Version history
See the last five saved versions of a template, preview any of them, put an earlier one back, or delete one you no longer need, and which versions Footer365 keeps as a record of what your email carried.
Every time you save a template, Footer365 keeps the result as a version. If a change goes wrong, you can look back at earlier versions and put one back in a couple of clicks.
How versions work
- Each save is a version. Selecting Save in the editor adds a new version and makes it the current one, which is the version your signature rules use. For a template a signature rule uses, Save draft keeps the change as a draft instead, and the version is added when the draft is published. See Drafts, publishing and approval.
- Five are listed. The history lists a template's five most recent versions. When you save a sixth, the oldest leaves the list automatically. It is deleted, unless emails were sent with it: see "Versions that signed email" below.
- Add a note. Anything you type in Change note, in the window that opens when you select Save, is shown against that version, which makes the history much easier to read later. A version made by a change to a brand kit or a library image has a note of its own, such as Brand kit "Contoso" updated by Alex Morgan, naming the kit or image and who confirmed the change. See Brand kits and the image library.
- Numbering. In the history, v1 is always the newest version and the numbers count back from there.
Open the history
- Open the template in the editor.
- Select History in the top bar. The number beside it is how many versions are saved.
The Version history panel slides in from the right. Each version shows its number, when it was saved (in your own time zone), its change note if it has one, and Current against the version in use.
Preview a version
Click anywhere on a version (not on its buttons) to see it in a preview window, filled in with sample details.
Restore an earlier version
- In the history, find the version you want.
- Select Restore.
Footer365 does not rewind the history. It saves a new version with the earlier content and a change note of Restored from previous version, and makes that the current version. So the version you are replacing is still in the history if you change your mind, and restoring counts as a save towards the five kept.
For a template a signature rule uses, the button reads Copy to draft. The earlier version becomes the template's draft, and goes live only when the draft is published, and approved where approval is required. It is unavailable while a draft waits for approval or for its set time.
If the earlier version followed a brand kit or a library image that has changed since, it is put back exactly as it was and taken off the kit or image, so that bringing it up to date again does not undo the restore. Footer365 says so when it has done this, and the template keeps the colours and pictures it had. To follow the kit again, choose it under Brand kit in Theme.
Compare a version with the live one
Select the compare button beside Restore on any version that is not current. The compare page shows that version beside the live one, as it looks, as HTML and as plain text, with what changed marked.
How a version was published
A version published from a draft shows how it came to be live under its change note: when it was drafted and by whom, when it was sent for approval, who approved it, and when it was published, including whether that was at a set time.
Restoring replaces what is on the canvas. If you have unsaved changes you want to keep, save them first, then restore.
Delete a version
- Select Delete on the version.
- The Delete Version window asks you to confirm. Select Delete.
The version leaves the history and cannot be restored. A few rules apply:
- A template must keep at least one version, so the only remaining version cannot be deleted. Its Delete button is greyed out.
- If you delete the current version, the next newest one becomes current.
- Images that were only used in the deleted version are removed from storage.
Versions that signed email
Footer365 keeps a record of which version of a template signed each email, so it can show what an email carried if that is ever questioned (Customer Agreement 9.6A). A version that signed at least one email is therefore never deleted, whether it drops off the end of the list or you delete it: it is taken out of your history and kept out of sight, with the images it uses. You cannot see or restore it in the portal. It is deleted with your account, as described in the data retention policy.
Good to know
- A new copy starts fresh. A duplicated template, a template taken from the library, and an imported or restored template each start with a single version.
- History is per template. Deleting a template deletes its versions with it, apart from any that signed email, which are kept out of sight as above. To keep a copy of your templates outside the portal, see Back up and restore your signatures.
- Designs and HTML. A version keeps whatever that save held. Restoring a version saved in the visual editor brings back its design on the canvas, which is also the way back after editing the HTML directly.
- Plain text. Each version keeps its own plain-text version, whether it was made from the design or written by hand, and restoring a version brings back the plain text it was saved with. The compare page shows the plain text a hand-written version gives. Edit the plain-text version of a template
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