Simplified Material Versioning Overview

Simplified Versioning is the default method of material versioning.

With Simplified Versioning for materials, material versioning is managed entirely by the system and it is only triggered when making a substantial change to the material source. Also, a new version is only triggered for a material if users of any status are enrolled in the material. This includes any status after the user requests the material (e.g., Pending Approval, Rejected). Once a substantial change is made, a new version is created. If the administrator also has the appropriate permission, the administrator can choose which user will receive the updated version.

What Triggers a New Version?

A new material version is triggered if there is a change to the material source and all of the following are true:

• The material source file is added or removed, the material source URL is changed, or the material source type is modified.
• The material's default language is impacted.
• At least one user has been enrolled in the material.

A new material version is NOT triggered when there is a change to the material source if the following are true:

• The material source is localized. For example, if a material is created with a material source file in English (US), and then the material is modified to include additional source files that only apply to French (France) and French (Canada), then this modification does not create a new version.
• The name of a material source file is changed.
• No users have ever enrolled in the material.

When editing a material, the system does not determine if a new material version should be created until the modified material is saved, which is done on the Emails step. This is because the modifications are not committed until the material is saved. As a result, if a material is modified and saved and the modification triggers a new material version, then the administrator is navigated to the Reversion Options page. See Material - Create Version - Reversion Options (Simplified Versioning).

Use Cases

Sarah is a learning administrator at Acme, a clothing company in California. Acme uses the Material learning object (LO) as a way to track miscellaneous training documents. They do not have to meet specific compliance requirements but are passionate about having a comprehensive Learning Management System (LMS) that tracks their documentation. Acme currently has their portal configured to use Simplified Versioning for Materials.

Example 1: Triggering a New Version

Sarah recently created a new material for a monthly promotion and uploaded a document on jewelry (the current promotion) as the source. A month later, Sarah edits the material, removing the previous document on jewelry and adding a new document on scarves (the new promotion). The LMS identifies that the Material Source was changed, notes that users are currently enrolled in the material, and triggers a new version of the material. Sarah is automatically brought to the Create Version pages where she is able to set reversion options and confirm the versioning. The material is successfully versioned and tracked in Material Administration.

Example 2: Not Triggering a New Version

Sarah recently created a new material for a monthly promotion and uploaded a document on shoes (the current promotion) as the source. A month later, Sarah edits the material, removing the document on shoes and adding a new document on hats (the new promotion). The LMS identifies that the Material Source was changed and notes that there are currently no users enrolled in the material. Since the material does not have any users that are currently enrolled in it, the LMS does not trigger a new version of the material and saves the material with the new file source.