"Final Versioning" or "FinalVer" is a set of rules for determining which version of a given document or spreadsheet should be used if there are multiple in the same folder. It allows authors to keep old versions of documents by simply selecting "Save As" and giving the file a new name, without having to foresee the need for multiple versions when the document is first drafted.
In order of precedence:
First is the initial version, Document.docx. You can replace this and all versions below with any file name, where Document is the file's original name and docx is the file extension.
Always assume that a document that does not have any suffix from this spec is the initial unfinished version.
This is the stage where you realise you're going to send this document for feedback and you acknowledge there will likely be changes in future. The draft suffix sets expectations of senior stakeholders and makes any mistakes more forgivable.
The draft suffix is case-insensitive. Draft and DRAFT correspond to the same version.
After the first round of feedback, you'll get an idea of how bad the first draft was, and can chose to prefix the draft suffix with ordinals.
Starting with second, then follows third, forth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth. Obvious incorrect spelling of these such as fourth and twelvth are also valid and correspond to their respective ordinals.
Numeric notation may also be used, such as 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Incorrect ordinal indicators such as 21th are valid and correspond to the ordinal with the attached number, but this practice is discouraged and likely to be viewed negatively by reviewers.
This is the phase after all draft feedback has been actioned or ignored, or if the author felt confident enough to skip the draft phase for some reason. This version is often sent to a wider audience than the draft versions.
A single FINAL suffix indicates that the author has completed modifications and has no intention to further modify the document in future.
The FINAL suffix is case insensitive in terms of version precedence, but all caps strongly indicates the desire not to make further revisions. That is, a simple Document final.docx corresponds to the same version, but is more prone to feedback.
Inevitably, someone will request more changes. Often someone from the wider audience for whom this is the first version they've seen.
At this point, adding a passive-aggressive revised suffix will increment the version once more. The deliberate juxtaposition of the two suffixes and their casing should portray relinquishment and be enough to deter even most heartless of reviewers from providing further feedback.
A battle of wits is happening at this point. The authors intense reluctance to use numeric versioning after so many revisions clashes with the reviewers' sense of duty to enforce one.
In theory, any words suffixed to FINAL revised again will further bump the version beyond this one, for example, FINAL revised again for the last time I swear.docx. However, all known authors have succumbed to the next phase before this point.
Numeric versions start from FINAL v2. The number 2 is a decimal numerical value which can increase by 1 each version until the number cannot exceed the maximum file length on the OS. Even in versions of Windows before Windows 10, assuming all files are placed directly in the C:\ drive, this gives a theoretical limit of more than 200 9 characters.
Keep in mind that when files are sorted alphabetically, v10 comes before v2.
To differentiate from the already-named but now-not "final" versions above, a prefix can be used before FINAL, analogous to the draft ordinals prefixes above.
Each prefix, however, has no defined order of precedence. Valid prefixes are ACTUAL, REAL, TRUE, PROPER, GENUINE and BONA FIDE.
If changes to the ACTUAL FINAL version are required, the suffix USE THIS ONE is the one last resort.
This is the biggest version. No further changes can be made beyond this point.