How to go back to an earlier version of a document on a Mac

Device

Mac

Shown on

macOS 27.0.1 (MacBook Neo)

App

TextEdit

Path

TextEdit › File › Revert To › Browse All Versions

Real screenshots

4 of 4 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

1 official, linked below

Step by step

1. 

   Browse All Versions opens

   In the open document, choose File, Revert To, Browse All Versions. This view opens: the current version on the left, older ones on the right.

   Done

2. 

   Step back to the version you want

   Older versions stack up behind the right-hand window. The arrows beside it step through them; the date under it shows when each was saved (ours: Today at 14:00).

   Done

3. 

   Click Restore

   Restore is under the older version. Done, under the current one, closes the browser and changes nothing.

   Done

4. 

   Check the document

   Ours went back to the original second line; "Line four added later." was gone.

   Done

If you do not see this option

• No Revert To in the File menu? The app does not save versions; check its own history or a backup.
• Only one version? Versions come from saving. A document saved once has no older version; Time Machine backups can add more. Source: View and restore past versions of documents on Mac

If this does not work

• Restore did nothing? Make sure you picked a version on the right, not the current one on the left.
• Want to keep both? Apple says to hold Option and click Restore a Copy: the older version opens as a new document. Source: View and restore past versions of documents on Mac

About this guide

Apple apps save versions as you work, so an older one can come back without Time Machine.

The screenshots are from our MacBook Neo with macOS 27.0.1, taken on 18 October 2026. We saved a test document twice and restored the first version.

Good to know

Working from iCloud Drive? Keep iCloud Drive files downloaded so they open offline.

In short: File, Revert To, Browse All Versions, pick, Restore.