Save a report, resolve conflicts and restore versions
Use this page while you edit a report and want to keep your work: how saving works, what the save states mean, how undo and redo move through your edits, how to resolve a save conflict, and how to go back to an earlier version. To build and arrange reports, see Build a report.
How saving works
Every save writes a new version of the report: its pages, its visuals and its filters are written together, in one step. The newest 100 versions are kept.
One save runs at a time.
Each save carries the version you last loaded. If the report was saved elsewhere since then, the save is refused and saving pauses instead of writing over the other version; you resolve that with Overwrite or Revert.
Saving is manual or on a timer you pick. There is no option that saves on every change.
Save by hand or on a timer
In edit mode, open the save menu in the report header and choose Save now, or press Ctrl+S. Either way, a new version is written. Ctrl+S still saves while your cursor sits in a title field.
For automatic saves, choose a cadence under Autosave: Never (the default), Every minute, Every 5 minutes or Every 10 minutes. The note under it reads "Applies to all your reports."
Your choice is remembered the next time you open a report in this browser. Under Never, nothing is written until you ask.
What the save states mean
All changes saved: every edit is written.
Unsaved changes: the report has edits that are not written yet.
Saving: a save is running.
Save failed: the last save did not go through; the reason sits under the message, and Retry tries again.
Newer version exists: someone else saved first, and saving is paused until you Overwrite or Revert.
The save menu offers the fix for the current state: Retry after a failure, and Overwrite or Revert when there is a conflict.
Undo and redo your edits
Undo and redo step through your edits in the open report, and they work from the keyboard:
Ctrl+Z undoes; Ctrl+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Y redoes. On a Mac, use Cmd in place of Ctrl.
One working history holds up to 100 steps, dropping the oldest when it is full. Changes of the same kind made in quick succession on the same tile merge into one step, so one undo can cover a run of small changes.
An action that touches many tiles at once lands as a single step: aligning or distributing a selection is one undo. The tools themselves are on The report canvas and pages.
Undo returns you to where the change happened. It restores the page and the selection, so undoing a delete brings the tile back selected.
When what is on screen matches the last saved version again, the unsaved mark clears; undo to a state that was never saved and the report stays marked as unsaved.
Two limits: in a text field that keeps its own history, Ctrl+Z steps through your typing instead of the report; and the working history belongs to the open tab, so closing the report and opening it again starts fresh. Only saved versions outlive the tab.
Resolve a save conflict
When someone saves the report while you are editing it, saving pauses and a message says "This report changed elsewhere". The status reads Newer version exists.
Choose Overwrite to keep your edits ("Save my edits as the newest version"): they are written as the newest version, and the version saved elsewhere stays in history, one below yours.
Choose Revert to load the version saved elsewhere ("Discard my edits and load the newer version"). If the report still has unsaved edits, it asks once more in "Revert and lose your changes?": choose Revert and discard mine to go ahead, or Keep editing to stay.
Saving runs again once the conflict is resolved.
While the conflict is open, saving stays paused, your edits stay in the tab and nothing is written until you choose; you can keep working. DataMind has already retried the save on its own before showing you the conflict, so pressing Save again cannot clear it. A failed step reads Save failed, Overwrite failed or Revert failed with the reason under it; when a revert cannot load the other version, the message reads "The newer version could not be loaded."
Reload when the tab is out of date
If this tab runs an older version of the app than the one that last saved the report, saving stops and a message says "Reload to save - this report uses a newer visual type". This is not a save conflict: there is no Overwrite or Revert to choose. Click Reload to continue; edits made since the last save cannot be kept.
When an action needs a saved report
Some actions work on the copy stored on the server rather than on the report open in your tab. While your copy has unsaved changes, those actions are refused with "Save the report first: this action rewrites the report on the server." Save the report, then run the action again.
The same rule across DataPrism editors
The rule that guards a report save guards the other DataPrism editors too: a change carries the version you loaded, and if someone saved first, your change is refused with a message that names the object.
"This measure was changed by someone else. Reload and try again."
"This BI table was changed by someone else. Reload and try again."
"This relationship was changed by someone else. Reload and try again."
"This semantic model was changed by someone else. Reload and try again."
"This measure test was changed by someone else. Reload and try again."
When two people write to the same objects at the same moment, the message is instead "Another change to the same objects is in progress. Try again." Wait a moment and make the change again; this one does not ask you to reload. For the model file workflows that carry their own version checks, see Model files and replacing a table.
