# Read a document's history and revisions

The Version History window decoded — what major and minor version numbers mean, which rows hold downloadable files, how to bring an old version's content back, and how to read the action names.

Product: content-central · Versions: 7.x · Audience: user · Time: 10 minute read · Last verified: 2026-09-05

Canonical: https://help.ademero.com/content-central/documents/read-a-documents-history-and-revisions

**By the end of this page you can open any document's Version History, tell which rows carry an actual file, download a prior version, and answer the questions history exists for: who did what to this document, and when.**

## Opening it

Choose **View History** from the document's actions menu — on search results, in the Folder Browser, or in the viewer. The **Version History** window opens with one row per event, newest first, and a count badge in the title.

*[Screenshot: Version 1.0 is the file arriving (**Added**, with the field values it arrived with in Details); 1.1 records a workflow starting an approval — note the WF badge, and that only the major version carries a download control.]*

## Reading the version numbers

Every document starts at **1.0**, and the two halves of the number move for different reasons:

- **The major number** (1.0 → 2.0) increments when the *file* changes: the original **Added**, then **Checked In**, **Uploaded Revision**, **Replaced**, or **Appended**.
- **The minor number** (2.0 → 2.1) increments for everything that happens *around* the file: **Checked Out**, **Check-Out Undo**, **Properties Updated**, **Moved**, retention-policy changes.

So the rule of thumb: **whole numbers are files, decimals are events.** A document at 3.4 has had three file versions and, since the third, four recorded events.

## What the rows mean

The **Action** column speaks in past tense. The ones people ask about:

| Action | What happened |
| --- | --- |
| **Added** | The document entered the system — version 1.0 |
| **Checked Out** / **Checked In** | An editing session started / ended (check-in brought a new file) |
| **Check-Out Undo** | A check-out was released without changes |
| **Uploaded Revision** / **Replaced** / **Appended** | The file was changed directly |
| **Properties Updated** | Field values changed |
| **Moved** | The document changed folders |
| **Make Searchable** | Text recognition was run on it |

Approval and work-queue events (**Begin Approval Process**, **Approved**, **Work-Queue Assignment**, and kin) record routing rather than content. A row with a small **WF** badge was generated by workflow, not a person.

## Downloading a prior version

Rows that carry a file show a **Download** control at the right — that's every *major* version, provided your permissions allow downloading. Minor-version rows are events, not files; there's nothing to download from them by design.

## Bringing an old version back

There is no one-click restore — deliberately, since "restore" would quietly discard whatever came after. The supported path is explicit and leaves its own trail:

1. Download the version you want from its history row.
2. Use **Upload Revision** to make it the new current version.

The result is a new major version whose row says exactly what happened — the old content is current again, and history still shows everything in between.

## Two places history won't answer

- **Who's looking at documents** is the Event Viewer's job (behind your avatar menu), not Version History — history records changes and routing.
- **Deleted documents** have no history to open. [Delete documents — and what happens next](/content-central/documents/delete-documents-and-what-happens-next) covers what deletion actually does.

## What's next

- [Replace a document or upload a revision](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/documents/replace-a-document-or-upload-a-revision)
- [Check a document out and back in](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/documents/check-out-and-check-in)