I spend a large part of my day talking to people about data management in general, and Autodesk Vault in particular. One frequently asked question is “How do the revisions work in Vault?” There is a lot wrapped up in that question. A lot of times what clients are actually asking me is, “How can I protect my designs?” or “How can I ensure that the shop is using the correct file?” This post is the first in a series that will attempt to answer those questions.
Understanding file versioning
Before I discuss revisions, I have to review the concept of file version. Vault Basic, the version of Vault that is part of the Autodesk Design Suites, deals only with file versions. A file version is a copy of a file that is created every time a file is checked into the Vault.
Every time?
Yes, every time. That means that if you check a file in and out five times in a day, you will have five versions of the file. Vault does not care if the file has been changed at all, it simply records each check in as new version of the file and maintains a copy of the old version the file store. It is a very similar idea to the “Old Versions” folder created by Inventor.
Versions also get created when certain Vault functions are used. For example, renaming a file or editing the properties of a file will create new version as well. The image below shows the version history of a particular file.

In this case, Version 1 was created when the file was initially added to the Vault. Version 2 was created when the file category was changed. Version 3 was created by checking the file out and then checking it back in, and version 4 was created as the result of editing the file properties in Vault.
With all of these versions of the same file in Vault, the question is often asked, “Which version do I get when I check a file out of Vault?” The answer is simple: the most recent one. This is known the leading version. When a file is checked out of Vault, Vault checks to see what the leading version is of that file, and that is the one that gets checked out for editing.
Versions work very well for capturing the “work in progress” changes of a design file. What they do not work well for is capturing specific design milestones.
A new version is created every time Vault or Inventor changes the file, so this makes it dangerous to say that “Version 6 of this file has been released to manufacturing.” If someone checks out that file, or changes its properties, that file is now version 7.
To effectively mark milestone or release points, there must be a way to lock down the file so that no changes can be made to it. Next week I will review the tools that Vault uses to do that, Lifecycle States and Revisions. But until then, I am curious: does your company use Vault today? And do you track your file versions?
Cfunk