Dataset Versions
Versioning is important for long term-research data management where metadata and/or files are updated over time. It is used to track any metadata or file changes (e.g., by uploading a new file, changing file metadata, adding or editing metadata) once you have published your dataset.
Once you edit your published dataset a new draft version of this dataset will be created. To publish this new version of your dataset, select the “Publish Dataset” button on the top right side of the page. If you were at version 1 of your dataset, depending on the types of changes you had made, you would be asked to publish your draft as either version 1.1 or version 2.0.
Important Note: If you add a file, your dataset will automatically be bumped up to a major version (e.g., if you were at 1.0 you will go to 2.0).
On the Versions tab of a dataset page, there is a versions table that displays the version history of the dataset. You can use the version number links in this table to navigate between the different versions of the dataset, including the unpublished draft version, if you have permission to access it.
There is also a Versions tab on the file page. The versions table for a file displays the same information as the dataset, but the summaries are filtered down to only show the actions related to that file. If a new dataset version were created without any changes to an individual file, that file’s version summary for that dataset version would read “No changes associated with this version”.
Version Details
To view exactly what has changed, starting from the originally published version to any subsequent published versions: click the Versions tab on the dataset page to see all versions and changes made for that particular dataset.
Once you have more than one version (this can simply be version 1 and a draft), you can click the “View Details” link next to each summary to learn more about the metadata fields and files that were either added or edited. You can also click the checkboxes to select any two dataset versions, then click the “View Differences” button to open the Version Differences Details popup and compare the differences between them.