Version History and Auto-Save: How Every Change is Protected
What it is
Every time you work in the Workflows Visual Designer, your changes are protected by two complementary mechanisms: auto-save and manual save. Auto-save silently captures a snapshot of the canvas every 30 seconds whenever there are unsaved changes. Manual save (Ctrl+S or the Save button) creates a checkpoint you control, useful for marking a meaningful milestone. Every snapshot — auto or manual — is recorded as a numbered version entry with the author's name, a timestamp, and a type label. You can view all versions in the Version History panel and restore the canvas to any previous state with a single click.
Why it's useful / Key benefits
- Work without anxiety: you never need to remember to save — changes are captured automatically so you can focus entirely on designing the process.
- Recover from any mistake: accidentally deleted a node? Cleared the canvas? Revert to the version from 30 seconds ago, two hours ago, or two weeks ago — every version is kept.
- See who changed what and when: each version entry records the author and timestamp, making it easy to understand the history of a workflow's design.
- Distinguish exploratory work from milestones: auto-saves are clearly labeled as auto-saves; your deliberate Ctrl+S saves are labeled as manual checkpoints, so you can find meaningful states quickly.
- Undo and redo through real saved snapshots: the Undo and Redo buttons navigate through the version list, so you are always moving between real, server-persisted states — not just in-memory history that disappears when you refresh the page.
- No version is ever deleted: the full history accumulates indefinitely. You can always go back, even months later.
Before you start
- You must be in the Visual Designer in edit mode (not view mode) to use the Save controls.
- Version History is accessible per-workflow from inside the designer. You need to have the workflow open to see its history.
- Both auto-save and manual save are available to all users with Workflows edit access. Reverting creates a new version — it does not overwrite the history.
How to use it — step by step
Checking your save status
The Auto-Save panel is a small floating panel in the top-right corner of the designer canvas. It is always visible when you are working on a workflow.
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Look at the top-right corner of the designer canvas. The status panel shows one of these states:
Status indicator What it means Orange pulsing dot + "Unsaved changes" You have made changes since the last save. Auto-save will capture them within 30 seconds. Spinning circle + "Saving…" A save is in progress (auto or manual). Green checkmark + "Saved!" The most recent save completed successfully. This disappears after 2 seconds. Red × + "Save failed" The last save attempt encountered an error. Try saving manually with Ctrl+S. Clock icon + "Saved X ago" No unsaved changes; shows how long ago the last save was. Branch icon + "No changes" The workflow has just been opened and no edits have been made yet. A gold version badge (e.g.,
v7) also appears in the panel to show your current version number.
Saving manually
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To save at any time, press Ctrl+S (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+S (Mac), or click the Save Now button in the Auto-Save panel.
The status briefly shows "Saving…" then transitions to "Saved!" with a green checkmark. The version counter increments by one.
Manual saves are recorded in Version History with the type label manual (displayed with a green badge), making them easy to identify as intentional checkpoints.
Controlling auto-save
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In the Auto-Save panel, look for the Auto-save (30s) toggle at the bottom of the panel.
- Green (on): auto-save is active. Every 30 seconds, if there are unsaved changes, a snapshot is captured automatically.
- Grey (off): auto-save is disabled. Only your manual Ctrl+S saves are captured.
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Click the toggle to switch auto-save on or off. Your preference applies only to the current design session; auto-save resets to on the next time you open the designer.
Recommendation: leave auto-save on. It is the safest option and has no performance impact on your design work.
Opening Version History
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Click the History button (the clock/history icon with a chevron) in the Auto-Save panel.
The Version History panel expands below the status panel, showing a scrollable list of all saved versions for this workflow.
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Each version entry in the list shows:
Field What it tells you Version number (gold, bold, e.g. v12)The sequential number of this version — higher numbers are newer Type badge Grey "auto-save" for automatic saves; green badge for manual saves Current badge (gold) Shown only on the version currently loaded on the canvas Change summary A brief description: "Auto-saved changes" for auto-saves; "Manual save" for Ctrl+S saves Author The username of the person who triggered this save Time ago How long ago this version was saved (e.g., "3m ago", "2h ago", "5d ago") Revert button Appears on all versions except the current one; click to restore this version -
To close the Version History panel, click the History button again (the chevron arrow collapses it).
Reverting to a previous version
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In the Version History panel, locate the version you want to restore. The list is newest-first (most recent version at the top).
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Click the Revert button (a counter-clockwise arrow icon) on the version you want to go back to.
A confirmation dialog appears:
"Are you sure you want to revert to version [N]?"
