Revision Control
Paligo stores a record of your content each time that you save it. Each record is called a revision and Paligo keeps revisions of:
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Components, such as topics, informal topics and admonitions
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Text fragments, such as individual paragraphs.
With the revisions feature, you can View Revision History, Compare Revisions, Revert to Earlier Revisions, Download Revisions, Delete Revisions and create New Topics Based on Revisions
When you save a topic, Paligo keeps a record of the changes made to each component and each text fragment. The records are called revisions, and you can view them to see how content has changed over time.
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History of a text fragment
You can view the history of components, such as topics and informal topics and also the history of individual text fragments (paragraphs).
When you save a component, such as a topic or an informal topic, Paligo stores a record called a revision. This is like a snapshot of the component at that point in time.
You can view the revisions so that you can see a history of the changes that have been made.
To view the revisions of a component:
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In the Content Manager, locate the component and select its options menu ( ... ).
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Select Revisions.
A Revision Overview dialog shows the available revisions for the component. It includes the date on which the revision was saved, the user that made the save, and the approximate percentage of changes made since its previous revision.
You can use the Revision Overview dialog to compare revisions and to revert the current component back to an earlier revision.
When you save a topic, Paligo stores a record of the changes you have made. These include the changes to each individual paragraph (text fragment). Each record is called a revision, and they act like a snapshot of the text fragment at that point in time.
You can view the revisions so that you can see a history of the changes that have been made.
To view the revisions of a text fragment:
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In topic that contains the text fragment, select the text fragment and then select its
paraelement in the element structure menu.
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Select Text> Show history.
A dialog shows the history of the text fragment. It includes a list of the revisions, the time and date on which they were saved, and the user who made the save. There is also an estimation on the amount of changes made compared to the previous revision.
You can use the history dialog to compare revisions and to revert the current text fragment back to an earlier revision.
You can view and compare two revisions of:
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Components such as topics and informaltopics
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Text fragments (paragraphs).
For example, let's say that during a contribution assignment, an engineer made changes to a paragraph. After the assignment, you can view the history of the paragraph and compare the engineer's revision to a revision from before the contribution assignment.
When you compare revisions, Paligo highlights the differences between the two revisions. You then have the option to keep the current version or revert to an earlier version if you prefer.
You can compare different revisions of components, such as topics and informaltopics. You choose which revisions you want to compare and then Paligo shows you the differences.
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Find the component in the Content Manager. Select its options menu ( ...) and then select Revisions.
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In the Compare column, select the buttons for the two revisions you want to compare.
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Select Compare versions.
The comparisons are shown side-by-side.
The differences are color-coded:
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blue means changed text
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green means added text
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red means removed text.
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You can compare the different revisions of a text fragment (paragraph). When you compare, Paligo shows you the differences between the two revisions.
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Open the topic that contains the text fragment and then select the text fragment.
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In the element structure menu, select the
paraelement and then select Text > Show history. -
In the Compare column, select the radio button for the two revisions that you want to compare.
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Select Compare.
Paligo shows the differences between the two revisions.
The differences are color-coded:
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blue means changed text
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green means added text
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red means removed text.
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Tip
You can use the language selector in the bottom corner to switch to translated revisions of the text fragment. For example, if your source language is English and you have a Swedish translation of a paragraph, you can switch to Swedish and compare Swedish revisions of the text.
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You will learn how to edit the connection settings during the tutorial.
You can download the revisions of your topics.
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Find the component in the Content Manager. Select its options menu ( ...) and then select Revisions.
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Select the options menu ( ... ) for the revision you want to download and then select Download this revision.
You can delete revisions that are no longer needed. For example, if you have reverted back and forth between versions of a text fragment, you may have revisions that are identical to revisions that already exist. So you may want to delete some of the identical ones.
You can delete a revision of:
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A publication
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A component, such as a topic or informaltopic
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A text fragment, such as a paragraph.
If you have a publication that has revisions that are no longer needed, you can delete them. This can be a useful way of reducing the amount of storage space you are using on your Paligo instance.
To delete a revision of a publication:
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In the Content Manager, select the the folder that contains the publication. Select the Documents folder if your publication is not in one of the blue user-created folders.
Paligo displays the Resources view for the folder.
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Select the options menu ( ... ) for the publication that has revisions you want to delete, and then select Revisions.
Paligo displays the Revision Overview for the publication. It shows all of the revisions that are available.
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Select the options menu ( ... ) for the revision you want to delete, and then select the Delete option.
If you have a component such as a topic or an informaltopic that has revisions that are no longer needed, you can delete them.
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Find the component in the Content Manager. Select its options menu ( ...) and then select Revisions.
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Select the options menu ( ... ) for the revision you want to remove and then select Delete.
To delete a revision of a text fragment such as a paragraph:
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Open the topic that contains the text fragment and then select the text fragment.
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In the element structure menu, select the
paraelement and then select Text > Show history. -
Select the Date link for the revision you want to delete.
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Either select the revision's X icon in the table or select Delete version.
You can create a new component, such as a topic, informaltopic, or admonition, based on the revision of another component. This can help you save time if you need a new topic, note, etc., and it should be the same as, or similar to, content that existed previously.
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Find the component in the Content Manager. Select its options menu ( ...) and then select Revisions.
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Select the options menu for the revision that you want to use as the starting point for the new component. Select Create new document.
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When Paligo displays a "Document has been reverted" dialog, select OK.
