How to Get the most out of versioning

1 Work, work, work

You need a document that’s been autosaved a few times to get the best out of versioning. We’re using a word processing document in Pages here as an example. To confirm an app supports it, look for File > Revert To.

2 Browse versions

In that submenu, choose Browse All Versions. Use the up and down arrows, along with the timeline on the right, to flick between versions. If your file is stored in iCloud Drive, you’ll need to click to download old versions.

3 Restore a version

When you find the version you want to roll back to, click the Restore button at its bottom left. Clicking on the document version first makes it larger, so it’s easier to read and see if it’s the right one, and it has other benefits too.

4 Copy between versions

You can copy things from an older version to the current one. Select text, use ç+C to copy it, click the current version on the left to bring it forward, then use ç+v to paste the text in. This saves restoring an entire version.

5 Duplicate a version

If you do want to make a duplicate file from an old version, you can. Hold å while looking through the versions, and Restore becomes Restore a Copy. Click that to return to the desktop, with the copy in another window.

6 Revert to last saved

If you’ve done work that hasn’t been saved, either manually or automatically, you can revert to the last save without entering the Versions browser. You’ll find this option under File > Revert To in the menu bar.