Version Files Location

The Access Anywhere has long provided a way to control the visibility of version files when directories containing versioned files were displayed in Access Anywhere client programs such as the Web File Manager or the Windows or Mac Cloud Drive. These controls, however, do not conceal version files when the storage is accessed directly, for example when Windows Explorer is used to access SMB storage that is also accessed through Access Anywhere. The result was visual clutter for users accessing the storage directly.

A new feature, “Versions location”, has been introduced in Access Anywhere to improve the experience for these direct users of the storage. Prior to the introduction of this feature, version files (for organisations with versioning enabled) were always stored in the same directory as the original files to which they are related. The new feature allows version files to be stored instead in a dedicated directory which is hidden by default from direct users of the storage.

When Versions location feature has been activated for a provider, new version files will be stored in a dedicated version file directory. Version files that were created prior to activating the feature will remain in their original locations. The versions feature will behave as it did before, although the paths of version files, which are visible as always in the File Manager's Info pane, will show that version files created after the feature was activated are stored in a different directory than their older counterparts. Promoting and recovering versions are unaffected by the change.

Controlling the location of version files is only useful if Access Anywhere's File Versions feature is in use.

The location of version files is controlled independently for each provider. A new provider configuration setting offers two choices:

• The “Alongside file” option, which is the default setting, places versions files in the same directories as the files to which they are related. This is the traditional Access Anywhere behaviour.
  
• The “Dedicated .versions directory” option should be selected to take advantage of the new feature by storing version files in hidden directories.

If you make a change don't forget to save it by clicking on the “Update options” button. Note that new settings can require up to 15 minutes to take effect.