Field Revision History

A Drupal 11 module that lets editors view and restore past values for individual fields on revisionable content, without reverting the entire node. It adds a “View or restore a past value” link under configured fields on node edit forms. Clicking the link opens a modal with the field’s full value history, including who changed it and when, and allows restoring a specific past value directly into the edit form.

Key features

• Per-field history modal on node edit forms (for revisionable content types)
• See when a field changed, who changed it, and what the current value is
• One-click “Restore value” to inject a past value into the current edit form (no full node revert)
• Quick links for “View revision” and “Revert revision” alongside each historical record
• Noise reduction: duplicate values are hidden by default; toggle with “Expand hidden values”
• Granular configuration:
  • Enable globally, disable for specific content types
  • Choose exactly which fields the feature applies to per content type
• Access control integrates with core revision permissions plus a dedicated admin permission
• The title field is also supported

Examples

Before changes

After changes

Some additional examples

Modal with a condensed list where empty/duplicate values are hidden and “Expand hidden values” is shown:

Modal expanded showing all historical values (including previously hidden entries):

Requirements

• Drupal core 11.x
• Node entities with revisions enabled (per content type)
• Appropriate user permissions to view and/or revert revisions (see “Permissions”)

Note: The module is implemented following Drupal best practices and can be ported to Drupal 9/10 with minimal changes, but the supported target is Drupal 11.

#Installation

Install this module using the standard Drupal module installation process.

Configuration

Settings form:

Administration → Configuration → Content authoring → Field Revision History

/admin/config/content/field-revision-history

You can configure:

• Global enable/disable toggle.
• Enable/disable per content type.
• Per content type: select the specific fields that should display the “View or restore” link.

Important: Ensure the content type is configured to create revisions:

Structure → Content types → Edit your content type → “Create new revision” is checked.

Permissions

The module relies on Drupal core’s revision permissions to gate access to history and revision actions:

• View revisions (e.g., “View all revisions” / “View own unpublished content” as applicable)
• Revert revisions (e.g., “Revert all revisions” or per-content-type equivalents)

Additional module-specific permission:

• administer field revision history configuration — allows access to the module’s settings page

Usage

• Open a node edit form for a content type that has revisions enabled
• Locate a configured field; you’ll see a link “View or restore”
• Click the link to open the modal with historical values for that field
  • Use “Restore value” to restore field value into your current edit form
  • Use “View revision” to inspect the full node revision (core behavior)
  • Use “Revert revision” to revert the entire node to that revision (core behavior)
• Save the node as usual to persist the restored field value as part of a new revision

Notes:

• Empty and duplicate values are hidden. Click “Expand hidden values” to show them
• If you don’t see the link:
  • Revisions may not be enabled on the content type.
  • Your role may lack the necessary revision permissions.
  • The module or field may be disabled in the module’s settings for that content type.

How it works

• The module augments node edit forms via form alters for supported fields
• A modal (AJAX-powered) lists past values by traversing the node’s revision history for the specific field
• “Restore value” uses safe form-state manipulation and client-side updates to populate the current form without changing the saved revision until you submit
• “View revision” and “Revert revision” link to core revision routes; permissions are enforced by Drupal core

Entity and field support

• Entities: nodes only in the initial release
• Fields: aims to work with most standard field types. Rendering and comparison of complex field types may vary

Troubleshooting

The link does not appear:

• Ensure “Create new revision” is enabled on the content type
  • Verify field is selected in module settings for that content type
  • Check user’s revision-related permissions
• Modal shows limited data:
  • Only revisions where the field changed will display distinct entries
  • Use “Expand hidden values” to show duplicates/empties

Known limitations

Nodes only (for now).

• Very large revision histories may impact modal load time; consider editorial policies to limit excessive revisions
• Sensitive data: the modal can expose past values; ensure roles and permissions reflect your compliance needs

Compatibility and updates

Supported: Drupal core 11.x.

• Potential ports: Drupal 9/10 with minimal changes (not officially supported in this repository)
• Follow semver in tagged releases when published

License

This project is open source and licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 2 or later (GPL-2.0-or-later), the same license used by Drupal core. You should have received a copy of the GNU GPL along with this program. If not, see https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html