View version history

Version history helps you keep track of all of the edits that were made in your document. You can see what has changed over time, easily.

To see what's changed in your document,

1. Click on the dynamic icon, next to the document name, notifying when the last edit was made. This will take you to a page where all versions of your document are listed.
2. Click on "See what's changed" icon at the top. Clicking on it will enable you to view the changes that were made for the day, over a week and over a month.
3. You can also customize a specific period to distil out edits that happened within that period.

Create labelled versions of a document

It can be useful to keep multiple versions of the same file, so you have a record of the changes you've made.

To create a new version of a file,

1. Click File > Create Version. A pop-up window will appear.
2. Enter a short description and click Create.

To access an older version of the document, go to File > Document History. All versions will be displayed on the right side of the screen.

View changes since your last visit

Keep track of all that's happened in your document since you last visited. All the changes will be color-tagged, so that you can see who changed what.

To view changes since your last visit,

1. Open the required document.
2. Click on View changes since your last visit link next to the Compose mode. The changes made by other users will be highlighted. The changes will be color-tagged for each user and you can keep track of what each user has modified in your document.

Restore an earlier version of a document

You can review different versions of your document and restore it to an earlier version if required.

To restore to an earlier version,

1. Click on the dynamic icon, next to the document name, notifying when the last edit was made. This will take you to a page where all versions of your document are listed.
2. Choose any version from the versions panel.
3. Click the Restore this version link, so that your document will be set to the version you choose.

Print or Download old versions

To print or download old versions,

1. Click on the dynamic icon, next to the document name, notifying when the last edit was made. This will take you to a page where all versions of your document are listed.
2. Choose any version from the versions panel.
3. Click icon near a version and choose to Print or Download the particular version.

Compare versions

Select any two versions and compare the changes that have been made by all or specific collaborators. Keep track of changes and also revert to a better version, if required.

To compare versions,

1. Click on the dynamic icon, next to the document name, notifying when the last edit was made. This will take you to a page where all versions of your document are listed.
2. Click compare versions link from the versions panel.
3. Now select any two versions and click Compare. Also, filter among collaborators to see the changes done by specific users.

Combine revisions from multiple reviewers

Writer comes with enhanced review and revising tools to work in real-time with your team members. 

Now let's say your business involves third-party negotiation and they use a different writing tool (say, MS Word) for editing and reviewing your work. When you send out your document for review, you might receive a lot of copies back with revisions from multiple reviewers. It is not feasible to copy/paste each edit and incorporate every review in your document. In that case, use the Combine Revisions option that lets you merge different revisions from multiple reviewers in one document.

After you send a document for review, the revisions that are made can be merged either into your original document or merged as a new document. The changes or comments made by specific will be displayed in markup in your latest version.

You can combine and revise a Writer document with .doc or .docx format only. The maximum file size allowed in 10MB.

To combine a revised .docx file with your Writer document, do the following:

1. Click More > Tools tab.
2. Under Review header, choose Combine Revisions.
3. Click the Choose Document button to upload the revised document that you received from your reviewer.
4. Choose to combine and create a new document or combine changes to the current document. 
5. You can enter the reviewer's name, to quickly identify who made the changes.
6. Click Combine. Once the document is merged, the changes will be shown in markup. Accept/Reject changes and create a final version of the document.