Version Control Tools

What is Version Control?

Version control allows you to view earlier versions of a file that are being continuously saved after a certain period when no changes are happening. Since every change is saved in chronological order, it is easy to look at specific things at a certain point in time.

Version control and Version history

Version control lets you manage and set rules that help you avoid errors and conflicts to minimize failures providing a better collaborative experience. On the other hand, Version History gives you a way to look back at previous iterations of work.

Abstract for Sketch

Abstract is a macOS app and web app with secure versioning system that builds on top of Git for design files, but without going through Command Line. By hiding the complexity of Git, Abstract app is more straightforward and designer-friendly. It is a new way for multiple designers to manage and version their files, document their process and work on things in parallel without the fear of overwriting. It saves everything to let you keep track of all the changes and record the history. Now, every designer can work together on the same file, review the changes and differences, merge files, collaborate and comment, with a clean and updated Master file. If you are an Adobe Xd user, you can apply for the public beta.

Sketch Cloud

Sketch Cloud is a Sketch native version control tool. With it, you can share documents and libraries among your team members. Your account can belong to different teams or you can stick to your personal account.

Version History Figma

If you are working with Figma, you don't need a version control app since Figma is a real-time collaboration tool. Although, it does have version history. With version history, you can view your document's timeline, and you can restore any specific version if you'd like to.

Sympli Versions

Sympli versions is another product by Sympli and it is a versioning control tool for Sketch. It has integrations with GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, Bitbucket and Jira. You can review your version history, sync changes and share your projects.

Plant

Plant is a versioning tool for Sketch. You can view the version history of your document, compare document versions, and restore old versions. There is a public beta of Plant for Xd users.

Version Control with Plant

Plant is a version control tool that works with Sketch. For this exercise we will use Plant because in another section we already showed how to work with Abstract. The first thing you need to do is to download Plant from their website. Once installed, let's open Sketch and we will notice a new tool bar on the right side bar of the UI.

To start, we need to create a new project using Plant. Let's click on the plus icon + from the toolbar or you can choose the project icon which is underneath the + icon. Then let, add a name to the project, and finally click on Create.

Then a pop up will appear asking us to select a file to create a version control.

Once the file is selected, Plant will create a project, and you will be able to preview the new file in the project sections. Open the file to start working on it.

Once the project is open, let's make some changes to the original file. Make two copies from the original mockup.

To push or upload your changes we will press the up arrow icon ⬆️. A new window will pop up. We can write some details of the changes and then, hit Send to upload the new change.

Finally if you want to see all the different versions of the project, you can click on the Project history icon.

Conclusion

Version control tools are a crucial part of the design process, and they are essential when you work with teams. Tools like Sketch Cloud, Abstract, Plant, and Sympli help designers work more efficiently and focus more on their work instead of organizing and sharing files.