This guide shows how to find out what changed on a monomer, who changed it and when, and how to put a deleted monomer back. It continues the example of How to Create or Edit a Monomer, where MeNle had its C-terminal cap corrected and Deg was registered.
Prerequisites: the Administrator role in Biotoolkit Monomers. The Version Log entry appears in the navigation menu only for Administrators.
Step 1: Open the Version Log
In the navigation menu, click Version Log, the clock icon. The report lists one row per archived state, newest first. Each row is a version of a monomer that is no longer current, either because an edit superseded it or because the monomer was deleted.
The default view shows:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Before / After | The structure as it was, and the structure that replaced it. After is empty for a deletion. Click a drawing to open it full size in the structure viewer. |
| R-groups / R-groups after | The cap groups, as R1: H, R2: OH. |
| Change | Superseded by an edit, Deleted, or Deleted, since revived. |
| What changed | For an edit, the fields that differ: symbol, name, polymer type, monomer type, natural analog, structure, R-groups. |
| Symbol, Name, Version | The identity of the archived state. Version is the number it had before the change. |
| Change date, Changed by | When the state was archived, as YYYY-MM-DD HH:MI, and the account that did it. |
| Revive | Present on a deletion that has not been revived. |
Two saved views narrow the list, from the report selector next to the search box:
- Edits only, which adds the SMILES and SMILES after columns for a text comparison;
- All deletions, which keeps only the tombstones and the Revive button.
Step 2: Read an edit
Type MeNle in the search box and press Enter: the report keeps only the rows of that monomer, newest first. The row of the cap correction reads:
- R-groups:
R1: H, R2: H. R-groups after:R1: H, R2: OH. - Change:
Superseded by an edit. What changed:R-groups. - Version: the number the wrong state had. The live monomer carries the next one.
A monomer that was deleted and revived keeps its whole history: the screenshot above shows a deletion on top, and below it the edits that preceded it.
Had the structure been changed as well, What changed would read structure, R-groups and the Before and After drawings would differ.
Only material changes appear here: symbol, polymer type, monomer type, natural analog, structure and R-groups. A change of name or author, or a regenerated drawing, does not create a version. See Versioning and Deletion.
Step 3: Revive a deleted monomer
Suppose a curator deleted Deg by mistake. Switch to All deletions, find the row, and click Revive. Confirm Put this monomer back?. Reviving is also the answer when a curator is told, on registering a symbol, that it corresponds to 1 deleted monomer: see Versioning and Deletion.
The monomer returns to the library under its original identifier, with a new version number, its original creation date, and the metadata and monomer-set memberships it had. The confirmation reads:
Monomer "Deg" is back, with 0 set membership(s) and 0 metadata row(s) restored.
If a monomer set it belonged to has been deleted in the meantime, the membership cannot be restored and the message says how many were skipped. The row then reads Deleted, since revived and loses its Revive button.
A revive is refused, with the reason, when:
- a live monomer now holds the same symbol, name or structure for that polymer type. Rename or remove that monomer first, or leave the version archived;
- the monomer is public. Public reference data is maintained by Discngine and is never deleted through the application;
- the monomer was already revived, or its most recent archived state is an edit rather than a deletion.
What the log cannot tell you
- The person behind an edit or an import. Edits and imports are applied by the Biotoolkit service on the user's behalf, so Changed by reads
Systemfor them. A deletion made in the application is attributed to the signed-in user. The File History on the Monomer Import page records who uploaded each file. - Cosmetic changes. Redrawing the same molecule, or renaming it, leaves no trace here.