Turn On Major and Minor Versions in SharePoint: Practical Checklist for SharePoint Owners

SharePoint document libraries and lists can track changes over time by saving multiple versions of a file or list item. By default, versioning is often set to create only major versions, or it may be turned off entirely. Many SharePoint site owners need to enable both major and minor versioning to allow draft content review and track full edit history. This article explains the difference between major and minor versions, the settings you need to configure, and a practical checklist to turn them on correctly.

What Are Major and Minor Versions in SharePoint?

SharePoint versioning creates a snapshot of a file or list item each time it is edited and saved. Major versions are numbered as whole numbers such as 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0. These versions are visible to all users who have at least read access to the library. Minor versions are numbered as decimals such as 0.1, 0.2, and 1.1. Minor versions are drafts that only specific users can see depending on the draft item security setting.

Minor versioning is available only in document libraries and not in standard lists. To use minor versions, you must first enable content approval on the library. Content approval does not require a separate approval workflow, but it does add a status column that tracks whether a version is draft, pending, or approved.

The combination of major and minor versions allows teams to work on drafts internally and publish a clean major version when the document is ready for a wider audience. SharePoint retains the specified number of major versions and optionally keeps one minor version for each major version if you enable that setting.

Prerequisites Before You Enable Versioning

Before you change versioning settings, confirm the following:

• You are a site owner, site collection administrator, or have full control permissions on the document library.
• The library is not set to read-only mode. If the library is in read-only mode, versioning settings are grayed out.
• You know the maximum number of major versions your organization requires. SharePoint allows up to 500,000 major versions per library, but we recommend a lower limit such as 100 to 500 for performance reasons.
• You understand the storage impact: each version consumes storage space. Turning on minor versions doubles the number of stored snapshots for each draft cycle.

Checklist to Turn On Major and Minor Versions

Step 1: Navigate to Library Settings

1. Open the document library
   Go to your SharePoint site and open the document library where you want to enable versioning.
2. Access Library Settings
   Select the gear icon in the top right corner, then choose Library settings. If you do not see Library settings, you may need to click Site contents first, then select the library name, and then click the gear icon.

Step 2: Open Versioning Settings

1. Locate the Versioning Settings link
   Under the General Settings section of the Library Settings page, click Versioning settings.

Step 3: Configure Major Versions

1. Enable major versions
   Under the Content Approval section, select Yes for Require content approval for submitted items. This enables the draft version system and allows minor versions to work.
2. Set major version limit
   Under Document Version History, select Create major versions. Then in the Keep the following number of major versions field, enter a number such as 100 or 500. This limits how many published versions are stored.

Step 4: Enable Minor Versions

1. Turn on minor versions
   Still under Document Version History, select Create major and minor (draft) versions. This radio button appears only after you have enabled content approval.
2. Set minor version retention
   Optionally, select the checkbox Keep drafts for the following number of major versions and enter a number. This retains one minor version for each of the last N major versions. For example, if you set 3, SharePoint keeps the most recent minor version for each of the last 3 major versions.

Step 5: Set Draft Item Security

1. Choose who can see draft versions
   Under Draft Item Security, select one of these options:
   • Only users who can edit items – Only users with contribute or full control permissions see draft versions. This is the most restrictive setting.
   • Only users who can approve items – Users with approve permissions plus editors can see drafts. This is useful for review workflows.
   • Any user who can read items – All users with read access see drafts. Use this only if you want drafts publicly visible.

Step 6: Save Your Settings

1. Click OK
   Scroll to the bottom of the Versioning Settings page and click OK. SharePoint applies the settings immediately.

Common Configuration Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Minor Versions Option Is Grayed Out

The Create major and minor (draft) versions radio button is disabled if content approval is set to No. Go back to Versioning Settings and set Require content approval for submitted items to Yes. After saving, the minor versions option becomes available.

Version History Shows Only Major Versions

If you enabled minor versions but existing files still show only major versions, that is expected. Files created before enabling minor versions do not retroactively get minor version history. Any new file or new edit after enabling minor versions will create both major and minor versions. To test, upload a new file or edit an existing file and save it as a draft by clicking Save instead of Publish.

Draft Versions Visible to Everyone

If draft versions appear to users who should not see them, check the Draft Item Security setting. The default is Any user who can read items, which makes all drafts visible. Change this to Only users who can edit items to restrict draft visibility to contributors and owners.

Storage Is Growing Too Fast

Each minor version consumes storage just like a major version. Reduce the number of major versions kept and turn off the option to keep drafts for previous major versions. Also consider using SharePoint storage limits and setting up a retention policy for older versions.

Major Versioning vs Minor Versioning: Key Settings

Setting	Major Versions Only	Major and Minor Versions
Content approval required	Optional	Yes
Version numbering	1, 2, 3	0.1, 0.2, 1.0, 1.1, 2.0
Draft item security available	No	Yes
Visibility of unpublished edits	All readers see each save as a new major version	Only authorized users see drafts until published
Storage impact	One version per save	Two versions per save cycle (draft + publish)

Now you can configure major and minor versions in any SharePoint document library using the six-step checklist above. Start by enabling content approval, then set the version limits and draft security that match your team workflow. To reduce storage, set the major version limit to 100 and disable the option to keep drafts for previous major versions. If you need to enforce a review process, combine minor versions with a Power Automate approval flow that triggers when a draft is published.