Going back to an earlier version
Ghostkey saves as you type, so there’s no save button, and nothing to lose by forgetting one. Going back works the same way: you don’t need to have planned for it. It keeps earlier versions at three sizes:
- Chapter versions: one chapter as it was a little while ago.
- Project versions: the whole book, at a moment you tagged.
- Drafts: whole manuscripts side by side, so you can try something without touching the one you have.
All three live in Apparition, under History at the bottom of the left rail.
Undo the last few changes
For something you just did, you don’t need any of this. Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on a Mac) in the editor undoes your last changes while the chapter is still open, including a line edit note you’ve just applied.
Chapter versions
As you write, Ghostkey keeps earlier versions of each chapter: a new one every time the chapter has moved by about a hundred words, and the last ten are kept. That covers an afternoon of rewriting you’ve gone off, or a scene you cut and want back.
- Open the chapter in Apparition.
- In History, click Chapter versions.
- Each version shows when it was saved and how many words it had. Click Restore on the one you want.
Restoring puts that version’s words in the editor, in place of what’s there. It only touches this chapter. The others stay as they are.
Chapter versions are per chapter, so the row is greyed out until a chapter is open.
Because only the last ten are kept, a chapter you’ve worked on a lot will have lost its oldest versions. If there’s a version you want to keep for good, tag a project version.
A chapter you deleted
Deleting a chapter doesn’t destroy it. History → Deleted chapters lists them, and restore brings one back with its text and its versions, at the end of the draft it was deleted from.
Project versions
A project version is the whole book, tagged at a moment worth keeping: every chapter, the folders, and the order they’re in. Take one before a big change, like a restructure, a long session in the chat, or sending the book out, and you can always come back to exactly that.
To tag one:
- In History, click Project versions.
- Click Tag this version and give it a name you’ll recognise later, like Before the big rewrite or Sent to beta readers.
- Click Tag.
A tag keeps its chapters for as long as the tag exists, so they don’t age out like chapter versions do. A book can hold 50 tags. Deleting a tag only deletes the tag. Your chapters and drafts aren’t touched.
To go back to one: click Restore beside the tag. The tagged book comes back as a new draft, and Ghostkey switches you to it. The draft you were in is kept exactly as it was, so restoring never overwrites anything. If you decide you preferred where you were, switch back (see below).
Drafts
A draft is a whole manuscript: its own chapters, its own order, its own word count. A book can have as many as you like, and you write in one at a time. They’re how you try a different shape without risking the one you have.
To switch drafts: open History → Drafts and click the one you want. Nothing is merged and nothing is lost. Switching is just choosing which manuscript is in front of you.
When to start a new draft, how, and how to write with the old one beside you are all in Drafts.
Which one do I want?
- I didn’t like the last few minutes. Ctrl+Z / Cmd+Z.
- This chapter was better this morning. Chapter versions.
- I deleted a chapter I needed. Deleted chapters.
- The whole book was better before this week. Project versions, if you tagged one. It’s worth making a habit of tagging before big changes.
- I want to try a different shape and keep this one. A new draft.
The short version: tag a project version before you do anything big, and you can always get the whole book back.