can open it.
Replacing a Document's File
You need permission to edit the document.
- Open the document
- Select Edit (the pencil icon)
- Under Replace the file, choose the new file
- Optionally, say what changed in What changed?, for example "Signed copy" or "Corrected page 4". The note appears beside the new version in the history
- Select Update Document
Boardwise confirms the new version number. If the document is on a published meeting, attendees are told that the materials have changed, as before.
By Uploading the New File
You can also upload the corrected file to the folder or meeting the document is in. If its name matches the document's, Boardwise asks whether it is a new version of that document or a different document. Choose A new version, add a note if you wish, and select Continue. The result is the same as replacing the file from the edit page. See "When a Name Is Already in Use" in Working with Documents.
If You Upload the Same File Again
If the file you choose is identical to the current version, Boardwise tells you so and does not record a new version. Any other change you made on the form, such as a new name, is still saved.
Documents That Cannot Be Replaced
The final resolution and the secretary's certificate of a certified written consent are kept exactly as they were certified. Their file cannot be replaced, so they always have one version.
Viewing the Version History
Anyone who can open a document can see its history.
- From the document, select Version in the header (the clock icon)
- From a folder or a meeting's document list, open the document's menu and select Version history
The history lists every version, newest first. For each one you can see:
- The version number, with Current beside the newest
- Who uploaded it and when
- Their note about what changed, if they left one
The name and size of the file as it was uploaded
The closed meetings the version was presented at, if any
The same list appears at the bottom of the document's edit page.
Documents Uploaded Before Version History
Documents that were already in Boardwise when version history was introduced show their existing file as Version 1, marked "On file since … before version history was kept". If that file had itself replaced an earlier one, the earlier file was not kept.
Reading a Previous Version
In the version history, select View beside the version you want. It opens on screen in the same viewer as the current file, with a label at the top saying which version you are reading and Open the current version beside it.
A previous version is opened under exactly the rules of the current file: only people who can open the document can read it, your name is shown across the pages, and the view is recorded with the version you read.
A previous version is for reading. Your notes and highlights on it are shown, but you cannot add or change notes there, and the document cannot be edited from that page. You can still remove a note of your own: select it and choose the delete button. See Notes and New Versions below.
Downloading a Previous Version
In the version history, select Download beside the version you want. The file is named with its version, for example "Bylaws (version 2).pdf", so it is not confused with the current one.
A previous version is treated exactly like the current file:
- Only people who can open the document can download it
- A PDF is stamped with the name of the person downloading it
- The download is recorded, including which version was downloaded
A password-protected PDF can only be downloaded if a secretary chose to keep it protected while it was the current version. That choice belongs to the file it was made for: it does not carry over to other versions, so an earlier protected version that was never the subject of that choice shows the "password-protected" message instead of downloading.
If your organization has turned off document downloads, previous versions of documents that can be read on screen are not available to download; use View to read them instead. A previous version that can only be opened by downloading it, such as a spreadsheet, stays available as long as the current file is too. Where a version is not available you will see "Not available to download".
What a Closed Meeting Shows
When a meeting is closed, Boardwise records which version of each of its documents the meeting had. That record is made once, names the person who closed the meeting, and is never changed afterwards. It is what lets you answer "which version did the board have in front of it?" months later.
You can still replace, rename, add or remove a meeting's documents after it has closed. The record does not follow those changes. Instead, the meeting's document list tells you what has changed since:
- A document replaced since shows "Version 2 was presented at this meeting. The current version is 4.", with View version 2, Download version 2 and a link to the version history. The version presented is read on screen and downloaded under the same rules as any previous version: if your organization has turned off document downloads, you can still view it. Replacing the file of a document on a closed meeting does not change the meeting's record; the edit page reminds you of this.
- A document added since is listed as added after the meeting closed.
- A document removed since (moved to the trash, or permanently deleted at the end of its retention period) is still named, with the version that was presented. Only the people who manage the meeting see this line.
If nothing has changed since the meeting closed, nothing extra is shown.
For a closed meeting, the Meeting Book and Download all deliver the versions that were presented, not the current files. In the document's version history, a version that was presented at a closed meeting says which meeting.
Meetings Closed Before This Record Was Kept
Meetings that closed before Boardwise began recording this have had their record worked out afterwards from each document's version history. These meetings say so: "This meeting closed before Boardwise recorded which versions were presented."
Where a document's file was added or replaced after the meeting, at a time when Boardwise did not yet keep previous versions, there is nothing left to show what the document held at the meeting. The meeting then says "Boardwise cannot produce what this document held at this meeting" rather than showing a later file in its place.
Notes and New Versions
Highlights, notes and drawings are placed at positions on the pages of the file they were made on, so they stay with that version. They are never moved onto a different file, where they would point at the wrong words.
When a file is replaced:
- The new version opens clean, without the notes made on earlier versions
- Anyone who has notes on an earlier version sees Notes on earlier versions at the top of the document, with a count. It lists each version, for example "Version 2 · 3 notes", and opens that version with those notes in place
- Nothing is deleted. Each person's notes remain private to them, and the count only ever includes their own notes and notes shared with them
- Notes shared with other people keep working: the link in the notification opens the version the note was written on
If you plan to replace a file that directors have already marked up, let them know that their notes will stay with the earlier version.
Notes Made Before Version History
For documents that were already in Boardwise when version history was introduced, a note made before the document's file was last replaced was written on a file that was not kept. Those notes are not shown on any version, because the pages they pointed at no longer exist. They are still yours: the notice at the top of the document says how many there are, and they are listed in My Notes, marked "Written on an earlier file that was not kept".
How Long Versions Are Kept
Previous versions are kept for as long as the document is. They are not removed on their own.
When a document is permanently deleted at the end of its retention period, all of its versions are deleted with it. Moving a document to the trash keeps its versions, and restoring it brings them back with it. See Trash and Recovery.
Good Practice
- Replace, do not re-upload. Uploading a corrected file as a new document leaves two documents with the same name. Replacing the file keeps one document with a clear history.
- Leave a note. A few words about what changed saves questions later, and becomes part of the record.
- Finalize before publishing where you can. Attendees are told when a published meeting's materials change. Replacing a file after they have read it means some will have read the earlier version.
- Refer to the version in the minutes if a particular version was the one approved.
- Close the meeting when it is over. Closing is what records the versions the board had. Until a meeting is closed it follows the current files.
Comparing Documents
You can view two different documents side by side with Compare. Comparing two versions of the same document is not available yet; open the previous version with View in a second window if you need to check it against the current one.