Working with file versions and file history in Assets – Help Center

Once a file is uploaded to Assets it can undergo many changes: it can be checked-out, checked-in, its content can be changed, it can be given a rating, its name can be changed, and so on.

It is important to be aware of which changes have been made to a file, by whom they were made, when they were made, and also to be able to restore changes when needed.

This can be done by using the History panel in Assets.

The History panel

The History panel can be accessed by clicking its icon on the right side of the screen. It shows version and history information when a single file has been selected.

The History panel icon

Working with file versions

A version of a file is created whenever it is checked-in in Assets Server — either through Assets, Assets for InDesign, or through an API.

Note: For configuring this feature, see Working with different versions of a file stored in Assets Server.

The Versions tab of the History panel shows all these versions.

Reverting a version

To revert a file to a previous version, access the menu for that version and choose 'Revert'.

Reverting a file

Viewing the history of a file

Any changes to the metadata that are made for a file as well as the actions that are performed on a file can be viewed in the Full History tab of the panel.

Changes and actions are ordered by the time period in which they were made (today, yesterday, 2 weeks ago, and so on).

Viewing action information

To view the name of the user who performed the action as well as the date and time the action was performed, hover the mouse pointer over the icon to view the info as a tooltip.

Info: Viewing this information for the Download action requires Assets 6.104 or higher.

Filtering the panel items

Use the Search box and/or Filter at the top of the panel to narrow down the number of items that are shown in the Full History tab.

Adding a term in the Search box allows you to search on the following:

The action that was performed on the file (checked-in, copied, moved, and so on)
The name of the metadata field
The value of the metadata field
The user who made the change
The time period in which the change was made

The Filter can be used to filter on the following actions or states:

Checked-in
Checked-out
Abort check-out
Copied
Uploaded
Changed metadata
Moved
Renamed
Relation created
Used in Enterprise

Examples:

Typing 'John Doe' in the Search box finds all changes made by user 'John Doe'.
Typing 'orientation' in the Search box finds all changes made to the metadata field 'Orientation'.
Typing '2 months' in the Search box finds all changes made 2 months ago.
Setting the Filter to 'Checked-out', shows all instances when the file was checked out.
Typing '2 months' in the Search box and setting the Filter to 'Checked-out', shows all instances when the file was checked-out 2 months ago.