Version History FAQ¶
Quick answers about Opionate's autosave and version history - what gets saved, how far back you can go, and how restoring a previous version actually works. For a fuller walkthrough, see Autosave and Version History.
The Basics¶
What counts as a "version"?¶
A genuine, completed content change to a draft survey - a question or section added, updated, deleted, or reordered; the title or description changed. A save request that doesn't actually change anything doesn't create a new version.
Does this work for both Classic Survey and Advanced Survey?¶
Yes, identically - including an Advanced Survey's section structure, not just its questions.
Do I have to turn this on?¶
No - it's always active, for every draft survey, with nothing to configure.
Browser vs. AI Edits¶
How do I tell a change I made from one an AI assistant made?¶
Every entry in your version history is tagged with how it was made - your own browser session, or, for an edit made through a connected AI assistant like Claude, a clear "via Claude" marker.
If Claude reverts a change, does that show up the same way as a browser restore?¶
Yes - both are just versions in the same history, restorable from either the browser's version-history dropdown or by asking the AI assistant itself to revert, whichever is more convenient at the time.
Restoring¶
How do I restore an earlier version?¶
Click the Saved status badge near the top of the builder, find the version you want in the dropdown, and click Restore - see Restoring a Previous Version of Your Survey for the full walkthrough.
Does restoring happen immediately when I click Restore?¶
No - clicking Restore opens a preview first, showing exactly what would change in plain language. Nothing is actually restored until you confirm a second time.
Can I undo a restore if I change my mind?¶
Yes - a restore itself becomes a new version in your history, so you can restore back to a point before it, the same way as any other version.
Retention and Limits¶
How many versions are kept?¶
Up to 50 per survey. Once that limit is reached, the oldest versions are automatically trimmed - no manual cleanup needed.
Can I restore a version from a published survey?¶
No - version history is wiped entirely the moment a survey publishes. Live survey content and respondent answers shouldn't ever be able to collide with a draft-state restore, so once a survey is live, there's nothing left to restore back to.
Does restoring affect responses that have already come in?¶
Version history only ever applies to a draft survey, before publishing - so this situation can't come up. Once respondents are answering a live survey, there's no restore capability tied to it anymore.
What's on the Roadmap¶
Can I see a side-by-side diff instead of a plain-language summary?¶
Not currently - the restore preview describes changes in plain English (questions or sections added, removed, or changed) rather than a line-by-line diff view.