# Restore or branch a desk from its history > Use History on the tool rail to put a desk back the way it was earlier, or to branch a past state into a new desk while the original stays as it is. Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-history Section: Desks and the canvas > Desk tools Plans: All plans Updated: 2026-10-10 Every desk keeps a history of how it has looked. **History** lets you look back through it, put the desk back the way it was at any saved moment, or branch a past state into a new desk while the original stays exactly as it is. Use it when you rearranged a desk and preferred it before, when you want back a widget you removed some time ago, or when you want to try a different direction without touching the desk you have. History is not the same as undo. Undo steps back through your changes one at a time, and starts fresh each time you open PlexiDesk. History saves whole states of one desk and keeps them after you close the app. See [Undo and redo](https://plexiidesk.com/help/undo-redo). ## Before you start - History works the same on every plan, and there is nothing to set up. - PlexiDesk saves a state for you a few seconds after you change a desk, and when you open it. Changes you make close together are saved as one state, and a state that matches the last one is not saved twice. - Each desk keeps its 40 most recent states. Older ones are removed as new ones are saved. ## Open a desk's history 1. Open the desk. 2. Point at the tool rail on the right edge of the desk, the small panel with a tools icon. It opens out when the pointer is over it. 3. Click **History**, just below **Add widget**. The **Time travel** window opens. On a desk you have not changed yet, it says **No history yet** until your first change is saved. ## Find the state you want - **The list on the left** shows the saved states, newest at the top. Each entry says how long ago it was saved, such as **12 min ago**, **3h ago** or **2d ago**, and how many items were on the desk. - **Click an entry** to select it. - **Or drag the slider** under the preview. The left end is the oldest saved state and the right end is now. The time of the state you have selected shows under the slider. - **The preview** shows a small picture of the desk as it was in that state. ## Restore a past state 1. Select the state you want. 2. Click **Restore this state**. 3. The window closes and the desk changes back. Widgets you added since then are taken off, widgets you removed since then come back, and every widget returns to where it was, at the size and colour it had. Before it restores, PlexiDesk makes sure your desk as it is now is saved in the history, so you can always come back to it. If that state had not been saved yet, it appears in the list labelled **Before restore**. > **Tip:** > To change your mind after a restore, use History rather than `⌘` `Z` or `Ctrl` `Z`. Open **History** again, select the state from just before you restored, and click **Restore this state**. ## Branch a past state into a new desk Branching makes a new desk from a past state and leaves the original desk as it is. 1. Select the state you want. 2. Click **Branch**. 3. PlexiDesk makes a new desk named after the original with **(branch)** at the end, for example **Q4 launch plan (branch)**, and switches to it. The new desk sits at the top level, not in a room. To file it in a room or give it a new name, see [Rename a desk and move it to a room](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-rename-move). What the branch gets: - **Every widget**, in the same place and the same sections. - **Independent copies.** Widgets that were synced copies on the original desk become ordinary widgets on the branch, no longer kept in sync. See [Duplicate widgets and keep copies in sync](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-duplicate-sync). - **No connections.** Links and wires between widgets are not copied. Draw them again on the branch if you need them. See [Link widgets and set up wires](https://plexiidesk.com/help/canvas-link-widgets). - **The same tables and files.** A Table widget, and an Office widget such as a Document, Spreadsheet or Slides, opens the same table or file on the branch as on the original desk, so a change to its rows or its contents shows on both desks. > **Tip:** > To copy a desk as it is now, wait a few seconds after your last change, open **History**, select the entry at the top of the list and click **Branch**. ## What history includes History records the widgets on a desk: which widgets are there, where each one sits, its size and colour, and the text of widgets such as stickies, notes and pages. A table keeps its rows in the table itself, and an Office widget such as a Document, Spreadsheet or Slides keeps its contents in the file. Restoring an earlier state of the desk does not change those rows or those contents. To go back to an earlier version of an Office file, see [Version history](https://plexiidesk.com/help). ## History, undo and templates | | Undo | Desk history | | --- | --- | --- | | What it covers | Each change you make, across rooms, desks and widgets | Whole states of one desk | | How far back | Your last 100 steps while PlexiDesk is open | The desk's 40 most recent states, kept after you close the app | | Use it for | Taking back a slip straight away | Going back further, or branching a past state into a new desk | Branching copies one desk once. To start many new desks the same way, save the desk as a template instead. See [Undo and redo](https://plexiidesk.com/help/undo-redo) and [Desk templates](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-templates). ## Common questions **The window says No history yet.** The desk has not changed since history started recording it. Make a change, wait a few seconds, then open **History** again. **Why is not every change in the list?** Changes made close together are saved as one state a few seconds after you stop, so a burst of edits shows as one entry. A state that matches the one before it is not saved again. **How far back can I go?** As far as the desk's 40 most recent saved states. Older states are removed as new ones are saved, so a desk you change often reaches back a shorter time than one you change now and then. **Can I bring back a desk I deleted?** History belongs to a desk, so it cannot bring back a whole desk. Deleted rooms and desks are restored from Trash. See [Archive, trash and restore rooms and desks](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-archive-trash). ## Related tasks - [Undo and redo](https://plexiidesk.com/help/undo-redo) - [The tool rail on the right of a desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-tool-rail) - [Desk templates](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-templates) - [Rename a desk and move it to a room](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-rename-move) - [Write a handoff note with Resume](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-resume)