Forum Discussion
sharepoint file version manage tips
Hii ericjo
SharePoint automatically keeps file versions and this cannot be fully turned off. You can only reduce how many versions it stores. Go to Library Settings >> Versioning Settings and set the “Keep the following number of versions” to the lowest allowed value. This will stop unnecessary storage growth while still meeting SharePoint’s minimum versioning requirements.
SharePoint automatically creates file versions every time you update or replace a file, and this can quickly consume storage—especially when using Excel files as data sources for Power BI. Since you're frequently updating the Excel file, SharePoint is generating multiple versions even when you don't need them. This is completely normal behavior but can feel unnecessary when version history isn't required.
Unfortunately, SharePoint does not allow you to fully disable versioning for document libraries. Every document library must retain at least one version, and Microsoft enforces minimum limits for the number of major versions allowed. However, you can lower the version count to the minimum (usually 100 for major versions, depending on your tenant) or regularly delete older versions manually. Another method is to use a dedicated library for your Power BI source files so version cleanup becomes easier to manage.
If you need help managing storage or adjusting version settings, you can check discussions from other users facing similar issues on the Microsoft Tech Community. Here is a relevant link:
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/sharepoint/ct-p/SharePoint