Exit or leave with unsaved edits
Exit with unsaved edits asks "Exit edit mode without saving?" with Save and exit, Discard and exit and Keep editing. With no unsaved edits it leaves edit mode right away. While a save conflict blocks saving, Save and exit is not offered.
Leaving the report with unsaved edits asks "Leave without saving?" with Save and leave, Leave without saving and Stay here. Save and leave writes a version first and leaves only once that save succeeds, while Leave without saving discards the edits and puts the report back to its last saved version, so the abandoned draft is not waiting when you come back. Either answer also takes the report out of edit mode, so when you come back it opens in view mode rather than still in edit.
Switching pages does not leave the report, so the guard does not ask; your edits stay open in the tab.
Closing the tab or the browser window is the browser's own confirmation, not the editor's.
View and restore an earlier version
In edit mode, choose Version history in the report header. The dialog lists every saved version, newest first: its number, who saved it, when, and its label. The newest row is marked Current.
Select a version and switch between Preview and Changes. Preview draws the version's pages; Changes shows what differs. In Changes, compare vs previous or vs current, and show Only diff or Full.
To go back, use the restore button on the row, labelled Restore version with the row's number. The Current row has no restore button, and every restore button is disabled while a restore runs.
Restoring writes the version you picked back as a new version; nothing in the history is overwritten. Its visuals keep their identities, so cross-filters and slicer links inside the report still work. The message reads "Version restored" with "Saved as version N. Nothing in the history was overwritten.", and the restored copy appears as the newest version, labelled "Restored from version N".
A report with no versions yet says "This report has no saved versions yet. Versions appear with the first save." When a comparison finds nothing, it reads "No differences from the previous version." or "No differences from the current version."
Previews run against live data, so the figures can differ from when the version was saved: a version keeps the layout, not its numbers.
Questions, answered
Why does the save status still say "Unsaved changes" after a save?
The status describes what is not written down yet, not the outcome of the last save. Edits made after that save put it back to Unsaved changes; when the newest edits are written, it reads All changes saved.
Why can I not click Save?
It is disabled while a save is running, while there is nothing to save, and while a save conflict blocks saving. With a conflict, choose Overwrite or Revert first; the tooltip reads "This report changed elsewhere - overwrite or revert first".
Does Overwrite destroy the version saved elsewhere?
No. Overwrite writes your edits as the newest version; the version saved elsewhere stays in the history.
What happens if I leave with unsaved edits?
Exit asks "Exit edit mode without saving?" with Save and exit, Discard and exit and Keep editing, and leaving the report asks "Leave without saving?" with Save and leave, Leave without saving and Stay here. Save and leave writes a version first and leaves only once that save succeeds; Leave without saving discards the edits and returns the report to its last saved version.
Why was I not asked to save when I switched pages?
Switching pages happens inside the editor, so the leave guard does not ask, and your edits stay open in the tab. The guard asks when you leave the report; nothing is saved or lost by moving between pages.
What do I do when a save fails?
A failed save reads Save failed with the reason under it, and your edits stay in the tab. Choose Retry in the save menu, or save again with Ctrl+S. If Overwrite failed, try again or use Revert; if a revert failed with "The newer version could not be loaded.", try again in a moment. For more message-by-message fixes, see Troubleshooting.
Who can see a report's version history?
Anyone who can edit the report. Version history is an editing action, so a report shared with you as Can view does not offer it. See Who can do what in DataPrism.
How far back can I undo?
Up to 100 steps back. When the history is full, the oldest step drops as new ones arrive. A single step can cover several tiles at once, so 100 steps can hold more than 100 small gestures.
Does undo survive if I close the report?
No. The working history lives in the open tab; opening the report again starts a fresh one. To go back beyond your session, restore a saved version from Version history.
Why does the report look saved again after I undo?
When what is on screen matches the last saved version again, there is nothing left to write, so the unsaved mark clears. If you undo to a state that was never saved, the report stays marked as unsaved.
What does "Another change to the same objects is in progress. Try again." mean?
Another change to the same objects was in progress when you saved, so yours did not go through. Wait a moment and make the change again; unlike the "changed by someone else" refusal, this one does not ask you to reload.
Will a version preview show the numbers from when it was saved?
No. A version keeps the layout, not its numbers: previews run against live data, so figures can differ from when the version was saved.