Revisions and publishing
Raytha keeps an editing copy (the draft) apart from the live copy (the published version) for content items and site pages, and it keeps old versions as revisions. Templates work differently: they have no draft, and every save is live. This page explains which is which so you can edit without surprises.
The short version
| What you edit | Has a draft? | Revision saved when… | Where to revert |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content item (fields) | Yes | You publish, or revert a published item | Revisions card in the item editor |
| Content item route path and template | No, live at once | Not versioned | Edit the setting again |
| Site page widgets and layout | Yes, saved automatically | You publish, or revert | Revisions on the page's Settings tab |
| Site page title, path and template | No, live at once | Not versioned | Edit the setting again |
| Web templates, widget templates, email templates | No, live at once | Every save keeps the previous version | Revisions panel in the template editor |
Content items
Draft and published copies
A content item holds two copies of its field values. Visitors see the published copy. Editors work on the draft copy.
- Save draft writes the draft only. The live page does not change. A published item shows a Draft badge to say it has unpublished edits.
- Publish replaces the published copy with your edits. The version that was live moves into the revision list.
- Discard draft sets the draft back to the published copy.
- Unpublish hides the item from the public site and leaves everything else as it was. You cannot unpublish the item that is the home page.
Required fields are only enforced when you publish. A draft may be incomplete.
Revisions
The Revisions card in the item editor lists earlier versions by date, each with a Revert button. Up to 50 are shown. Before the first edit-and-publish the card says "No revisions yet. Publishing creates a revision." Creating an item does not make a revision; the first one appears when you publish an edit.
To go back to an earlier version:
- Open the item and find the version in the Revisions card.
- Click Revert. You should see "Reverted to revision".
- If the item has no unpublished draft, the revision becomes live at once, and the version that was live is itself saved as a new revision, so a revert can be undone.
- If the item has a draft in progress, only the draft is replaced. Click Publish to make the reverted content live.
Tip Not sure whether a revert went live? Look for the Draft badge in the Status card. A badge means you still have to publish.
Settings are not versioned
Route path and template (the Settings card) apply as soon as you click Save settings. They are not part of the draft and they are not in revisions.
Imports
A CSV import in update mode writes the published content directly and does not make a revision. Export first if you want a copy of the old values. See Import content items from CSV.
Site pages
Site pages have the same two copies, but for the widget layout. The header buttons and badges tell you the state:
- The status in the list is Draft, Published, or Published · unpublished changes. The last one means visitors see the published version while a newer draft exists.
- Layout edits are saved as a draft automatically about a second after each change. The indicator cycles through Unsaved changes, Saving draft… and Draft saved.
- Publish makes the draft live and saves the previous live version as a revision.
- Discard draft (page header) and Clear draft (layout page) throw away unpublished layout changes.
- Unpublish takes the page off the public site. The home page cannot be unpublished.
To revert, open the page's Settings tab and use the Revisions table (When, By, Revert). Raytha asks you to confirm and notes that the current published widgets are saved as a new revision first.
Important The page's Title, Path and Template on the Settings tab are not drafted. They go live the moment you save them, even if the widgets are still a draft.
Templates
Web templates, widget templates and email templates have no draft. When you click Save, the change is live on the next page load, and the previous version is kept as a revision.
- Open the template and look at the Revisions panel on the right. Each entry shows a date, who saved it and a Revert button.
- Click Revert on the version you want. You should see "Reverted to that revision".
A revert also saves the version you are leaving as a new revision, so you can step forward again. Details to know:
- For web templates a revert restores the label, the Liquid content and the Content types created later setting. It does not restore the parent template or the list of content types that can use it.
- For widget templates a revert restores the Liquid and the fields together ("Reverted to that revision, fields included").
- Raytha refuses to save a template whose Liquid has a syntax error. It cannot catch every mistake, though: an error that only appears when a page renders shows up on the public page. Always load the page after saving.
Gotchas
- Edit a template on a copy of the theme when the site is busy. Duplicate the theme, edit the copy, then make it active. See Themes and web templates.
- A content item restored from the trash starts unpublished; see Restore deleted content items.