Simple version control in Microsoft Word for a single author

Question

Often, I find myself needing to significantly rewrite a section of an article that I am working on. I don't want to overwrite the previous version as I may eventually want to use the original version, as opposed to the rewrite.

The technique I've used up until now is to keep different revisions under different file names. This works, but it has its drawbacks. I'm wondering if there is a better solution.

I am using Microsoft Office 365 version 1703

Solution

Without a third-party solution, your options are limited.

1. You can use "Track Changes"; it allows you to keep one test revision in the same document. At the end of the day, you can either undo the revision or apply it to the document.
2. OneDrive and OneDrive for Business offer a finicky form of version control for Word documents. Recovery of the older versions can only be done using the web interface and I have experienced cases where they have deleted older versions without reason. Remember: If you use this, whatever you do, DO NOT rename your document EVER!
3. If you are using Windows 7 or if you store your documents on a Windows Server network share, you can use Shadow Copy. (This feature is removed from Windows 8, 8.1 and all builds of 10.) You can access past Shadow Copies using the "Previous Versions" pane of the Properties dialog box. A new Shadow Copy is created every time you create a System Restore checkpoint in Windows 7. I have no idea when it is created on Windows Server because it has no System Restore. Since each Shadow Copy is sizeable, old Shadow Copies can get deleted without a warning.
4. On Windows 10 (and probably 8.x if I remember correctly) you can use File History. You can set snapshot periods and even take manual snapshots. But there is no automatic saving of each and every snapshot. The "Previous Versions" tab in Windows 10 is connected to File History, not Shadow Copy.

Comments

[Daniel B]

Word has a “Track Changes” feature. It’s not exactly version control but may be sufficient for your use case.

[Moshe]

@DanielB Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't enjoy working with Track Changes. I want a clear 'page' with just the current version I"m working on (not crossed out red text for the old version, red text for the new version and black text for the untouched text).

[Seth]

Enabling Windows Previous Version would be an option. As you're using Office 365, are those documents stored online? If so that platform might already have a versioning system.

[Moshe]

@Seth I save the documents to my OneDrive folder (I'm using Windows 10). How do I enable Windows Previous Version?

[Seth]

Is it OneDrive or OneDrive for Business? In the latter case it's built ind.