Guide
Approval and versions
A template goes through three different kinds of "done", and they are easy to mix up. This guide separates them: Save keeps your work, Approve says a migrated template is trustworthy, and Publish freezes a numbered version you can come back to.
At a glance
| What it does | Where | Who needs it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Save | Keeps your latest edits in the template. Happens automatically; the button forces it | Editor toolbar | Everyone, always |
| Approve | Closes the review of a migrated or merged template and moves it into your Templates list | Review screen, Review queue | Templates that came from a migration or a merge |
| Publish new version | Freezes the template as it is now, as "Version 3" | Editor toolbar → Versions | Optional; whenever you want a restore point |
Save — your working copy
Everything you change in the editor is saved to the template's working copy. Changes save by themselves as you work; Save (toolbar) saves right now, and it is greyed out when there is nothing to save. Preview & download saves first, so a preview is always of your latest edit.
The working copy is what the editor shows, and what every Preview renders. It changes with every edit — it is not a snapshot.
If someone else changed the same template in another tab or on another machine since you opened it, a notice under the toolbar says "This template was changed since this screen loaded it" and Save is off, so that one of you does not silently overwrite the other. Reload to take the newer copy.
Approve — when a template came from a migration
A template you create yourself (blank, from the gallery, or a duplicate of an approved template) is approved from the start. A template that Ristmark built for you — a migrated document, or the draft from merging similar templates — starts in review. The AI may have mislabelled a field; the review is where you check, field by field, using the confidence bands.
- While a template is in review you can open it in the editor and preview it, but it does not appear in your Templates list, and it cannot be generated through the API: the generation API serves approved templates only.
- Approve (the button on the review screen, and on each row of the Review queue) closes the review. Your verdicts — which fields you accepted, corrected or rejected — become final and are written into the template. It moves into Templates.
- Until you approve, your review decisions are kept on this device only; nothing reaches the template.
- Approval is one way. An approved template stays approved, including after you edit it. A confidence score is the model's opinion, not proof, so approve after you have compared the actual values and output with your original.
PDF and image sources are migrated through a visual reconstruction that is in Beta; review those more carefully than Word documents.
Publish — a numbered version
Open Versions (the clock icon in the toolbar) and press Publish new version. The template as it is now is frozen as the next numbered version — "Version 1", "Version 2" — with the time and who published it. A published version never changes.
Publishing does not change your working copy and does not make the template "live" for anyone; it takes a snapshot you can return to or generate from. Use it before a risky edit, before you send a template to a colleague, or when you have an approved state you want to keep.
Which copy does generation use?
| You generate from… | The document is made from… |
|---|---|
| Preview in the editor | Your working copy — the latest edit |
| Download final in Preview | Your working copy, saved first. It shows the cost in credits before you press it |
| A version's PDF or HTML button in Versions | That published version. It is a final render and uses generation credits |
The API, with no version |
The template's working copy, if the template is approved |
The API, with version: 3 |
Version 3, if the template is approved |
So if you edit a template after publishing, API calls that name no version pick up your edit immediately, while calls that pin a version keep producing the old document. Integrations that must not change under you should pin a version. See the API documentation for the exact parameter.
Version history and restore
The Versions window lists every published version, newest first, with its time and author, and three buttons: PDF, HTML (download that version) and Restore.
Restore replaces your working copy with that version. It asks first. Two things to know:
- Restore does not save what you had before. If you want to keep your current work as a version, press Publish new version before you restore. In the same tab, Ctrl+Z brings your work back.
- Restore does not create a new version either. Press Publish new version afterwards if you want the restored state to be a numbered version too.
A restore keeps the template's current name (names change only by renaming).
Deleting is not the end either
Deleting a template moves it to Deleted templates, where Restore brings it back. A deleted template is kept for a limited number of days (the page states how many) and is then permanently deleted. Restoring or deleting a template needs the Manager role or above in the template's team — see Teams and people.
Variations
- A safe experiment. Publish, edit freely, and Restore the version if you do not like the result.
- A frozen template for an integration. Approve it, publish the version you tested, and have the integration pass that version number in each call.
- Roll back a bad edit that was saved. Open Versions and restore the last good version.
If something looks wrong
- My API call says the template was not found. It is probably still in review (not approved), in the trash, or in a team the key cannot reach. Approve it, restore it, or check the key's team (API keys).
- The API output does not match my Preview. The API renders the working copy or the version you asked for, with the data you sent; Preview uses sample data. Check the data first.
- The restored template lost my latest edit. Restore replaces the working copy and does not snapshot first; use Ctrl+Z in the same tab, or restore a published version made before the edit.
- Save is greyed out. Either everything is already saved, or the template changed elsewhere (the notice says so). On the read-only Playground sample the Save button is replaced by Duplicate to save your version, which gives you an editable copy.