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Click OK to confirm. The canvas updates immediately to show the workflow as it was at that version. A new version entry is created automatically (the revert itself is recorded as a new version), so the history is always additive — no version is ever deleted.
Navigating versions with Undo and Redo
The Undo and Redo buttons in the toolbar are version-aware — they navigate through the version list rather than through simple in-memory actions.
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To step backward through versions, click the Undo button in the toolbar (counter-clockwise arrow) or press Ctrl+Z.
This loads the version immediately before your current one. The canvas updates and the current version badge decrements.
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To step forward again, click the Redo button (clockwise arrow) or press Ctrl+Shift+Z.
This loads the next newer version. The Redo button is disabled (greyed) if you are already at the newest version.
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The Undo button is disabled if you are at the oldest available version. The Redo button is disabled if you are at the newest version.
Because Undo and Redo operate on real server-persisted snapshots, they continue to work correctly even after you close and reopen the browser — they are not cleared by a page refresh.
Options & settings explained
Version types
| Type | Label style | Created by | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto-save | Grey badge | System (every 30 seconds when changes exist) | Continuous protection; labeled "Auto-saved changes" |
| Manual save | Green badge | User (Ctrl+S or Save Now button) | Intentional checkpoints; labeled "Manual save" |
| Revert | Green badge | User (Revert button in history) | Records that a revert was performed; labeled with the revert action |
Auto-Save panel controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Status indicator | Shows current save state: Unsaved, Saving, Saved, Error, or timestamp of last save |
Version badge (e.g., v7) |
Shows which version number is currently loaded on the canvas |
| Save Now (solid gold button) | Triggers an immediate manual save |
| History toggle (icon + chevron) | Expands or collapses the Version History panel below the status card |
| Auto-save (30s) toggle | Enables or disables the 30-second automatic save cycle |
| Close button (X) | Hides the entire Auto-Save panel from view |
Version History panel controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Version list | Scrollable, newest-first list of all saved versions |
| Current badge | Blue badge on the version currently loaded on the canvas |
| Revert button | Restores the canvas to that version and records a new version in the history |
| No version history yet (empty state) | Shown when the workflow has never been saved |
Tips & best practices
- Press Ctrl+S at meaningful milestones. Auto-save keeps you safe, but pressing Ctrl+S after completing a logical section (e.g., finishing all task nodes, finishing all condition branches) creates a green "manual save" checkpoint that is easy to identify and revert to later.
- Read the version list to understand the history. If a colleague edited a workflow, you can see their auto-saves and manual saves in the history to understand what changed and when.
- Do not disable auto-save during long design sessions. Auto-save costs nothing and protects you from unexpected browser crashes or accidental navigation away from the page.
- Revert always creates a new version, never destroys old ones. There is no risk in trying a revert — if you do not like the restored state, you can revert forward again to the version you were on before, or simply press Ctrl+S to save a new version from the restored state.
- The Version History panel can be left open while designing. It updates in real time as saves occur, so you can keep an eye on the version counter as you work.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Auto-save says "Auto-saved changes" every 30 seconds. Can I make the interval longer? The 30-second interval is fixed and cannot be changed from the UI. If you find the frequent saves distracting, you can disable auto-save using the toggle in the panel and rely on manual Ctrl+S saves instead — just be sure to save frequently.
Q: I closed the browser by mistake while editing. Did I lose my work? Very likely not. If auto-save was enabled (the default), the last auto-save ran within the past 30 seconds. Open the workflow in edit mode, check Version History, and find the most recent entry — your work will be there.
Q: How many versions does the system keep? Does it eventually delete old ones? Every version is kept indefinitely — there is no automatic cleanup or cap. Old versions accumulate over the lifetime of the workflow.
Q: Can I add a description to a manual save so I know what that checkpoint contains? Currently, manual saves are labeled "Manual save." To add context, rename the workflow title to reflect the current state before saving, or note the version number in a team document. Future updates may add a save-description field.
Q: A colleague reverted the workflow to an old version by mistake. Can we undo that? Yes. The revert was recorded as a new version at the top of the history list. Open the Version History panel, find the version that existed before the revert (it will still be in the list), and click its Revert button to restore it.
Q: The Save Now button is disabled. Why? If the Save Now button is greyed out, a save may already be in progress. Wait a moment for it to complete. If you are in view mode, the button will remain disabled permanently — you need to be in edit mode to save.
Q: Can I compare two versions side by side to see what changed? The current Version History panel does not offer a diff/comparison view. To compare, note the version numbers and use the Revert button to load each one in turn, taking note of the differences on the canvas.