Compare two versions of a design

Put two versions of a design side by side and see which parts and connections were added, removed or changed.

In short

Compare puts two versions of a design side by side and marks what was added, removed and changed. Use it before you restore an old version, or to see what changed since the last sign-off.

Before you start

• Who: anyone who can open the design.
• Plan: Designer is part of every plan, Free included. The Free plan limits how many designs a workspace keeps; Plan & usage shows the limit and what you hold.
• First: the design needs a kept version. Keep one with "Keep" in Versions, or with "Keep this version" on the compare sheet.

See the history of one part

1. Select the part or connection on the canvas.
2. In the properties panel on the right, open the "History" tab.
3. Read each version that added, removed or changed it, who saved it, when, and what changed - for example "Changed: name, description".
4. Choose "Look further back" to read older versions.

Result: you see when and by whom the part changed without opening each version. With nothing selected, the same tab lists the design's latest versions and opens "All versions".

Download the whole history

1. Open the design, choose "Review" and then "Versions". With nothing selected, the "History" tab of the properties panel opens it too.
2. Under the list, choose "Download the whole history".
3. Open the ZIP file: "history.json" lists every kept version with who kept it and when, "current.json" is the design as it is now, and the "versions" folder holds each version.

How many versions each design keeps is set in Designer settings by the people who manage the organization's settings: 50, 100, 200 or 400. Named, signed and approved versions are always kept and not counted.

Steps

1. Open the design, choose "Review" and then "Compare versions…". In the "Versions" panel, the "Compare" button of a version opens the same sheet.
2. Choose the "Older version". Choose the "Newer version", or "Now (the saved design)". No version to choose yet? Press "Keep this version", change the design, then compare it with "Now (the saved design)".
3. Read the two pictures. Added, removed and changed parts and connections are marked with a colour and a line pattern. "What changed" lists each one.
4. Press "Show on the canvas" to see both versions on your live canvas.

Good to know

• It compares what a reader relies on: parts, connections, their names and their settings. Moving a part is not a change.
• On a phone the two pictures stack, and "Which version to show" switches between them.
• A version exists when it is kept. A design keeps one every half hour of editing, when the editor is left, before AI changes and whenever you press "Keep".
• A version kept for a sign-off or a shared link stays. "Compare" beside "Changed since sign-off" shows what changed since the signed version.
• A version you named, and the version an approved change signed, are kept for good: older versions are removed as new ones are kept, but never these. A design keeps up to 100 named versions; after that, keep a version without a name.

If something goes wrong

• "This design has no kept versions yet." - press "Keep this version", change the design, then compare the two.
• "Choose the older version first."
• "The versions could not be compared." - try again in a moment.
• "Nothing a reader relies on changed between these versions." - the two differ only in where parts sit.

Related

• /help/designer/sign-off-a-design
• /help/designer/start-a-design
• /help/designer/present-a-design