Working with object versioning

When using object versioning, the system creates and stores separate versions of objects when they are edited and saved. This allows you to compare versions or roll back objects to previous versions.

Object versioning manages versions of system objects, such as CSS stylesheets, email templates, web part containers, etc. If you are looking for versioning of content (pages), refer to the Configuring and using page versioning chapter.

Note: The object versioning functionality by itself is not a guaranteed solution for reviewing and auditing of changes made by individual users. In scenarios where multiple users concurrently edit the same object, the version history may not be completely accurate. To ensure precise version history in these scenarios, you additionally need to enable Object locking and avoid sharing of user accounts.

Supported object types

In the following table, you can find all object types that support object versioning. In the Editing interface column, you can find the exact location within the Kentico administration interface where you can edit objects of the given type. If versioning is enabled for a particular object type, the Versions tab appears in the interface, where you can view and manage the edited object’s versions.

Object versioning on MVC sites

Object versioning is supported when using the MVC development model. However, many of the related object types are only used during Portal Engine development (web parts, transformations, CSS stylesheets, etc.).

MVC development scenarios instead utilize a larger number of code files in the MVC project, such as page views, CSS files or page builder components. You can version such code files using a standard source control system (Team Foundation Server, Git, etc.), and combine it with the Kentico object versioning feature for objects managed in the administration interface.

Object type	Editing interface
Alternative forms	Forms -> edit a form -> Alternative forms -> edit an alternative form Page types -> edit a page type -> Alternative forms -> edit an alternative form Custom tables -> edit a custom table -> Alternative forms -> edit an alternative form
Automation processes	Marketing automation -> Processes -> edit a process
CSS stylesheets	Pages -> Properties -> General -> click Edit CSS stylesheets -> edit a stylesheet other interfaces containing the stylesheet selector (e.g. when editing a site, department, etc.)
Custom table definitions	Custom tables -> edit a table
Page type definitions	Page types -> edit a page type
Email templates	Email templates -> edit a template
Form definitions	Forms -> edit a form
Media files	Media libraries -> edit a library -> select a file
Marketing emails	Email marketing -> edit an email feed -> Emails -> edit an email
Marketing email templates	Email marketing -> Email templates -> edit an email template
Email widgets	Email marketing -> Email widgets -> edit an email widget
Page layouts *	Page layouts -> edit a layout
Page templates	Page templates -> select a template Pages -> Design -> Open the page template menu () -> hover over Edit template -> Template versions other interfaces that allow editing of page templates
Queries **	Page types -> edit a page type -> Queries -> edit a query Custom tables -> edit a table -> Queries -> edit edit a query web part properties dialogs of web parts that have query properties
Report graphs	Reporting -> select a report -> General -> select a graph and click Edit
Report tables	Reporting -> select a report -> General -> select a table and click Edit
Report values	Reporting -> select a report -> General -> select a value and click Edit
Report definitions	Reporting -> select a report
Transformations	Page types -> edit a page type -> Transformations -> edit a transformation Custom tables -> edit a table -> Transformations -> edit a transformation web part properties dialogs of web parts that have transformation properties
UI elements	Modules -> edit a custom module -> User interface -> select a UI element in the tree
Web part containers	Web part containers -> edit a container
Web part layouts **	Web parts -> select a web part -> Layout -> edit a layout Pages -> Design -> Configure a web part -> Layout
Workflows	Workflows -> edit a workflow
* Only shared page layouts are versioned – custom layouts are versioned as part of the data of the parent page template. ** Only custom queries and web part layouts are versioned – system queries and default web part layouts are not versioned.

Settings

Even though object versioning is enabled and functional by default, we recommend configuring the related settings for your system. For example, you can allow versioning of different object types, or configure the version history length.

Open the Settings application.
Select the Versioning & synchronization -> Object versioning category.
Configure the available settings.
Click Save.