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If you've ever made a change to a document, then you've worked with versions. Traditionally, you would rename each changed document with a unique identifier, or you might simply overwrite the previous version. People often end up with multiple versions of the same file, which take up valuable space on the hard drive, are difficult to organize, and cause confusion.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Over time, many people have developed different methodologies and naming conventions for their files to represent versions and revisions (i.e.: document_2.doc, document_2_final.doc, document_2_finalfinal.doc, etc). This practice is generally only understandable by the person who created the file, and frequently will cause difficulties when using Punch WebGroups.
Although the act of naming a file to convey its version number has evolved into common practice, it does not work very well when using Punch WebGroups to collaborate on files with others. This is because - when you download a file from Punch WebGroups, our servers "remember" where you saved that file locally on your computer (such as "C:\My Documents\contract.doc"). If you move or rename that file and then return to Punch WebGroups to upload/publish a new version, Punch WebGroups will try to upload the new version of that file from the exact locate where you downloaded it ("C:\My Documents\contract.doc"). The problem with conveying version numbers in filenames should seem apparent - that if you had modified "contract.doc" and save it as "contract_v2.doc" then WebGroups would not know about this. You can always upload "contract_v2.doc" as a new file, but you will be bypassing all of the "updating" technologies within Punch WebGroups, and forcing all of the people you are collaborating with to manually download the new file instead of just being updated automatically.
Besides, with Punch WebGroups every file can have potentially unlimited previous versions. In WebGroups when you select a file on the left in the WebGroups "Tree", you will see a "File Versions" panel appear on the right side of your window. The versions panel provides details about each previous version of the file, as well as who published it. Each of these previous versions are always available by simply clicking on the link in the File Version panel that says "Get Version X" - which will automatically revert your local file back to that selected version, so that you can open it and review it. To return you local file back to the most current version - or any other version for that matter - simple return to WebGroups, navigate to the appropriate file on the left in the WebGroups "Tree", then select "Download", "Update your local copy of this file" or "Get the latest version" from the right side of the window.
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