Document window

Open a document and its versions by dragging and dropping it onto Revisionist’s icon, or open it from within the app using its Open command.

Revisionist lists all versions for which the versioning system currently has a version stored. For each it gives the version Number (lowest is the oldest), the datestamp of that version, and its size in bytes. For bundles, such as RTFD, that size is the sum of the sizes of all the individual files which make up the bundle. The current version is always given last.

Older documents with many versions usually only retain the most recent versions, and you will there see the total number of Versions at the top left exceeds the number listed below. This is because the files for those versions have been purged, although the versioning database still keeps a record of their previous existence. ⚠️ The numbering of versions starts at 0.

Select any of the versions listed in the main table view to see additional information about the selected version in the lower section of the view. This includes:

The full path and filename of that version in the versions database; do not try to use this to modify the versions database in any way.

Whether or not the contents of that version are stored locally .

Whether or not that version can be purged ( discarded ) by the versions database. Even though a version is listed as being not discardable, you should still be able to delete it using the Delete button.

The localised filename for that version, which is that presented by the editing app; this is invariably the same as the filename of the current version.

If recorded, the name of the Mac which wrote that version; this appears infrequently, and most often for versions that are stored in iCloud Drive.

Double-click on a version and it will be opened using QuickLook, to provide an overview of the contents of that version. The preview browser has all the usual tools to enter full-screen mode, open that document using its default app, and so on.

Click on the Duplicate button to create a deep copy of the document including all its versions. You will be prompted to select a location and filename for the copy. Revisionist will then create that new item and save all the currently accessible versions to it. This is an ideal way to make local copies on volumes formatted to support versioning; they include Apple’s old format HFS+, and its new one APFS. ➜ copy preserving versions

To make a deep copy of a document for access on another Mac (or any other system), click on the Archive button instead. You will then be prompted for the name of a new folder into which those versions will be copied. Because Revisionist uses an automatic scheme for naming the version files, you should provide the name for a new folder to be created for this purpose; if you give the name of an existing folder, then after a warning, Revisionist will overwrite its existing contents. Versions copied into that folder are named in sequence with 000 being the oldest, e.g. from myDoc000.text to myDoc026.text, with myDoc026.text being the current version. ➜ make an archive of versions

Archive does not alter the contents of the versions database in any way, it merely copies versions from it to an accessible location where you can access those files directly. It works with single files, such as text documents, and bundles such as .rtfd documents.

You can remove unwanted versions from the archive folder as you wish, provided that you do not change the file names. ⚠️ Revisionist relies on the versions being in numerical order; changing any of the file names may disrupt that, and confuse the versions when unarchived.

Each item in the archive is a complete version of the document. If you wish to access those versions using another operating system, simply open the relevant version(s).

Remove versions from the versioning database by selecting all those that you want to remove, then click on the Delete button. Selection works in the normal way: hold down the ⇧ Shift key to select a continuous range, and hold down the ⌘ Command key to select/deselect individual versions. ➜ remove versions

⚠️ You cannot remove the last (current) version; Revisionist will not try to remove that even if you select it before clicking Delete . To remove all previous versions, simply select them all and click Delete .

⚠️ Because of the way that the versioning system works, there is no way to undo deletion : once those versions have been removed, they have gone forever. To ensure that you are aware of this, and the number of versions which you have selected for removal, immediately after you click on the Delete button you will be warned that this is irreversible. If you want to remove the selected versions, click on the Delete button there too.

Once Revisionist has performed those deletions, it refreshes the contents of the window from the versioning system, to ensure that what you see there reflects accurately what macOS says. Any error messages are currently written out to the scrolling text window at the foot.

To convert a folder created by the Archive feature back to a normal document with its versions, use the UnArchive command in the Window menu. This opens the UnArchiving window, then prompts you to select the folder containing the archived versions. You will then be prompted for the name of a new file to be created, into which all those versions will be saved. It is important that the new document is on local HFS+ or APFS format storage to ensure the versions will work correctly. ➜ convert an archive back to a file

The UnArchiving window gives basic information about what happened during the conversion, and any error messages which apply.

Increase the size of the text in lower section of this window up to 24 points using ⌘ + or reduce it down to 4 points using ⌘ –.

Finally, click on the Save button to write a summary of results out to a text file.

➜ details

➜ welcome

The Eclectic Light Company – https://eclecticlight.co