Content versioning

When content versioning is enabled, the system automatically stores the previously published versions of certain content items (reusable content items in the Content Hub, web pages, headless items). Other types of content, such as forms and emails, are not versioned.

Versioning allows users to:

• view previously published versions of content items
• restore previously published versions of content items
• find out who and when made changes to content items
• view the history of the following actions:
  • unpublishing
  • scheduled publishing and unpublishing
  • canceling of scheduled publishing and unpublishing

Version history

The version history of a content item allows you to view the list of previously published versions and other records. Published versions ( ) in the version history contain the data that were used in the fields of the content item. Only published versions can be restored.

Version history includes other records that are created when the item is unpublished ( ), scheduled to be published ( ) or unpublished ( ), and also when these scheduled actions are canceled ( ). Other actions, such as Save, Discard, or moving to workflow steps other than Publish and Unpublish, are not tracked.

Versions and records are identified by the date and time when they were automatically created, except for the current version of the item. Each version also contains the name of the user who made the changes.

Linked content

Linked items are shown and restored in their most recently published version. Fields of a content item that reference other content that exists outside of the given content item (for example, media files, tags, smart folders) also show the current version of the content, which is used when the item is restored. Note that the current version of the content that is displayed can differ from the version that was used when the selected version of the content item was published.

Versioning coverage

Versioning has to be configured to be applied. The number of versions stored in the system is set during the configuration.

• Versioned data
  • data from the Content tab, except for assets
  • data from Page Builder tab (applies only to pages)
    Page Builder content is not visible in the version history but is restored along with the selected version.

• Non-versioned data
  • Examples of non-versioned data include:
    • assets
    • URLs
    • positions of pages in the content tree
    • page permissions

View version history

View version history of pages

To view version history of a page:

1. Open a website channel.
2. In the content tree, select the page for which you want to view the version history.
3. Expand the action menu in the upper-right corner and select Show version history.

You can now browse the version history. Selecting a published version in the list on the left allows you to view the data that was used in that version. Linked items and any content that exists outside of this page are shown in their current version.

View version history of reusable items

To view version history of a reusable item:

1. Open the Content hub application.
2. Select the content item for which you want to view the version history.
   • You can use the search bar, filter, or folders to find reusable content items.
3. Expand the action menu in the upper-right corner and select Show version history.

You can now browse the version history. Selecting a published version in the list on the left allows you to view the data that was used in that version. Linked items, content item assets and any content that exists outside of this content item are shown in their current version.

View version history of headless items

To view version history of a headless item:

1. Open a headless channel.
2. Select the headless item for which you want to view the version history.
   • You can use the search bar or filter to find headless items.
3. Expand the action menu in the upper-right corner and select Show version history.

You can now browse the version history. Selecting a published version in the list on the left allows you to view the data that was used in that version. Linked items and any content that exists outside of this headless item are shown in their current version.

Restore previously published versions

To restore a version of an item:

1. Open the version history of the item whose previous version you want to restore.
2. Select the version you want to restore in the version history.
   • Only published versions can be restored.
     Page Builder content isn’t visible in the version history of pages but is restored along with the selected version. For linked items and assets, the latest published version is used. Other content that exists outside of the content item is restored in its current version. If the underlying content type was modified since the version you want to restore was published, some fields might be affected. To learn more about the versioning coverage, see the Versioning coverage section.
3. Select Restore this version.
4. Confirm by selecting Restore version in the dialog window.

The item is always restored by moving it into the Draft step with the data from the selected version, even if you were in a different workflow step when you restored the item. You can edit the item and the restored version is not visible until you publish it.

Modification of content type

Modifications of the underlying content type can influence what happens when restoring a version of a content item that belongs to this type.

Adding new fields

If a new required field is added to an existing content type, and you restore a version that didn’t have this field, this field is populated with the most recently used value of this field. That would be either the value from the last published version or from the Draft that is currently edited. If a non-required field is added to the content type, it is not automatically populated in versions that didn’t have this field.

Changing the field’s data type

When the field’s data type is changed and both data types are compatible (for example, a date and text), the modified fields are filled in when restoring a previous version. If the data types are not compatible (for example, text field changed to checkbox), the given field is left empty.

Removing fields

When a field is removed, the previous version is restored without the deleted field and without the data from this field.