---
title: "How to use Google Docs version history"
description: "Need to know what changes were made to a Google Doc? Here's how to use Google Docs version history to review and restore previous versions of any document."
image: "https://images.ctfassets.net/lzny33ho1g45/5LgNoaJ8dOotOnBwEUR1js/a86173ff0fc1bd01d74becc48afa9b8d/google-docs-hero-neutral.png"
---

# How to use Google Docs version history

Need to know what changes were made to a Google Doc? Here's how to use Google Docs version history to review and restore previous versions of any document.

Editing happens one revision at a time, but what if you feel like a previous version was better in some way? With Google Docs version history, you can review what changes were made, so you can easily grab that one paragraph you regret deleting or even restore your document entirely to a previous version. Here's how.

## How to use Google Docs version history 

By default, version history is automatically enabled in Google Docs. This means that all you have to do is open your document, and click the **version history** icon, which looks like a clock. 

Alternatively, you can click **File **> **Version history **> **See version history**. 

A _Version history_ panel will appear with a high-level view of every version of your document, along with the names of people who made edits in each version and when those changes were made. 

To review changes made to a specific version, simply click on it in the _Version history_ timeline, and a version preview will appear. Google Docs makes it easy to spot the edits because it automatically highlights any changes made between the selected version and the previous one. And if multiple people made edits at the same time, their edits are color-coded for ease of reference.

Google Docs groups versions into arbitrary blocks of time, but you can click the down arrow beside any version in the timeline to display a detailed list of every version created within that block—down to the minute. 

If you'd rather view the document without any visual clutter, it's really easy to do. Simply uncheck **Show changes** in the _Version history_ panel to turn this feature off. 

If you prefer to use a previous version of your document (instead of the one you have now), you can easily bring that version back by clicking **Restore this version** at the top of your document.

Don't want to swap out the entire document? In this case, you can copy the text you were looking for, click the **Back** arrow, and then paste it into the current version. 

## How to assign names to different versions of a Google Doc 

If you [collaborate in Google Docs](https://zapier.com/blog/how-to-collaborate-google-docs/), or if your document goes through a lot of edits, it might be easier to pinpoint changes if every version has a clear version name. These names can be as simple as "Version 1" and "Version 2," or "Copy (Justin's version)" and "Copy (Jess' version)."

To do this, click **More** (`⋮`) beside a specific version, and then click **Name this version.**

**Note**: You can add up to 40 named versions per document. 

## How to copy a previous version of a Google Doc

To create a brand new document in Google Docs based on a specific iteration of the current document, click **More** (`⋮`) beside a specific version, and then click **Make a copy**.

## Bonus: Compare two versions of a Google Doc

Google Docs version history shows changes made only between the selected version and its previous version. But what if you want to compare, say, the very first version of a document versus its 10th iteration?

Google Docs has a built-in feature just for this, but first, you need to make a copy of the version you want to compare against your current document. (Refer back to the previous section for how to do this.) Then, in either document, click **Tools > Compare documents**, and select the other document to compare it to. This will create a third document that shows the differences as suggestions. 

You can also use this feature to compare _any_ two documents—not just versions of the same document. Never again will you have to play the grownup version of "Spot the difference" by putting two files side by side. 

**Related reading:**

- [How to create a template in Google Docs](https://zapier.com/blog/create-google-docs-template/)
- [How to use Google Docs comments](https://zapier.com/blog/how-to-use-google-docs-comments/)
- [How to compare two documents in Word or Google Docs](https://zapier.com/blog/compare-two-word-documents/)
- [How to recover deleted files from Google Drive](https://zapier.com/blog/recover-deleted-files-google-drive/)
- [How to convert a Word doc to a Google Doc](https://zapier.com/blog/how-to-convert-word-to-google-doc)
- [How to see who viewed your Google Doc](https://zapier.com/blog/how-to-see-who-viewed-your-google-doc)

_This article was originally published in March 2019 by Justin Pot. The most recent update was in June 2023._