SharePoint versioning is on by default for most library types, but the specific settings vary by library type, site template, and whether the environment is SharePoint Online or an on-premises deployment. Version history is also the most common source of unexpected storage consumption: a single active document library with no version limit can accumulate version storage that exceeds the live content volume many times over. This reference covers the key settings, defaults, and storage implications.
Major Versions vs Minor Versions
SharePoint has two kinds of versions. Understanding the distinction determines which settings apply to a given library and which users can see historical content.
| Attribute | Major version | Minor version (draft) |
|---|---|---|
| Version number format | Whole numbers: 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 | Decimal numbers: 0.1, 1.1, 2.3 |
| Visibility | All users with Read permission or higher | Author, site owners, and site collection admins only (configurable) |
| Created when | User publishes or checks in a file as a major version | User saves or checks in a file without publishing (draft check-in) |
| Required for publishing workflow | Yes; a published major version is the version other users see | No; drafts are working copies not yet ready for general access |
| Can be the "current version" seen by readers | Yes | No (readers see the last published major version) |
| Counts against version storage | Yes | Yes |
Default Versioning Settings by Library Type
The following table shows the out-of-the-box versioning configuration for each library type when a new site is created in SharePoint Online. Settings can be changed at the library level by an owner or admin.
| Library type | Major versioning on by default? | Minor versioning on by default? | Default major version limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document library (modern team site) | Yes | No | 500 (subject to Microsoft automatic limits policy) | The most common library type. Minor versioning is available but not enabled by default. Microsoft introduced automatic version history limits in 2024, which may set time-based or count-based limits on new libraries. |
| Document library (communication site) | Yes | Yes | 500 (subject to Microsoft automatic limits policy) | Communication sites enable minor versioning by default to support the page publishing workflow. Document libraries within a communication site inherit this setting. |
| Site Pages library | Yes | Yes | Managed separately from document libraries | The Site Pages library uses major and minor versioning to support the page approval and publishing workflow. Pages saved but not published are minor versions. Published pages are major versions. |
| Picture library | Yes | No | 500 | Major versioning only. Images are full copies at each version, which makes version storage in picture libraries particularly heavy relative to file count. |
| Form library | Yes | No | 500 | Used to store InfoPath or other form submissions. Major versioning only by default. |
| List | No | No | N/A (not enabled by default) | Versioning is not on by default for standard lists. It can be enabled manually in list settings. When enabled on a list, each item version stores the full set of column values for that item at that point in time. |
Version Storage Impact
Each version of a file in SharePoint stores a complete copy of the file at that point in time. For most file types, this means storage consumption grows linearly with the number of versions kept.
| Scenario | File size | Versions retained | Approximate version storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Word document, moderate edits | 500 KB | 100 | ~50 MB |
| Large Excel workbook, frequently updated | 5 MB | 200 | ~1 GB |
| Large PDF report, rarely edited | 20 MB | 10 | ~200 MB |
| High-resolution image | 15 MB | 50 | ~750 MB |
| Active document library, 1,000 files, 5 MB average, 50 versions each | 5 MB avg | 50 avg | ~250 GB |
The final row in the table represents a real pattern in SharePoint Online tenants that have had versioning enabled for several years with no version limit set. Version storage in the range of 100 GB to 500 GB across a single site collection is not unusual in organisations with active document workflows and no version management policy.
Versioning Settings Location
Version history settings can be configured at three levels. The most specific level takes effect for a given library.
| Level | Where to configure | Scope | Requires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenant (SharePoint Online) | SharePoint admin center > Settings > Version history limits | All new document libraries across the tenant | SharePoint Administrator or Global Administrator |
| Site collection | Site settings > Site collection features (for some policies) | All libraries in the site collection, depending on policy type | Site Collection Administrator |
| Library (individual) | Library settings > Versioning settings | That library only | Site Owner or higher |
Version Settings Available at the Library Level
When a site owner or admin opens library settings and navigates to Versioning settings, the following options are available:
| Setting | Options | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Content Approval | Yes / No | When on, submitted items require approval before becoming visible to readers. Interacts with minor versioning. |
| Major version history | No versioning / Major versions only / Major and minor versions | Controls which version types are stored for items in the library. |
| Major version limit (keep last N major versions) | Number or blank (no limit) | When a new major version is created, older major versions beyond the limit are permanently deleted. Setting a limit is the primary method of controlling version storage at the library level. |
| Draft version limit (keep last N draft versions) | Number or blank (no limit) | Only appears when major and minor versioning is enabled. Limits the number of minor draft versions retained per item. |
| Draft item security | Any user with Read access / Only users who can edit items / Only users who can approve items | Controls who can see minor version drafts in the library. |
| Require Check Out | Yes / No | When on, users must explicitly check out a file before editing it. This prevents conflicting edits and reduces the number of auto-saved minor versions created during collaborative editing sessions. |
Who Can Manage Version History
| Action | Site Collection Admin | Site Owner | Site Member (Edit) | Site Visitor (Read) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| View version history of a file | Yes | Yes | Yes (major only) | Yes (major only) |
| Restore a previous version | Yes | Yes | Yes (own files) | No |
| Delete a specific version | Yes | Yes | Yes (own files) | No |
| Delete all versions | Yes | Yes | Yes (own files) | No |
| Change library versioning settings | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Set tenant-wide version limit policy (Online) | No | No | No | No (SharePoint Admin only) |
Version Trimming at Scale with Version Trimmer
Setting a version limit on a library prevents future versions from accumulating beyond the limit. It does not retroactively delete the existing versions that were created before the limit was set. For a library with 5,000 files each carrying 200 historical versions, setting the limit to 50 today will only delete old versions as new versions are created. The existing backlog remains until each file is next edited.
To actively reduce the existing version backlog across a site or tenant, a bulk trimming tool is required. ShareMaster's Version Trimmer applies a keep policy across any number of libraries and sites in a single operation, deleting versions beyond the specified count immediately rather than waiting for future edits. This is the practical approach for reclaiming version storage quickly.