What are Revisions?

Revisions are multiple versions of the same content type. Whenever a content type is published, it creates a revision. When that content type is changed and saved a new, ‘current revision’ is created and the original, ‘old revision’ is stored.

This makes comparing old and new content quick and easy. It also means content is traceable due to as the date, time and person making the changes being are logged. If you want to bulk delete revisions, you can remove any unhelpful and out of date information.

Note that a new revision is only created when a content type is first created and saved as a draft or published. Revisions are not created when it changes state in the Workflow, only when a new version if published.

Roles in Revisions

There are 2 roles that can access Revisions. They are: 

• Publisher
• Editor

Accessing Revisions

1. Go to ‘Options’ in the top right corner of your content type and select ‘Revisions’ in the dropdown menu

2. You will see ‘List all revisions’, ‘View current’, ‘Edit current’ and ‘Publish’ or ‘Unpublish’ as tabs

3. ‘List all revisions’ will display the ‘Revision ID’, the date, time and author details, the ‘Status’, and a link to ‘View’

4. If you select the linked date and time, ‘View’, or ‘View current’ in the tab, you will be taken to the published or unpublished content type

Publishing content types from Revisions

Revisions is a quick way to publish content types. It is especially useful if you are using the Workflow, as you can switch from Revisions to Workflow and back again in the tabs, checking the Workflow history against the Revisions log.

If your content type is unpublished and there is more than one revision, select the latest revision by ticking the box in the third column and then selecting ‘Publish’.

You will be asked if you are sure that ‘…you want to publish latest revision of…’. If you are, select ‘Publish’.

You will be taken back to the ‘List of all revisions’. Check in the fourth column, titled ‘Status’, that your content type is ‘current revision (published)’. 

Unpublishing content types from Revisions

Just as Revisions is a quick way to publish content types, it’s also an effective way unpublish content types and immediately check if you have been successful.

1. Select the ‘current revision (published)’ in the third column or deselect all revisions
2. Select ‘Unpublish current revision’

You will be asked if you are sure that ‘…you want to unpublish…’.

1. Select ‘Unpublish’

Or, select ‘Cancel’ if you want to return the previous ‘List all revisions’ having made no changes.

You will be notified by the following two boxes if you have successfully unpublished your content type:

Please also check in the ‘Status’ column to confirm you have unpublished your content type.

Comparing Revisions

When you compare revisions you can see exactly what has changed from one revision to another. Should you want to revert back to content you can do by making an ‘Old revision’ the ‘Current revision’. Comparing also means you can quickly identify the differences in content as changes are highlighted in red.

1. Go to ‘List all revisions’

2. Select two revisions you want to compare by ticking the box in the third column

3. You will notice a ‘Compare’ button appear beneath revisions log

4. Select ‘Compare’

5. The ‘Compare revisions’ screen will appear for you to review

6. Go back to ‘List all revisions’

When you do so, you’ll notice the ‘Compare revisions’ will disappear. If you want to compare two different revisions, you have to repeat the steps described above.

Bulk delete old Revisions

The amount of revisions you can have is not restricted. However, for clarity and organisational purposes, you may want to only keep a certain amount of ‘old revisions’.

To bulk delete old visions select 2 or more and a red box will appear that reads ‘Delete old revisions’.

If you only select 2 ‘old versions’ you will also see the option to ‘Compare’.

When you select ‘Delete old versions’, you will be asked if ‘…you are sure you want to delete the following revisions?’. Review the revisions, paying attention to the line informing you that ‘This action cannot be undone.’ Select ‘Confirm’.

Or, select ‘Cancel’ if you have changed your mind. 

If you select ‘Confirm’ you will receive the following notification at the top of your screen:

Suggested links

• Workflow
• Widgets