Content versioning
Use the content versioning feature to enable business users to manage historic versions of objects and restore previous versioned objects back to the active content. As a Category Manager or Product Manager, we can manage versions (create, list, view, compare, restore, delete) of business objects (sales catalog, category or catalog entry) in the Catalogs tool. For example, we can create a version of a product or SKU before making short-term changes, and then restore the previous version when the promotional period is over.When creating a version, the version is based on the current state of the business object. If you modify a business object after creating a version, the version remains unchanged.
Note: The content versioning feature does not replace your content management system. The following diagram shows the current product, Prod1023, and three versions of the product in the content version repository. If one of the versions is restored, it becomes the current version of the product.
- 1 Versions of business objects are stored in the version repository.
- 2 Restore a version in the version repository.
We can list the versions of a business object, and preview the contents of a version. Also, we can compare versions of an object or compare the current object with its previous version. Managing versions of a business object allows us to:
- Rollback changes: Create a version of a business object, and test the changes. To back out unsatisfactory changes, restore a previous version.
- Make seasonal changes: Create a version of an object before an event. For example, during Christmas season, we can create a version of a product. The product's image and description are changed to market it for the Christmas season. After the season is over, we can restore the version.
- Make quick changes: If you do not want to restore the entire object, we can copy contents of previous version to the current object.
When you manage versions of your business objects you improve productivity by removing the need to manually redo changes.
The content versioning feature is currently enabled only for catalog objects. However, your Application developer can customize content versioning to support additional business objects, and to modify which parts of the business objects are saved when a version is created. The following table lists the tasks we can perform on catalog object versions.
| Business object | Links to content versioning tasks ... |
|---|---|
| Sales catalog | Manage sales catalog versions |
| Category (Master and Sales Catalog Categories) | Manage category versions |
| Product | Manage product versions |
| SKU | Manage SKU versions |
| Bundles and kits | Manage bundle and kit versions |
Use content versioning in workspaces
Content versioning is available to business users who manage content requiring approval under a workspace. Business users can manage versions (create, list, compare, view, restore, delete) while working under a task within a workspace. See Working on version objects within a workspace for more information about using content versioning in workspaces.
When you create a version of an object while you working on a task within a workspace, the version contains changes that are made to the object within the workspace. The version is stored in the version repository. This new version of the object within the workspace becomes the newest version of the object.
We can view a version from within a task in the workspace, or in approved content. When we are viewing a version from within a task in a workspace, the content of the version is displayed within the context of that workspace. Any references to other objects in the version are also displayed in the workspace.
While we are working on a task in a workspace, we can restore any version of the object in the version repository in the workspace. Also, we can copy parts of a version into the current object in the workspace. To be able to copy parts of a version, or restore a version of an object within a workspace, the object cannot be locked by another task according to the workspace locking policy in place. Any modification to an object (for example, restoring an object version) remain in the context of the workspace until the task group the object is modified in is approved.
Content versioning best practices
- Create versions of your business objects before making any major changes.
- Before restoring a previous version, you should create a version of the business object that includes all the latest changes.
- Delete versions that are no longer needed. In general, a smaller number of versions is easier to manage and improves performance.
Limitations
- The offer price of a catalog entry is not versioned when creating a catalog entry version.
- If the list price of the catalog entry is enabled in the Catalog Filter and Pricing tool, the list price is not versioned when creating a catalog entry version.
- For the catalog objects owned by the assets store, content versioning is not available in the extended sites store. However, your Application developer can customize content versioning to support catalog objects owned by assets store.
Additional notes
- We cannot modify the contents of a version. However, we can modify the name or description of the version. Restoring a version means that we are replacing the object with its version and we can then modify the content once restored.
- A version might reference an object but does not include the copy of the reference object itself. For example, a product version includes references to the images but not the images themselves.
- When we are viewing an object version, the version can reference an object that no longer exists. In some cases, you will be able to restore the version. For example, if your product version includes a reference to an image, we can restore the version but the image will not be shown when displaying the product. In other cases, you will not be able to restore the version. For example, if the product version contains a reference to a parent category that does not exist, you will not be able to restore the product version.
Related tasks
Manage content versioning