Why earlier versions help
Everyone edits a note and later wishes they had kept a sentence, a figure or a whole paragraph. Notes quietly keeps checkpoints of your note as you write, so you can look back at how it read earlier. A checkpoint is also kept every time a version is restored. This article shows you how to look at those earlier versions and how to bring one back.
You do not need to do anything to switch this on. It works for every note you can open.
Before you start
- You can open the note you want to look at.
- To restore a version you need edit access. If you only have view-only access, you can still read earlier versions.
Open the version list
- Open the note you want to look at.
- In the note's toolbar, select the Version history button. It shows a clock with an arrow. The Version history panel opens beside the note.
- Read the short line at the top. It tells you when the current version was last edited.
Each row in the list is called a Version and has a number, such as Version 2. Under the number you see who saved it (you will see You for your own saves, and Someone if that person no longer has access to the note), how long ago it was saved, and the reason it was kept. The reasons are While writing for automatic saves as you type, Saved by hand, Before a restore, Imported and From a template.
If the note has many versions, the panel shows the most recent ones and tells you how many it is showing out of the total.
Read an earlier version safely
- Select a version in the list.
- The panel shows the version's title and its text. Headings, paragraphs, lists and quotes keep their shape so you can recognise the note.
- Check the date and time near the top to be sure it is the version you wanted.
- Select All versions to go back to the list and try another one.
Looking at a version is completely safe. Nothing in your note changes until you choose to restore. Very long notes show only the first part in the preview, and the panel tells you when more has been left out.
Restore a version
- Select the version you want.
- Select Restore this version.
- A box titled Restore version followed by the number asks you to confirm. It explains that the note goes back to what it said at that point.
- Select Restore to go ahead, or Cancel to stop.
You do not lose your latest text by restoring. What the note says now is saved as a checkpoint first, so it appears in the list as the newest version and you can restore it back if you change your mind.
If something looks different
- If you cannot see Restore this version, you have view-only access. Ask the owner of the note to give you edit access.
- If the panel says No earlier versions yet, the note has not been saved again since it began. One is kept the next time it is saved.
- If the list cannot load, an error message appears with a way to try again.