EtherPK

Version History

In a synced graph, you can go back to an earlier version of a page or journal entry, and restore a document or file you deleted. A version is a copy of a document as it was at one moment, with its whole text (frontmatter included), its name, its aliases and, for a journal entry, its day. Graph settings, favourites, and the annotations and highlights in PDFs and EBooks have no versions of their own.

The Sync Server keeps versions and deleted items for the graph's retention period, then removes them. Your device encrypts them with the graph's key, and the Sync Server cannot read them. Any member of the graph, whether owner or Player, can read and restore versions and can restore deleted items.

See Synced Graphs for more information on synced graphs, and Sharing A Graph for more information on Players.

How long versions are kept

The Sync Server sets the retention period, and on a server with plans the graph owner's plan sets it. The period applies to every member of the graph, and it is 30 days unless the server or the plan sets another. A notice at the top of each version history and of the Deleted documents and files section shows the period. You can also see it on the Maintenance tab in Graph Settings.

Once a version or deleted item is older than the period, the Sync Server removes it. A deleted document lasts as long as its newest version, and each row under Deleted documents and files shows the date that item will be removed.

Edited versions thin out as they get older. All of them are kept for the first day, then the newest in each hour up to seven days, and after that the newest in each day. Other kinds of version stay until the period ends.

Nothing is removed while the graph owner's plan is inactive, so the rows under Deleted documents and files say "Kept while the graph owner’s plan is inactive" instead of a date.

If a change to the graph owner's plan shortens the period, the longer period still applies for 30 days, so the notice warns you before anything is removed. The notice shows the date the shorter period starts and how many days it lasts. Another change during those 30 days does not restart the wait, and a change that lengthens the period applies at once.

Kept versions and deleted files count toward the graph owner's storage allowance. You can see how much space they use under Storage on the Maintenance tab. When a change would go over the allowance, the oldest of them are removed first to make room, and they can come from any of the owner's graphs. A change is refused only when there are no kept versions or deleted files left to remove.

When a version is made

EtherPK makes versions on its own in the cases below, and you cannot save one by hand. The version list labels each version with the case that made it.

Label in the list Made
Edited When you pause after editing a page or journal entry on this device, and when you close it or leave EtherPK with edits no version holds yet
Before it was deleted Before a page or journal entry is deleted
Before a rename Before a rename or a merge, for each document it changes, including the documents whose links it rewrites. Also before a merge of duplicate names on the Maintenance tab
Before Replace all Before Replace all in the find box rewrites the document
Before protection was removed Before Remove protection…. The version holds the protected text
Before a restore Before a restore replaces a document's text
Before an agent’s edit Before an AI agent first edits the document in a session

A pause of 30 seconds makes an Edited version at most once every ten minutes on each device. Edits made after that wait for the ten minutes to pass, unless you close the document or leave EtherPK first, for example by switching to another tab or app. Then they are kept at once. Versions made before an action, such as a delete or a rename, do not wait, and one can come straight after an Edited version.

If you are offline and this device has no copy of the document, deleting it makes no Before it was deleted version. The same goes if the document cannot be brought up to date with the Sync Server in time. A deleted document with no versions at all does not appear under Deleted documents and files and cannot be restored.

Versions you make while offline wait on your device until you are back online, even if you reload. To open the version list, though, you need to be connected to the Sync Server.

Open version history for a document

To open version history for a document:

  1. Right-click the document's tab.
  2. Select Version history.

The history opens in a new tab titled "History:" followed by the document name. You can also open it by right-clicking the document in Favourites, Recents or All documents and selecting Version history.

The list groups versions by day, under Today, Yesterday and then the date, newest first. Each row shows the time and what made the version. Select a row to preview it, or use Up and Down to move through the rows while the list has focus.

The preview shows what changed since the version before it in the list. Added lines are marked + and removed lines −, each with the line numbers of both versions, and three unchanged lines either side of a change. Longer runs of unchanged lines are left out, and the preview says how many. Select Full text to see the whole version, and Changes to go back. The earliest version kept has nothing before it, so the preview shows its full text.

The preview is read-only and does not compare the version with the document's current text, but you can select and copy text from it. On a phone, the preview replaces the list, and ← Versions takes you back to it.

If the Sync Server cannot be reached, you see an error and a Try again button instead of the list.

Restore a version

To restore a version:

  1. In the version history, select the version.
  2. Above the preview, select Restore this version.

Restoring a version replaces the document's whole text, and the change syncs to every device like any other edit. The document keeps its current name and aliases. EtherPK does not ask you to confirm, because the replaced text is kept as the newest version, labelled Before a restore. To undo the restore, restore that version. Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on a Mac) does not undo a restore.

While the graph owner's plan is inactive, you cannot restore a version, because a restore changes the document. You can still open the list and read every version.

If you are offline, or the document cannot be brought up to date with the Sync Server, EtherPK refuses the restore and asks you to check the connection and try again.

Restore a deleted document or file

When you delete a document in a synced graph, the confirmation tells you that any member can restore it from All documents, and for how many days. If EtherPK has not yet read the retention period from the Sync Server since you opened the graph, the confirmation says "for a while" instead of the number of days. A deleted document no longer appears in the All documents list, in search, in a Local Mirror or in an export.