Paligo creates a new component and adds the content from the selected revision to it. The content is given new IDs, so each piece of the content is a new database entry and not reused. The new topic and the revision may contain the same content, but the content is completely separate, so you can update the topic without affecting the revision.
Paligo creates the new component to match the type of component that you selected in step 1. For example, if you created a new component from a revision of an informaltopic, Paligo creates a new informaltopic. The new component is added to the same folder as the original component, but you can move it elsewhere if you want.
Let's say you need to create a new "Charging" topic for a product called "ACME 200". The ACME 200 uses a mains adaptor for charging.
In Paligo, you have documentation for a similar product, called "ACME 100". This also has a "Charging" topic and it currently explains how to charge via USB-C. But in the past, this topic explained how to charge via a mains adaptor.
So for the "ACME 200", instead of writing the new "Charging" topic from scratch, you can create a new topic based on the "ACME 100"'s old revision.
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You go to the "Charging" topic in the "ACME 100" documentation and display its revision history.
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You select the revision that contains the mains adaptor content and then select Create new document. Paligo creates a new topic that contains the mains adaptor content. The content is given new IDs.
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You edit the new topic so that it is accurate for the "ACME 200" product. The changes you make have no effect on the revision in the "ACME 100" history.
You can revert content back to an earlier revision. This is especially useful when you have multiple people working on the content and somebody makes an unwanted change. For example, a contributor may add lots of technical detail to a paragraph that you, as the technical writer, feel is more detail than the reader needs. So you can revert the paragraph to a previous revision to "undo" the changes the contributor made.
You can revert:
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A publication
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Entire components, such as topics and informaltopics
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Individual text fragments (paragraphs).
Each time you save changes to a publication's structure, Paligo stores a record of the publication at that point in time. These records are the "revisions" and you can revert back to any available revision. For example, let's say you make changes to the structure of a publication on July 1st, but you then change your mind and want to revert back to how it used to be. By using the Revisions feature, you can change the publication's structure back to how it was on an earlier date.
When you use the Revisions feature, it is only the structure of the publication that changes. Paligo does not revert the content in the publication's topics.
Note
It is possible that you could revert back to a revision of a publication that links to topics that no longer exist, as they have been deleted. In this scenario, Paligo will recreate those topics, and try to add as much of the metadata as possible, including the ID. If the metadata ID is added to the topic, you may be able to use Revert a Topic to a Previous Revision to restore the topic's content. If not, you will need to add the content manually.
To revert back to an earlier publication revision:
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Select the publication in the Content Manager.
Paligo displays the publication's structure.
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Select the Revisions button at the bottom of the Structure view.
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Select the link in the date column to preview the publication structure for a certain revision in the Preview panel.
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Select Revert to restore a revision.
Paligo will restore the publication revision that you selected.
Tip
Two useful features in the Revisions view:
To delete a revision from the Revisions view, select Remove revision at the bottom of the Preview panel.
To manually save the latest structure update, select Create a revision at the bottom of the Revisions view.
You can revert a topic to a previous revision of the topic. If you decide against the change, you can revert it back to another revision.
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Find the component in the Content Manager. Select its options menu ( ...) and then select Revisions.
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Find the revision you want to revert to.
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Select the options menu ( ... ) for the revision and then select Revert to this revision.
The topic reverts back to the revision you selected.
Tip
You can also create a new document from an older revision if you want. It will be placed in the same folder as the current topic. It is also possible to download an export XML file of a revision.
You can revert a text fragment, such as a paragraph, back to a previous revision. For example, if someone has added incorrect information to a paragraph, you can change it back to the correct content from an earlier revision.
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Open the topic that contains the text fragment and then select the text fragment.
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In the element structure menu, select the
paraelement and then select Text > Show history. -
Select the Date link for the revision you want to revert to.
Paligo shows a preview of the revision.
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Select Revert version.
Note
If your text history contains revisions that are duplicates or are no longer needed, you can delete them.
You can download the revisions of your topics.
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Find the component in the Content Manager. Select its options menu ( ...) and then select Revisions.
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Select the options menu ( ... ) for the revision you want to download and then select Download this revision.
You can delete revisions that are no longer needed. For example, if you have reverted back and forth between versions of a text fragment, you may have revisions that are identical to revisions that already exist. So you may want to delete some of the identical ones.
You can delete a revision of:
-
A publication
-
A component, such as a topic or informaltopic
-
A text fragment, such as a paragraph.
If you have a publication that has revisions that are no longer needed, you can delete them. This can be a useful way of reducing the amount of storage space you are using on your Paligo instance.
To delete a revision of a publication:
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In the Content Manager, select the the folder that contains the publication. Select the Documents folder if your publication is not in one of the blue user-created folders.
Paligo displays the Resources view for the folder.
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Select the options menu ( ... ) for the publication that has revisions you want to delete, and then select Revisions.
Paligo displays the Revision Overview for the publication. It shows all of the revisions that are available.
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Select the options menu ( ... ) for the revision you want to delete, and then select the Delete option.
If you have a component such as a topic or an informaltopic that has revisions that are no longer needed, you can delete them.
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Find the component in the Content Manager. Select its options menu ( ...) and then select Revisions.
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Select the options menu ( ... ) for the revision you want to remove and then select Delete.
To delete a revision of a text fragment such as a paragraph:
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Open the topic that contains the text fragment and then select the text fragment.
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In the element structure menu, select the
paraelement and then select Text > Show history. -
Select the Date link for the revision you want to delete.
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Either select the revision's X icon in the table or select Delete version.