Version history: viewing, restoring, and auditing changes

🕘 Version History: Viewing, Restoring, and Auditing Changes

BlueDocs automatically maintains a complete version history for every document in your workspace. This includes detailed records of content edits, user actions, and workflow decisions — ensuring transparency, traceability, and compliance at every step.

In this guide, you'll learn how to view previous versions, restore content, and audit who changed what, when, and why.

🔄 How Version Control Works in BlueDocs

Every time a document is updated, BlueDocs creates a new version behind the scenes. This versioning system supports not only content changes but also metadata updates, user actions, and workflow transitions.

Here’s what gets tracked:

Content Edits: Any change to the body of a document creates a new version.
Status Changes: Transitions like Draft → Published → Archived are logged.
Metadata Updates: Changes to the title, category, or tags are recorded.
User Actions: Every version records who made the change and when.
Policy Acceptances: For policy documents, user acknowledgments are included in the history.

Each version is given a number (e.g., v1.0, v2.0, etc.) and a unique content hash for integrity verification. This ensures that every document edit is traceable and tamper-resistant.

📜 Viewing Document Version History

For Policy Documents

Policy documents offer enhanced version tracking, including acceptance history and change summaries.

To view:

Go to the Policies section.
Open a specific policy document.
Locate the version badge (e.g., “v2.0”) near the title.
Click to view detailed history including timestamps, author, and optional change summaries.

For All Other Document Types

All documents in BlueDocs maintain basic version metadata:

Version Number
Created By (original author)
Last Updated By
Last Modified Timestamp

These details are visible within the document’s metadata section and help identify edit history and contributors.

🧾 Activity Logs and Audit Trails

In addition to version history, BlueDocs maintains detailed activity logs that capture every key user interaction.

To view activity logs:

Navigate to Analytics → User Activity Report
Filter by date, user, or document type
Explore an interactive timeline showing:

Activity Type (e.g., created, updated, viewed)
User who performed the action
Document affected
Timestamp and metadata

These logs form a vital audit trail for compliance, performance tracking, and usage insights.

🔐 Document Approval Tracking

For documents requiring approval, BlueDocs records:

When approval was requested
Who approved or rejected it
Decision timestamp and comments
Automatic status updates upon approval

This ensures a full chain of accountability for published content.

✅ Policy-Specific Version Features

Policies include advanced version controls:

Acceptance Tracking: Know who has accepted which version.
Reacceptance Requirements: Flag updated policies that require users to re-acknowledge.
Version Comparison: Compare content changes between versions (coming soon).
Change Summaries: Authors can add optional summaries to describe what changed.

🔍 Best Practices for Managing Versions

For Document Authors

Avoid unnecessary edits; focus on meaningful updates
Use consistent, descriptive document titles
Always update the status as a document progresses (e.g., from Draft to Published)
Include change summaries when updating critical documents like policies

For Admins & Managers

Regularly review User Activity Reports
Archive obsolete versions or content no longer in use
Educate your team on how versioning impacts compliance and tracking
Use version history as a backup strategy — especially before major changes

For Compliance & Security Teams

Audit policy acceptance rates regularly
Ensure change logs are reviewed during compliance checks
Verify that approval decisions are properly recorded and traceable
Use access logs to understand who has interacted with sensitive documents

🧠 Understanding Activity Types

BlueDocs tracks several system-level actions:

document_created – A new document was created
document_updated – Content or metadata was changed
document_viewed – A user accessed a document
document_approved – Approval was granted
policy_accepted – A user accepted a policy
training_completed – A training module was completed

These types appear in activity logs and analytics, helping admins analyze platform use.

🛠 Troubleshooting Version History

Issue	Solution
Missing Versions	Ensure you have the correct role/permissions to view version history
Delayed Activity Logs	Logs may take a few minutes to sync after rapid changes
Cannot Restore or Compare Versions	Contact your BlueDocs administrator or check permissions

🧩 Advanced Features for Larger Organizations

Extended Audit Retention: Long-term storage of version logs for compliance purposes
Cross-Document Tracking: See how changes in one doc relate to others (e.g., training + policy)
Bulk Version Operations: Monitor changes made during mass updates
Integration Auditing: Track document updates made via API integrations

🆘 Need Help?

Users: If you're missing version history or audit logs, check your permissions or contact your admin.
Admins: Review version control settings in Settings → Permissions to manage visibility.
Support: For assistance with restoring older versions or setting up custom audit workflows, contact BlueDocs support.


🔐 Security Note:
Version history and audit logs may contain sensitive access and activity data. These tools should only be accessible to authorized personnel with appropriate permissions.


By understanding and using version history and audit trails in BlueDocs, your team can maintain content quality, uphold compliance standards, and ensure a trustworthy record of all key document activity.

Updated on: 27/05/2025