Version History and Snapshots

Two layers of history

StretchDocs protects your work with two complementary mechanisms:

• Versions — automatic. Every time content is saved, StretchDocs increments the document's version number and records it. This is the continuous, hands-off history of how a document evolved.
• Snapshots — deliberate. A snapshot is a named restore point you capture on purpose — before a big rewrite, after an approval, or right before sending to a client.

Think of versions as the automatic timeline and snapshots as the bookmarks you place on it.

Version history

Every content save produces a new version. The version history lists each recorded version with its version number, an optional title, who created it, and when. Because versioning is automatic, you never have to remember to save a checkpoint — the history is always there.

View version history

1. Open the document.
2. Open Version history from the document menu.
3. Browse versions newest-first, each stamped with its number, author, and time.

Version history answers questions like "how current is this?" (the version number), "who's been editing it?", and "when did it last change?"

Snapshots

A snapshot captures the document's content at a moment you choose and gives it a name. Snapshots record a version number, a title, the content at that point, and who created it. They're your safety net before risky changes.

Capture a snapshot

1. Open the document at the state you want to preserve.
2. Choose Create snapshot.
3. Give it a meaningful title — for example, Before Q3 rewrite or Client-approved v1.
4. Save. The snapshot is stored alongside the document's review record.

Review snapshots

Snapshots appear in the document's review panel together with comments and suggestions, so you can see the deliberate checkpoints alongside the feedback that shaped them.

When to snapshot

• Before a major rewrite, so you can compare or revert if the new direction doesn't work.
• At approval, to freeze exactly what stakeholders signed off on.
• Before a client send, so you have a record of precisely what was delivered.
• At milestones, e.g., end of each sprint for a living spec.

A realistic example

A proposal is approved on Monday. The owner captures a snapshot titled Acme Proposal — approved 2026-07-13. On Wednesday a stakeholder asks for aggressive changes; the owner rewrites half the document. On Thursday the changes are rejected. Because there's an approved snapshot and a full version history, the owner restores the approved wording confidently — nothing was lost, and there's a clear record of what the client actually agreed to.

Tips

• Name snapshots for the event, not the date alone (Client-approved v2 beats snapshot 7).
• Snapshot at decision points — approvals and sends are the moments you'll wish you'd captured.
• Let versioning run automatically; use snapshots for the handful of moments that really matter.
• Pair snapshots with status changes — snapshot the approved state right before you set the document to Published.

FAQ

Do I have to save versions manually? No. Versions are created automatically on every content save. Snapshots are the only thing you capture by hand.

How far back does history go? StretchDocs retains a substantial history of recent versions and snapshots per document (the most recent are always available first).

What's the difference between a version and a snapshot? A version is an automatic checkpoint on every save; a snapshot is a named, intentional restore point you create for a specific reason.