Version history is a powerful feature in Google Sheets that can help you view and restore previous versions of your spreadsheet if you ever encounter a problem.
With version history, you can see who edited a spreadsheet, who edited a specific cell and copy and restore older versions of your file.
This is a very useful feature if you are working in shared files or if you come across a problem in your sheet and you need to fix it.
In this tutorial, I will show you how to view edit history, see who edited a cell, and restore a previous version in Google Sheets.
Table of Contents
How to View Edit History
1. There are a few ways to open version history in Google Sheets. You can click where it says Last edit in the top menu to open version history, you can go to File and select Version History, See version history. Or the keyboard shortcut to view version history is CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + H
2. On the right-hand side the version history tab will appear. Here you will be able to see who edited the file, and the dates/times of the edits. Click on a date and time to see the specifics of what was changed during that time.
3. After you have clicked on a specific name on a date and time in the version history tab, you will see what was edited. The highlighted cells indicate that the person you have selected has edited it at the time and time shown.
If you want to make a copy of a previous version or restore your entire sheet to a previous version, continue reading below
How to See Who Edited a Cell
If you just want to see who edited a certain cell, and what date and time it was changed, there is a quick way to do that in Google Sheets.
Here’s how:
- Right-click on the cell that you want to view the edit history of
- Select Show edit history
- It will now show you what was changed in that cell, who changed it, and the date and time it was changed. You can click the left arrow to view previous edits to the cell
How to Restore a Previous Version
If you need to revert your entire sheet back to an older version, follow these steps:
1. Open the version history by selecting Last edit at the top (or open through File>Version History)
2. In the Version history tab select the version you want to restore. Select the three-dot menu on the right hand side and you will see options to Restore this version, Name this version, or Make a copy. Select that one that you want.
3. Alternatively, after you’ve selected the version you want to restore, you can also select the green Restore this version button at the top menu
4. From here it will ask you if you really want to restore. Select Restore
Closing Thoughts
Learning how to work with version history is extremely useful in Google Spreadsheets.
If you have multiple editors in a file and somebody makes a mistake, you easily view every change made to any cell.
Excel also has a similar feature to view past edits, but it is not quite as useful as Google Sheets.
Be sure to watch the video at the top of the page if you still need help learning how to do this!
More Google Sheets Tutorials:
How to Request and Grant Edit Access
How to Duplicate a Sheet
How to Turn on Notifications