Saving, editor history, and restoring a timeline
Use Save or optional Autosave to preserve your video-editor work. Open History to inspect the current version, review recorded script edits, and find timeline restore controls associated with exports.
Before you start
Open a project that has reached the Editor stage. Check that you are working with the intended language and version. To restore from an export, you will need an export listed in that version’s history.
Save your editor changes
The top-right toolbar contains the save status, Autosave switch, and Save button beside History.
The editor shown here has no pending edits: its status is Saved and Save is disabled. The preview is positioned at the end of the video.
Save manually
- Check the Autosave switch. With Autosave off, use manual saving.
- Make your timeline or appearance changes and review the preview.
- Click Save, or press Cmd+S on Mac or Ctrl+S on Windows.
- Wait until the toolbar reports Saved before leaving the editor.
Save after a meaningful set of changes, such as finishing caption styling or adjusting a section of the timeline. Check the save status again before exporting.
Use Autosave
Autosave is on unless you turn it off. While it is on, the editor saves pending changes about every 15 seconds; a check that finds nothing new does nothing.
The switch is remembered in the browser you are using, not in your account. Turning it off on one computer does not turn it off on another, and a browser you have not used the editor in before starts with Autosave on. Check the switch in your editor rather than assuming its state.
Keep watching the save status before navigating away. Autosave being on is not itself a confirmation that your latest edits have been written, and it holds off while an asset is still uploading or a clip is mid-trim.
Read the save status
The status beside Save reports one of four conditions:
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Saved | No changes are pending. | Safe to leave the editor or export. |
| Unsaved changes | You have edits that have not been written yet. | Stay in the editor. With Autosave off, use Save. |
| Saving… | A save is in progress. | Wait for completion before leaving or starting another action that depends on saved work. |
| Not saved | A save was attempted and failed while edits were pending. | Keep the tab open and follow the recovery steps below. |
If you try to leave with pending changes, the editor interrupts you and offers Save & Leave or Discard & Leave. This covers clicking a link elsewhere in the app, leaving the editor from inside it, and reloading or closing the tab. Choose the option that saves, then navigate again.
Understand what History shows
Click History in the editor toolbar. The details panel identifies the version, including its version number and a Current badge when applicable. It also shows the template, voice and quality tier, content-analysis mode, generation-option indicators, and created, edited, and published attribution. Times appear where available.
Use these details to identify the version before choosing an export or restore action. The version number and export number serve different purposes: a single version can have several exports.
| Item | Where to look | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Script version | Version details and the script workflow | Identify the script and generation settings you are working with. |
| Saved editor state | Editor toolbar and timeline | Preserve the current editor work using Save or Autosave. |
| Recorded text edit | History → Edits | Review who changed script text, where it belongs, and the text differences. |
| Export-associated timeline | History → Exports → Restore Timeline | Locate a timeline restore point associated with a particular export. |
| Undo/Redo | Editor toolbar | Step through available recent editing actions while working. Do not use this as your saved backup. |
Review recorded edits
- Open History and select Edits.
- Expand the relevant step heading.
- Review the editor attribution, segment type, time range, and recorded text changes.
The text comparison uses struck-through text for removals and green highlighting for additions. Use it to understand wording changes. The edit count is not a count of all timeline operations or saved backups.
This recorded edit shows a change to the introduction text within a named step.
Find an associated export
- Open History and select Exports.
- Match the export number, version badge, and displayed age to the output you need.
- Look for Latest and Local badges where present.
- Use Download export if you need the rendered video file.
The export cards also provide Restore Timeline and Delete export controls. Downloading a video and restoring its timeline are separate actions.
The circular-arrow action on each export card is Restore Timeline. The downward-arrow action downloads the export.
Choose a timeline restore point
Before restoring, finish saving any work you want to keep and coordinate with anyone else editing the project. Record the current version and the export you intend to use.
Undo cannot reverse a restoration. Both restore actions clear the editor's undo history, so the way back is another restore — a different export, or Restore Original — not Cmd/Ctrl+Z.
Restore Timeline from an export
Restore Timeline is the restore entry point attached to an individual export. Choose it when the export identifies the earlier timeline you want to return to.
- Open History → Exports.
- Find the intended export using its number, version badge, and time.
- Select that export’s Restore Timeline control.
- Read any message presented before proceeding. Continue only if the target matches the timeline you intend to restore.
- Review the resulting timeline and preview before continuing work. Check the save status before leaving the editor.
Restoring from an export loads that timeline into the editor but does not save it for you: the status changes to Unsaved changes, and the restored timeline only becomes the stored one once you save it or Autosave does. That gives you a chance to look before committing — and it means closing the tab at this point leaves the project as it was.
For example, if you want the timeline associated with Export #2, use the restore control on Export #2. Selecting the newest export simply because it has the Latest badge may choose a different point in your work.
Restore Original
At the bottom of History → Exports, the Original Version card offers Restore Original. This returns the project to the timeline VideoMule generated from your script, before any manual changes. The card appears only when the project has manual edits to discard.
Unlike restoring from an export, this one is saved as soon as you confirm it. Your manual editing work is replaced at that point, so make sure you have what you need from the current timeline first.
- Open History → Exports and scroll down within the export list.
- Find Original Version.
- Choose Restore Original when you intend to return to that generated starting timeline.
- Read any message presented before proceeding, then review the resulting timeline and save status.
Restore Original targets the generated editor timeline described by the card. It is a different choice from selecting a numbered export.
Recover from a save problem
If saving fails or remains incomplete:
- Keep the editor tab open. Avoid refreshing or closing it while your latest work may still be unsaved.
- Check your connection and read any error message shown by the app.
- When the editor is responsive and Save is available, try saving again. Wait for Saved.
- If saving continues to fail, record the error and the project, language, and version you were editing. Contact support before discarding the open session.
After a successful save, reopen the same project, language, and version when you next resume. Check a recognizable recent change before making further edits.
If you have already left and work is missing, first check that you reopened the intended version. Then inspect History → Exports for an appropriate earlier timeline. A listed export is a specific restore candidate; it should not be treated as a backup of every edit made afterward.
Work with collaborators
The history panel includes attribution for recorded activity. Use it to see who is associated with a version or text edit. For a clear handoff, have one person finish saving before another opens the project to continue. Agree on a pause before restoring a timeline, and have collaborators reopen and review the project afterward. Avoid simultaneous editing when you need to preserve a known state.
