Hi rj_shadow,

My name is Ross and I am a Support Engineer for Microsoft OneNote. If you click File | Options | Save & Backup, you can select the number of backup copies to keep, as well as how often you would like the backup to run. The backup copies themselves, are by default saved in C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneNote\14.0\Backup\

Thanks,

Ross

Hello,

I apologize, I misunderstood your question. I believe I have collected the information you are looking for.

I’ll break this into two parts.

#1) When are versions created?

We create a new version any time a change is made to a page and either a) the author is different from the last change, or b) it’s been an hour since the last version we pinned.

The version we pin is a view of the page from right before the change was made. Thus, if Bob makes a change, and then Suzy does 10 minutes later, the page as Bob last left it will be saved as a version by Suzy’s change. If Suzy makes successive changes every 10 minutes for the next 2 hours, we’ll create a version before the first, 7th and 13th changes (i.e. at the 0-, 1- and 2-hour marks).

Version history can be turned off, so that no versions get created in the first place. Doing this after versions are pinned doesn’t delete existing versions unless you ask it to.

#2) How long do we keep them?

Every time we create a new version, we review the existing versions to see if any should be pruned. The default pruning rules are:

· We keep all of the changes for the first 2 days.

· Older than that, we remove all but the first from any 1-hour period for the next 5 days.

· Older than that, we remove all but the first from any 1-day period, for up to 10 unique days.

· After all of the above, we delete all versions.

All three of those numbers (2, 5 and 10) are all customizable by policy.

Furthermore, there are two more settings that can be changed.

· Version pruning can be turned on or off globally.

· A fourth number can be set which is the age (in days) after which any version will be pruned, regardless of the other rules. By default, this is -1 (off).

Regardless of what numbers are plugged in, versions are only pruned when either a new version is being created, or when the containing notebook is being optimized.

I hope this information answers your questions.

Thanks,

Ross

Hi Ross

This is a great answer but could you please expand on

"

All three of those numbers (2, 5 and 10) are all customizable by policy.

Furthermore, there are two more settings that can be changed.

Version pruning can be turned on or off globally.

A fourth number can be set which is the age (in days) after which any version will be pruned, regardless of the other rules. By default, this is -1 (off).

"

Where are these customisable (I can't find them in Options) and how are they set?

Thanks

Hi Keith,

They are customizable in the Office 2010 Administrative template for use via Group Policy.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=18968

If you download the file Office2010GroupPolicyAndOCTSettings_Reference.xls, it describes the different policies you can set, as well as the registry keys that are set and changed for the different policies. These policies are located in the template under Current User | Microsoft OneNote 2010 | OneNote Options | Versions and Recycle Bin. There it lists the registry location as well as the registy key to add to customize these settings.

Hi Ross, or anyone - this covers Group Policy. How about where GPO is not actively used - eg. local user. Can we define these?

Also, can you clarify:

 After all of the above, we delete all versions.
vs A fourth number can be set which is the age (in days) after which any version will be pruned, regardless of the other rules. By default, this is -1 (off).

So - So - in a default installation, will all versions be deleted eventually? How can I retain all versions?

T

Thanks!

Damo

I would like to know the same thing as Damo Skess!

Thanks in advance

- Rikke

Any idea where these are in the registry for OneNote 2013?

According to This Thread, they should be in HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\OneNote\Options\Versions; of course for OneNote 2013 the expected analog would be HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\OneNote\Options\Versions.  However, there is no "Versions" key.  Is that to be expected?  Do we need to create a Versions key, and add each values (i.e. PruneVersionsOverTime, DaysOfHourlyVersions, etc)?

I would've expected to see some default values there, which is why I wanted to make sure...

• Edited by Metal450 7 hours 36 minutes ago

Any idea where these are in the registry for OneNote 2013?

According to This Thread, they should be in HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\OneNote\Options\Versions; of course for OneNote 2013 the expected analog would be HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\OneNote\Options\Versions.  However, there is no "Versions" key.  Is that to be expected?  Do we need to create a Versions key, and add each values (i.e. PruneVersionsOverTime, DaysOfHourlyVersions, etc)?

I would've expected to see some default values there, which is why I wanted to make sure...

• Edited by Metal450 Friday, March 27, 2015 11:52 PM