# What is an editorial revision? A saved version of content

A revision is a saved version of content that can be compared with another version to see which text changed.

Version history helps an editor recover deleted text or inspect a change. A separate note explains the reason for an edit, which the text difference alone may not reveal.

## Explaining what changed in an article

Illustrative editor example: an editor changes a reported figure from $1.2 million to $1.4 million after checking the source filing. Saved versions show the text difference; a separate editor note records why it changed and whether the published version needs a correction notice.

## A version history is not the correction notice

Restoring an older version can undo a later correction. Compare the versions before restoring the whole article, and recover only the missing passage when other current edits should remain.

## Check what an earlier copy would undo

Before restoring an old draft, compare the passage you need with corrections and other edits made afterward. Recover just the missing passage if those later changes should survive. Then inspect the final page and its source links before treating the restoration as complete. Record which version supplied the restored passage so the next editor can reconstruct the decision.

## Related terms

[Correction](https://digitalpublishingnews.com/dictionary/correction/)

[Source registry](https://digitalpublishingnews.com/dictionary/source-registry/)

## Continue reading

[WordPress revisions: restore missing text without restoring an old error](https://digitalpublishingnews.com/articles/wordpress-revisions-editorial-history/): It compares and restores saved WordPress content versions.

## Sources

https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/revisions/

https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/revisions/

Editorial method: https://digitalpublishingnews.com/how-we-use-ai/

Canonical: https://digitalpublishingnews.com/dictionary/revision/