Sometimes, it may be desirable to revert to or restore parts of a previously published version of a document. This article explains how to proceed and what to consider.
If you need to restore a previously published version, there are two methods available to you. The approach you choose will depend on whether the document exists as a published version or is only available in the archive.
Please note that it is not possible to revert or recover deleted drafts. This is because drafts are permanently removed immediately upon deletion and are therefore not available in the archive.
1. If the document has a published version available
If there is a published version of the document, you can search or navigate to it. Since there can only be one active draft of the document at a time, you should first check if a draft already exists.
- If there is a draft that does not contain important information, you should delete that draft first.
- Then, click on the menu button to Show editions and select the version you wish to revert to. Make sure to click on the name of the version (and not the Compare button if Text documents, as this will take you to the Compare editions feature).
- Then, click on the menu button to Show editions and select the version you wish to revert to. Make sure to click on the name of the version (and not the Compare button if Text documents, as this will take you to the Compare editions feature).
-
- Then, click on Create new edition.
The system will notify you that there are newer editions of the current document available and will ask if you would like to create a new edition based on either the archived edition or the most recent one. 
Select This Edition. After that, the draft will be treated like any other draft, allowing you to edit it and ultimately publish it as usual.
- Then, click on Create new edition.
- If there is a draft that you wish to keep, you cannot create an additional draft as described above. Instead, you can duplicate a previously published version and then copy all or selected parts of that version's content into your current draft. You can do this by:
- Click on the menu button to View editions and select the version you wish to duplicate. Be sure to click on the name of the version, as clicking the Compare button will direct you to the Compare editions feature for text documents.
- Then, click on Duplicate. This action will create a new draft that is no l
onger linked to the current document. From this newly created copy, you can select and copy specific sections into your ongoing draft of the current document. Finally, you can delete the draft that was created during the duplication process.
- Click on the menu button to View editions and select the version you wish to duplicate. Be sure to click on the name of the version, as clicking the Compare button will direct you to the Compare editions feature for text documents.
2. If the document is only available in the archive
- If there is no longer a published version of the document, start by navigating to Documents » Search and selecting Archive. Here, you can either search for the document directly or perform a broader search without specific criteria, sorting the results by archived documents to see the most recent archived versions at the top of the list.
- Once you find the document and the version you wish to work from, you can choose either to Create New Edition or Duplicate, following the instructions provided earlier. If you select Create New Edition, the document will retain its original document number and history from previous published versions, but it will receive a new edition number. Conversely, if you choose to Duplicate the document, it will be assigned a new document number.
Related Content:
Last updated: 1 April, 2025