To restore a deleted document or file:

  1. At the bottom of the Graph Sidebar, select All documents.
  2. Open the Deleted documents and files section.
  3. In the item's row, select Restore.

Each row shows the item's name and when it was deleted. If the Sync Server cannot be reached, you see an error and a Try again button.

A restored document comes back with the text, name, aliases and journal day of its newest version, and you can select Open it in the message to go to it. A restored file shows again in the documents that use it.

If another document now has its name, EtherPK asks you for a new name rather than merging the two. The name field starts out as the old name followed by "(restored)", such as Garden (restored). Select Restore to use that name, or select Cancel. If that name is also taken, EtherPK asks again. A journal entry restored under a new name comes back as a page.

Remove history for good

Deleted items stay on the Sync Server for the retention period, but removing one for good takes it off the Sync Server at once. Any member can remove the history of one document, or one deleted document or file. You cannot undo a removal.

To remove the earlier versions of one document:

  1. At the bottom of the version list, select Remove history….
  2. Select Remove.

The document itself does not change. Remove history… is unavailable while the document has no versions.

To remove a deleted document or file:

  1. Under Deleted documents and files, find the item and select Remove for good….
  2. Select Remove for good.

Removing a deleted document for good also removes its earlier versions. A file removed for good is gone from the Sync Server, so versions that include it show it as missing.

The graph owner can remove all version history and deleted files at once, for every member:

  1. In Graph Settings, open the Maintenance tab.
  2. Under Storage, select Remove all version history and deleted files….
  3. Type remove, then select Remove all.

Remove all clears every earlier version, deleted document and deleted file from the Sync Server, then shows you how many items were removed.

Protected documents

Protecting a document removes all of its earlier versions, because every member of the graph can read version history. No new version is made when you protect it. If the earlier versions cannot be removed right away, for example while you are offline, a message tells you, and you can remove them later with Remove history….

Versions made after you protect a document hold its protected text, and restoring one brings back the protected document.

See Protected Documents for more information.

Pictures and files

Restoring a version also brings back any deleted pictures and files in it, unless they have been removed for good. If a file in the version has been removed for good, the preview warns you that it will show as missing after the restore.

When you delete a picture used in only one place, the confirmation says that the file itself is deleted and that any member can restore it from All documents for the retention period. Select Delete to confirm.

After you delete a picture, you can also bring the file back on the Sync Server with Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on a Mac), as long as you have not reloaded the graph since. If the file was deleted in an earlier session, typing a link to it by hand does not bring it back. Restore it from All documents instead.

A restored PDF or EBook still has its annotations or highlights. It is not put back in Favourites or Recents, and a restored PDF does not get its bookmarks back.

Local graphs

In a local graph, the documents are files in a folder on your device. A local graph has no version history in EtherPK, because its history is whatever version control you keep for that folder. Its menus have no Version history item, All documents has no Deleted documents and files section, and the delete confirmation says "This cannot be undone."

Local Mirrors and exports of a synced graph hold only the current documents, without versions or deleted items.

See Local Graphs for more information.

AI agents

An AI agent connected to a synced graph can list a document's versions with the list_versions tool and read one with read_version, but it cannot restore a version. To restore one, use the version history in EtherPK.

See Using AI Agents With Your Notes for more information.

  • EBooks Reading And Highlighting
    • On a folder graph you cannot undo deleting an EBook. On a synced graph any member can restore it, with your highlights, from All Documents for the time the question names. See Version History for more information.
  • Glossary
    • | version history | The earlier versions of a document, and the documents and files deleted from a synced graph, which the Sync Server keeps for the retention period the owner's plan sets. Any member can restore them. | Version History |
  • Graph Settings
    • The Maintenance tab has no settings. Each control on it acts as soon as you press it. On a synced graph, the Storage section shows how much space the graph's documents and assets take up on the Sync Server. It also shows how much its version history and deleted files take, and how long the Sync Server keeps them. The graph owner can remove all of them with Remove all version history and deleted files…. See Version History for more information.
  • Pages And Wikilinks
    • The dialog shows the page's name and how many documents link to it. On a folder graph it warns that you cannot undo the delete. On a synced graph it says how long any member can restore the page from All Documents. See Version History for more information. Selecting Delete removes the page and closes its tab. Links to the page stay in place, so they go back to a dashed underline and open a draft. The page also leaves Favourites, whether it was added by its title or by an alias, and its bookmarks are removed. On a shared graph this happens in every member's lists. A favourite Kanban board or map of the page stays, because it works without the page. Images and files the page used remain in the graph until you remove them. See Images And Files for more information.
  • PDFs: Reading, Annotating and More
    • Deleting a PDF also removes its PDF Bookmarks, tab, Favourite and Recents row. On a folder graph its annotations go with it. On a synced graph every member's annotations are kept with the deleted PDF, so a restored PDF has them back. See Version History for more information.
  • Your EtherPK Account
    • The two are the same service with a different allowance. The allowance covers how many synced graphs you can own, how much encrypted storage they can use, the largest file, how many people can join each graph, and how long Version History is kept. The pricing page on www.etherpk.com shows the current figures and prices.