OneDrive’s “Version History” is a lifesaver. It allows you to restore a document to how it looked 10 minutes ago, or 10 months ago, saving you from accidental deletions and corruption.
However, many users don’t realize that every version counts against your storage quota.
The Math: How 1 File Becomes 50GB
By default, OneDrive (and SharePoint Online) retains the last 500 major versions of a file.
Let’s say you have a 100MB PowerPoint presentation that you work on daily.
* Day 1: You save it. (100MB)
* Day 2: You change one slide. (100MB version created)
* Day 100: You have 100 versions.
Total storage used = 100MB x 100 versions = 10GB.
For just one file.
If you hit your 1TB storage limit, version history is often the invisible culprit.
How to Check Version History (Individual User)
- Go to OneDrive on the Web.
- Right-click any file -> Version History.
- You will see a list of dates.
- To delete specific versions: Click the three vertical dots next to a version timestamp -> Delete Version.
Warning: You cannot bulk-delete versions as a user. You must do it one by one.
How to Optimize Limits (For Admins)
If you are an IT Admin, you can prevent this “storage bloat” by changing the versioning limits for your entire organization (or specific SharePoint sites).
- Go to the SharePoint Admin Center.
- Navigate to Settings -> Versioning.
- Automatic (Recommended): Microsoft’s new algorithm that thins out old versions over time (e.g., keeps hourly versions for today, daily for this week, and weekly for older files).
- Manual Limit: Reduce the “Number of major versions” from 500 to 50 or 100.
Best Practice: The “Save As” Strategy
For massive binary files (like videos, CAD drawings, or huge Photoshop files), versioning is deadly.
Recommendation: Don’t just click “Save” on a 500MB Photoshop file every 10 minutes. Instead, use “Save As” (v1, v2) periodically, or store those files in a platform designed for large assets, rather than a document library.