Undo edits and manage design history

Last updated on Oct 25, 2026

Learn how to undo and redo recent edits, revert to the last saved version, and manage design states using the History panel in Adobe Illustrator.

Illustrator provides three ways to manage changes during the current editing session:

Undo and Redo to reverse or reapply recent actions.
Revert to return the document to its last saved state.
History to move between previously recorded document states.

These methods work only while the document remains open. After you save and close a document, you can't undo changes from that session. To recover work after an unexpected shutdown or restore earlier cloud document versions, use Illustrator's recovery and version history features.

Undo or redo recent changes

Reverse recent edits or restore changes that you've undone.

Select Edit > Undo to reverse the most recent change.

Select Edit > Redo to reapply a change you just undid.

Tip

You can repeat Undo or Redo multiple times to move backward or forward through your recent editing history.

Revert to the last saved version

Discard all unsaved changes and restore the document to its last saved state.

Select File > Revert.

When prompted, select OK.

Alert

Revert permanently discards all changes made since you last saved the document. You can restore the reverted state only through the History panel, and only during the current session.

Use the History panel

Move between earlier document states, or create a new document from a previous state.

Select Window > History.

Select any state from the History panel menu to move to an earlier state.

Do one of the following:

Select any state in the panel to move directly to it.
Select Step Forward or Step Backward from the History panel menu to move one state at a time.
Select the state and then select the New Document icon at the bottom of the panel to create a new document from that state.
Select Set History Limit from the History panel menu to change the number of states Illustrator remembers.
Select a state, and then select Clear History from the History panel menu to remove all states that follow it.

Note

The History panel records each action as a separate state. Selecting a previous state lets you preview that version of the document without changing it.

How History panel states work

The History panel tracks only document edits. Changes to preferences, panels, color settings, and actions aren't recorded.
BY default, Illustrator remembers 100 history states. To change this value, go to Preferences > Performance > History States. When the limit is reached, Illustrator automatically removes the oldest states.
History states are available only during the current editing session. Closing and reopening a document clears the History panel.
If you edit the document after selecting an earlier state, Illustrator permanently removes all later states from history.

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