Form history and restoring

Every form keeps its own history: each stretch of editing, each publish, and each time changes were restored or discarded, with who did it and when. You can open any entry to see the form exactly as it was, and bring that version back.

Open a form's history#

1. In the sidebar, open Forms and open the form.
2. Select the History tab.

Anyone in your workspace can read a form's history.

What each entry means#

Entries are listed newest first. Each one says who did what:

• edited: a stretch of work in the builder. The builder saves about once a second while someone types, so saves are folded into one entry per stretch. A new entry begins when that person stops for five minutes, when the stretch has run for thirty minutes, or when someone else picks the form up.
• published version and a number, or published changes: unpublished changes were sent out to clients.
• restored the form from a date: someone brought an earlier version back.
• discarded unpublished changes: someone threw away changes before clients saw them.

Under each entry is a short list of what changed. The very first entry has nothing before it to compare with, and says so. If someone who made a change has since left your workspace, the entry names them as A former member.

See the form as it was#

Select any entry. The form as it was at that moment appears beside the list, drawn the same way the builder's preview draws it, headed The form on and the date. If it was offered in two languages then, switch between them above it. An entry also says when the form was offered in another language, what was translated, and what someone at your firm reviewed.

If the entry matches what the builder holds now, it is marked What the builder has now.

Restore an earlier version#

1. Select the entry you want.
2. Select Restore this version.
3. Confirm with Restore this version.

The builder is replaced with that version. Nothing is lost: what the builder held before stays in the history as its own entry, and the restore is recorded as an entry too, so you can undo it the same way.

What happens next depends on whether the form has ever been opened to clients:

• If it is a draft that has never been published, the restored version goes straight back into the builder.
• If clients already have the form, the restored version lands as unpublished changes. Clients keep seeing the published version until you select Publish on the Build tab. If you change your mind, select Discard there instead.

Anyone who can edit the form can restore a version. Restoring, like saving, needs an active trial or subscription. An archived form cannot be changed, so restore it as a draft from Actions first.

History and unpublished changes#

When a form is open to clients, your edits wait as Unpublished changes until someone publishes them. Discarding them does not lose them either: they stay in the history, so you can restore them later. See Building a form.

What history does not cover#

History is about the form itself: its name, introduction, layout and fields. It does not list who a form was sent to or what came back. For that, use the form's Requests tab, or the requests list. Under the revisions, This form lists everything recorded against the form, sending included. For a record of actions across the whole workspace, see The audit log.

Clients who sent before a change keep what they answered. Each submission is tied to the version of the form the client saw.