Understand QCDS Template Versions and Immutable Published History

QCDS separates a Template's stable identity from its numbered versions and draft revisions. Drafts are editable, published and superseded versions are immutable, and Requests preserve the exact Template version used when the transaction was created.

Template Identity, Version, and Revision Are Different

  • Template: the stable reusable item shown in the Templates library.
  • Template version: a numbered draft, published, or superseded generation of that Template.
  • Draft revision: one saved/autosaved snapshot inside an editable draft version.

A new Template starts with version 1 as a draft. Builder saves append numbered draft revisions with snapshot hashes and actor/timestamp evidence. They do not edit an older revision in place.

How Version Numbers Advance

When you edit a currently published Template, QCDS creates the next available Template version number as a new draft. That draft records the published version it came from. The builder header can show this relationship as Draft based on Published v#.

If an active draft already exists, Edit reopens that draft instead of creating another competing draft version.

Publication Creates an Immutable Boundary

Only a draft can be published. QCDS validates the latest saved draft revision before publication. When validation passes, QCDS marks the draft version published, records its snapshot hash and publication information, and changes the formerly published version to superseded.

Published and superseded versions are not editable builder targets. To change a published Template, QCDS creates a new draft version from it.

Why Old Published Versions Still Matter

Superseded does not mean erased. Older versions remain historical records. This matters because a Request created from a Template records the source Template/version and copies the reusable preparation into its own transaction snapshot.

Publishing version 4, for example, makes version 4 the version used for future Template-based Request creation. A Request that was created from version 3 does not silently switch to version 4.

Draft Revisions vs. Published Versions

Use draft revisions as working history while authoring one version. Use published version numbers as the durable release history of the reusable Template. Autosave and Save can create multiple revisions inside the same draft version; publication promotes the current validated draft version rather than every intermediate revision.

Practical Example

  1. Template version 2 is published and used to create Request A.
  2. You choose Edit. QCDS creates draft version 3 based on published version 2.
  3. You save several times; those saves create draft revisions inside version 3.
  4. You validate and publish version 3. Version 2 becomes superseded.
  5. New Request B uses published version 3. Request A remains tied to its original version-2 snapshot.

This version boundary is what lets you improve reusable preparation without rewriting prior signing evidence.

Community Discussion

Want to compare workflows, share practical tips, or discuss how you use this QCDS feature? Visit the QC Digital Signature Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific issues, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.