One of the most useful things about storing files in OneDrive is that it automatically saves a history of every version of your documents. If you accidentally delete a section, overwrite something important or just want to go back to how a document looked last week, you can do that without anyone needing to help you.
How to access version history
Open File Explorer and navigate to your OneDrive folder. Right-click the file you want to restore and select Version history. A panel will open on the right showing a list of previous versions with the date and time each one was saved.
You can click on any version to preview it. If it is the one you want, click Restore to replace the current version with that one. If you are not sure, you can also open the older version separately and copy the content you need from it without replacing the current file.
Doing it from OneDrive on the web
Go to onedrive.cloud.microsoft and sign in. Find your file, right-click it and select Version history. The same list of versions appears. Click the three dots next to any version to restore it or download it.
How far back does it go
OneDrive keeps version history for up to 30 days or the last 500 versions of a file, whichever comes first. For most day-to-day situations this is more than enough.
For files not in OneDrive
If the file was saved locally on your computer and not synced to OneDrive, version history is not available. This is one of the practical reasons why keeping your working files in OneDrive rather than just on your desktop or documents folder makes a real difference when things go wrong.
When to get help
If the file you need to recover is not in OneDrive, if version history has been exhausted or if you have lost data that is not covered by any backup, contact your IT provider immediately. The sooner you act the better the chances of recovery. Recloud manages backup and recovery for our clients to prevent exactly these situations.