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Is it a version or is it a revision? Are they the same thing? It can be confusing. Let's have a look at what this means to us in Aconex.

Let's start with this. For the sake of this initial explanation, let's agree there's no real difference between a version and a revision. When we're working with documents, they change over time. They get updated.

Here's a really simple example. Early on, a document might be in a draft state. A few people might be contributing to it and working on it. But it's not ready to be used. Basically, it's not finished.

Then it will get to a point where we think it's ready to use, but we might need to check it first to make sure. And this is common practice, especially with drawings. We'll call this the review stage.

As before, a few people might need to look at the document and check that it's ready. They might look for errors, typos, that sort of thing. And this can result in the document being returned to the creator for amendments. For drawings, that can be a complicated and lengthy process.

But let's assume all is good, and the document is ready to use. At that point, we can issue it to the relevant people on the project. And we do that with a transmittal.

Once issued, it may need further amendments. And that means more updates. So back to the question at the start. Is it a version, or is it a revision?

Some organizations and document controllers may have specific definitions that differentiate between a version and a revision. Let's explain. It's not uncommon to use the term revision for minor changes to a document. So we might start with version one, but each minor change is recorded as a revision, 1.1, 1.2, and so on. Often, this might be an internal way of tracking updates.

Then, at some point, the document goes through a major change. And then this changes the document to version two. And then minor updates continue as revisions 2.1, 2.2, and so on. Essentially, we're looking at a minor revision and a major version.

You may not see this too often, except on larger projects. So back to Aconex. Aconex does record the version. And this changes each time an amendment is made to the document or its details. It's automatic and can't be changed.

The version is always numeric. And it's incremented up each time the document is changed or updated. The revision is entered when you upload or update a document. It's typically what we see on the actual document, for example, in a drawings title block. A revision can be numeric, letters, or a combination of both. Whatever convention you or your team decide on, just make sure it matches the revision or version on the document.