15.13. Restoring vs Report Publishing

Understanding the differences between restoring and publishing in Looker Studio is essential when managing your reports. These features become particularly important when working with published reports and draft versions simultaneously.

Restoring and Publishing with Live Reports

When your Looker Studio report is live, restoring and publishing are the same. Restoring a previous version makes it the live version visible to both editors and viewers. However, when the report publishing setting is enabled, the process becomes more complex.

Restoring and Publishing with Draft Mode

When you enable report publishing, you create a draft mode separate from the live version. If you make changes in draft mode, viewers won't see these updates until you publish the new version.

When you access version history, you'll see a "Published" button in addition to the various versions. If you choose to publish a specific version, the draft mode remains unchanged, and you can continue working on it. However, if you restore a version, it replaces the current draft, allowing you to start from that point without affecting the live version for viewers.

Practical Use Cases

Consider a scenario where you have created a report, shared it with your client, and they have been using it for a month. They request a new version with additional features, so you begin working on it in draft mode. During this time, the client asks for a minor change to the current version.

To handle this situation, follow these steps:

1. Open the version history and name the current draft version for reference (e.g., "Halfway through").
2. Restore the currently published version in draft mode, which replaces the draft you were working on.
3. Apply the minor change requested by the client and publish it.
4. Go back to version history, restore the previously named draft version (e.g., "Halfway through"), and continue working on the new features.

By understanding the differences between restoring and publishing in Looker Studio, you can effectively manage your reports and ensure that your clients receive the most up-to-date and relevant information.

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