Every version of frames/artboards you publish to Zeplin will be stored separately with commit messages, organized by timestamps.
With the Versions panel button on the top left, you can see the version summary at a glance and access all versions of a screen by clicking on it. The topmost version on the list is the latest version, and this version is always visible in your project dashboard. You can quickly check out an earlier version by simply clicking on it or by using the arrow keys. While the Version panel is closed, the export date of a selected version will appear on the Version panel button.
💁♀️ If you're on a version before Zeplin's Summer Breeze release, you’ll see the Version panel button on the bottom left.
💁♀️ You can spot changes between screen versions with Version Diff. Check out our article to learn more.
Commit messages
In one sentence, commit messages answer the following question: “What has changed in the version?”.
Developers have been working with commit messages for years. When they push a change to a codebase, they’re required to provide one. We decided to follow a very similar pattern in Zeplin as well.
Commit messages are different from casual comments or descriptions. You’re not required to follow these patterns at all, but here are a few tips and tricks to get the most out of them:
Stick to one style: Use the “imperative mood” for simplicity. e.g. change, not changing, remove, not removed.
Be precise: Provide specific information so your colleagues can easily figure out what to look out for.
Keep it simple: Make it easily understandable for your teammates without additional context. (Less is more, friends.)
Here are a few examples:
💁♀️ If you need to explain something in detail, you can prefer using Annotations or Comments.
Version links
Every screen version has a unique link to share with your teammates. You can hover over a specific version and click on the “...” options button to copy the version link.
To dig deeper into this or any other topic related to Zeplin, reach out to our Customer Success crew at success@zeplin.io to schedule a 30-minute call.