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View and restore topic history

Topicary automatically saves a snapshot of every topic each time you make changes. You can preview past versions, compare differences, and restore earlier content.

How auto-snapshots work

Every time you save a topic (auto-save triggers on pause), Topicary checks whether the content changed since the last snapshot. If it did, a new version is stored. Identical consecutive saves are skipped to avoid duplicates.

Snapshots are retained for the duration set by your plan (30 days on Free, unlimited on paid plans).

Snapshots are created automatically — you do not need to manually save or name versions. Every meaningful change is captured. On Free plans, snapshots are retained for 30 days. Paid plans retain snapshots indefinitely.

View version history

  1. Open a topic in the editor.

  2. Click the clock icon in the right panel to open version history.

  3. The panel lists up to 50 recent versions, newest first, each showing the date and word count.

Preview a past version

Click any version in the history panel. The editor's center area switches to a read-only preview of that version's content, with an amber banner at the top indicating you're viewing a past version.

Click the version again or press the X in the banner to return to the current content.

Compare versions

  1. In the version history panel, click the compare icon next to a version.

  2. A block-level diff appears showing what changed between that version and the current content:

    • Green blocks with a "+" indicator were added

    • Red blocks with a "-" indicator and strikethrough were removed

    • Yellow blocks with a "~" indicator were modified — both old and new text are shown

The diff operates at the block level (paragraphs, headings, list items). It does not highlight individual word changes within a block.

Restore a past version

  1. In the version history panel, click the restore icon next to a version.

  2. Confirm the restore in the dialog.

Restoring a past version replaces the entire current content of the topic. You cannot selectively restore individual sections or blocks. Before restoring, Topicary automatically saves your current content as a new snapshot, so you can always undo a restore by finding the pre-restore version in the history.

After restoring, the editor loads the restored content and you can continue editing normally.

Before restoring, use the compare view to see exactly what will change. If you only need a specific paragraph from an older version, it may be faster to open the preview, copy the text you need, and paste it into the current version rather than restoring the entire topic.

Limitations

  • History shows the 50 most recent versions. Older versions are still stored but not displayed.

  • Restore replaces the entire topic content. You cannot selectively restore individual blocks.

  • The diff view shows block-level changes, not character-level differences within a block.

See also

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