Version recovery and edit history in Google Sheets

Google Sheets is a powerful online spreadsheet application that allows you to create, edit, and collaborate with others on various types of data. One of the most useful features of Google Sheets is the ability to track and restore previous versions of your spreadsheet, as well as see who made what changes and when. This feature is called version history, and it can help you recover lost data, undo mistakes, compare different versions, and more. In this article, we will explain how to use version history in Google Sheets, and how to view, edit, and delete it.

What is version history in Google Sheets?

Version history is a record of all the changes that have been made to your spreadsheet over time. Google Sheets automatically saves your spreadsheet every few seconds, and creates a new version every time a significant change is made. You can access these versions anytime, and see who updated the file and when. You can also restore any version as the current one, or make a copy of it.

Version history is available to the spreadsheet owners and users with editing permissions only. You can also name specific versions to make them easier to find and organize.

How to view version history in Google Sheets?

To view version history in Google Sheets, follow these steps:

On your computer, open a spreadsheet at sheets.google.com.
Go to File > Version history > See version history. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+H on your keyboard.
A sidebar will open on the right of your spreadsheet with all the versions listed by date and time. You can also see the names and colors of the editors who made the changes.
To expand or collapse a group of versions, click on the triangle next to the date.
To see the changes made in a specific version, click on the timestamp. The spreadsheet will show the contents related to that date and time. You can also see the cells that were updated by each editor by their fill colors.
To navigate between different versions quickly, use the arrows next to Total edits at the bottom of the sidebar.
To close the version history sidebar, click on the X icon at the top right.

How to restore Google Sheets to a previous version?

If you want to revert your spreadsheet to an earlier state, you can restore any version as the current one. To do this, follow these steps:

On your computer, open a spreadsheet at sheets.google.com.
Go to File > Version history > See version history. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+H on your keyboard.
A sidebar will open on the right of your spreadsheet with all the versions listed by date and time.
Find the version that you want to restore, and click on the timestamp.
At the top of the sidebar, click on Restore this version.
A confirmation message will appear. Click on Restore to confirm.

Note that restoring a version will not delete any newer versions. You can still access them from the version history sidebar.

How to name versions in Google Sheets version history?

By default, Google Sheets assigns generic names to each version, such as “Last edit was 2 minutes ago” or “All changes saved in Drive”. However, you can also name specific versions to make them more descriptive and meaningful. For example, you can name a version after a milestone, a deadline, a draft, or a revision. To name a version in Google Sheets version history, follow these steps:

On your computer, open a spreadsheet at sheets.google.com.
Go to File > Version history > See version history. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+H on your keyboard.
A sidebar will open on the right of your spreadsheet with all the versions listed by date and time.
Find the version that you want to name, and click on the three-dot icon next to the timestamp.
Select Name this version from the menu.
Enter a name for your version, and click OK.

You can add up to 40 named versions per document, and up to 15 named versions per spreadsheet. To only show named versions in the sidebar, turn on Only show named versions at the bottom.

How to make copies or delete version history in Google Sheets?

If you want to create a separate file based on an earlier version of your spreadsheet, you can make a copy of it. To do this, follow these steps:

On your computer, open a spreadsheet at sheets.google.com.
Go to File > Version history > See version history. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+H on your keyboard.
A sidebar will open on the right of your spreadsheet with all the versions listed by date and time.
Find the version that you want to copy, and click on the three-dot icon next to the timestamp.
Select Make a copy from the menu.
Enter a name for your copy, and choose where to save it.
If you want to share the copy with the same people as the original file, check Share it with the same people.
Click OK.

If you want to delete the version history of your spreadsheet, you can do so by deleting the file itself. Note that this will also delete the current version of your spreadsheet, and you will not be able to recover it. To delete the file and its version history, follow these steps:

On your computer, open a spreadsheet at sheets.google.com.
Go to File > Move to trash. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T on your keyboard.
A confirmation message will appear. Click on Move to trash to confirm.

You can also delete the file from your Google Drive by right-clicking on it and selecting Remove.

How to see cell edit history in Google Sheets?

In addition to viewing the entire version history of your spreadsheet, you can also see the edit history of a specific cell. This can help you track the changes made to a single value or formula over time. To see the cell edit history in Google Sheets, follow these steps:

On your computer, open a spreadsheet at sheets.google.com.
Right-click on the cell that you want to check, and select Show edit history from the menu.
A pop-up window will appear with the current and previous values of the cell, as well as the names and dates of the editors who made the changes.
To see more details, click on Show more detailed revisions at the bottom of the window.
To close the window, click on Done.

Note that some changes might not show up in the cell edit history, such as formatting changes, comments, or conditional formatting rules.

Conclusion

Version history is a powerful feature of Google Sheets that allows you to see and restore previous versions of your spreadsheet, as well as see who made what changes and when. You can use it to recover lost data, undo mistakes, compare different versions, and more. You can also name specific versions, make copies of them, or delete them. You can also see the edit history of a single cell in your spreadsheet. To access version history in Google Sheets, go to File > Version history > See version history, or press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+H on your keyboard.

Version recovery and edit history in Google Sheets