Content is made in three steps - content settings, outline, document - and each step is built from the one before. You can go back and change an earlier step at any time. But if you then select next step, everything after that step is generated again from scratch. Your edits to the later steps are lost, it can’t be undone, and the app doesn’t warn you.
What you lose
| If you select next step again from… | RankDots generates… | And you lose… |
| Content settings, after the outline exists | A new outline | The old outline and any changes you made to it - and the document too, if one exists |
| Content settings, with Quick generate | A new document right away | The old outline |
Each new generation also counts toward your plan’s monthly content generations. See Plan limits [link is coming].
Why it happens
The outline is written from your content settings, and the document from your outline. When an earlier step changes, the later ones no longer match it, so RankDots starts them again.
How to avoid losing work
- Get the settings right first. Check the content type, length, search intent, audience and tone of voice before you generate the outline.
- Finish the outline before the document. Add, remove and reorder headings now; it’s the cheapest point to change direction.
- Change the document, not the steps before it. Once the document exists, small changes - a different tone in one section, a new heading - are quicker to make in the document editor.
- Keep a copy first. Before you select Save & Close, use Copy / Export on the document to keep what you have.
- Careful with Quick generate. It skips the outline and makes a new document right away.
Already lost something?
A replaced outline or document can’t be brought back: there is no version history. If you copied or exported it, paste it back into the new document. If not, your new version is a fresh start from your current settings.
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