Category: Search and Organization
Most of us have opened a shared drive and found a document named something like Agreement_final_v3_FINAL_clean_2.docx, sitting beside four other copies with almost identical names. Nobody is quite sure which one is current. Somebody edits the wrong one. A day gets lost sorting it out.
That whole problem exists because the version lives in the filename. In NetDocuments, the version lives inside the document itself, so one document holds its entire history and everyone always sees the current copy. It is one of the clearest advantages a real document management system has over a plain network drive, and yet it is one of the most underused features in the platform.
Here are five practical ways to get more out of versioning in NetDocuments.
1. Decide when a document deserves a new version #
The most important versioning habit is also the simplest. In practice you rarely check a document out and back in by hand. You open it, and each time you save you decide between a plain save that updates the current version and a Save As that stores your changes as a new version. The choice is there any time the document is open. Reserve new versions for the moments that matter to the matter itself, such as a draft going out the door or a signed copy coming back, rather than for every small edit. That keeps the version list short and meaningful, so the history tells a story instead of logging keystrokes.
NetDocuments can also create subversions, the smaller v1.1 and v1.2 steps between whole versions. They have their place, but in most firms they are best left switched off. Plain whole numbers are easier for everyone to follow, and keeping versioning simple is what gets people to actually use it.
2. Name your versions and add a comment #
A version number on its own tells you nothing about what changed. NetDocuments lets you give every version a name and a comment, and this is where the real control comes from. Descriptions like Sent to client for review, Revised per partner markup, or Executed copy turn a bare list of numbers into a readable history.
Six months later, when someone needs to know which version went to the other side, the answer is right there in plain language rather than something you have to reconstruct from memory or email.
3. Use the official version to control which copy people open #
Every document in NetDocuments has one official version, and that is the copy people open by default. What many users do not realise is that any version can be made the official one, regardless of its number. If v4 went in the wrong direction, you can set v2 back as the official version and the whole team is pointed at the right copy again.
This also matters for finding documents later. By default NetDocuments indexes only the official version for full text search, so keeping the correct version official is part of making sure the document turns up when you search for it.
4. Bring outside documents in as a version, not a new document #
When a client or opposing counsel sends back a revised draft, it is tempting to save the attachment as a brand new document. That is exactly how you end up with the scattered copies you were trying to avoid. Instead, use Upload Version to bring the returned draft in as a new version of the document it belongs to. You can even drag an attachment straight out of the email and file it as a version.
Done this way, the internal draft, the version that went out, and the copy that came back all live on the same document, on the same matter, in the correct order. The revision history stays in one place instead of fragmenting across the workspace.
5. Resist the urge to delete versions to tidy up #
Deleting an unwanted version feels like housekeeping, but it causes more confusion than it removes. Deleting a version leaves a visible gap in the sequence, so the document jumps from v2 to v4 and everyone who sees it asks why. The deleted version also reappears in Deleted Items as a separate document with its own ID, which is anything but obvious to recover.
In legal work the complete history is often the point, so the audit trail is worth protecting. Rather than deleting, mark the version you want people to avoid with a clear comment, such as Do not use, superseded by v5. The bad version stays out of the way, the record stays intact, and nobody has to wonder what happened to the missing numbers.
The takeaway #
Versioning in NetDocuments does something a shared drive never can. It keeps a document and its entire history together, tells everyone at a glance which copy is current, and preserves a clean record of how the work developed. Used well, it quietly removes one of the most common sources of wasted time in a busy practice.
HFSM Technology helps Canadian law firms get more out of NetDocuments, from day to day support to setting up conventions like these across a whole practice. If your firm wants versioning and document management working the way it should, get in touch with us.
