Version UI update: Show 5 by default

One of the things we've been trying to slowly improve in 2020 is the author experience of versions. Close on the heels of our shift to displaying versions in reverse chronological order (newest on top), today we rolled out one more layout change: limiting the initial number of versions displayed when the editor opens.

We've changed the layout so that when you first open an article:

• If you have 5 versions or less, you'll see all of them.
• If you have 6 or more versions, you'll see the 5 most recent versions, newest to oldest.
  • If the version you're currently viewing is within the 5 most recent, you'll see a total of 5.
  • If the version you're currently viewing is outside of those 5 most recent, you'll see the 5 most recent, with the version you're viewing at the bottom.
  • Clicking See More... will expand the whole list.
  • Clicking Hide will return you to the original collapsed list.

Here's a quick gif of that new layout in action when you're viewing a version in the 5 most recent:

See More... and Hide options when currently viewed version is in 5 most recent

And a gif of the layout when you're viewing a version below the 5 most recent:

See More... and Hide options when currently viewed version is outside of 5 most recent

Both of these changes stemmed from requests from customers with a lot of versions. With more versions, the list got longer and longer, and more of what you needed got bumped to the bottom. Since the more you do something, the easier it should become, we felt this needed to change.

Putting the most recent at the top of the list helped with this situation, but ultimately we also wanted to use less screen real estate by default.

We know this might take some getting used to, but we hope this change helps reduce scrolling, while still keeping all versions accessible.

Let us know what you think of the change, or if there are other ways you think the version interface/layout could be improved!