Design history works best if it is immediately turned on by the first user after the file is created from the seed file. Once turned on, all changes in a file are then identified and tied to a specific revision number. Typically, the design history is initialized by the site administrator. Users then make changes and commit them as revisions. How often the revisions are stored is entirely under user control.

The tools provide flexibility in viewing the changes made and also a number of methods of undoing or redoing these changes by type, author, or by a number of other characteristics.

Once design history has been turned on, you can view the design history and, if desired, restore the design history. The restoration can be done at the revision level, at the element level and by area, with a fence, or with a selection set.

The Design History dialog is primarily a viewing tool. Any changes you make with undo or redo are limited to the selected elements in the selected revision. In contrast, the effects of the Restore elements dialog are cumulative. If you elect to restore an earlier revision, all of the changes following the selected revision are removed. Therefore, it is suggested to use the Restore elements dialog for recovery to a specific version.