Understand autosave and Save changes
When the builder opens, it records the exact live version that tab started from before autosave can create a recovery draft. After you edit and pause, the builder protects the work as an unpublished recovery draft. Watch the status beside the Save controls: Unsaved changes, Saving, or a warning means the newest work may still need attention. Autosave does not change the buyer-facing form.
Choose Save changes, or press Ctrl+S on Windows or Cmd+S on Mac, when the current version is ready to publish. One successful Save applies the form settings, blocks and layout, products and variants including deletions, stock settings, shared-inventory links, shipping, Coupons and Sales, payment instructions, and related builder-owned configuration together. The buyer-facing form continues showing its last published version until validation and publication succeed.
Understand changes from another place
Connected apps, API clients, collaborators, other tabs, Orders, Inventory, and Profit and Loss tools can change data while a builder is open.
- A clean tab that is only reviewing the form refreshes to a newer live version and keeps Save changes disabled.
- A tab with edits keeps its work and combines independent changes with the newer live state when you save.
- When both places changed the same ordinary setting, the current Save wins; there is no general merge screen to manage.
- Product, variant, Coupon, Sale, P&L cost, and Inventory writers receive stricter protection. An older tab cannot silently restore a deletion, replace live operational counters, or overwrite an order-driven stock change.
- If an order changes stock while the builder is open, EZFormz keeps the order adjustment and applies the seller's intended stock adjustment over the newer quantity. A final guarded check stops the save if that result cannot be proven safely.
If a Coupon was deleted or recreated while an older tab remained open, EZFormz uses that tab's protected starting version to decide whether an untouched deletion should stay deleted or an edited replacement should keep the current identity. Coupon use and budget counters continue updating independently of an open builder.
Recover interrupted work
If the browser reloads, EZFormz first tries to recover the current tab's protected work. When the builder reports unpublished work from another session, the live form is unchanged.
- Resume unpublished work moves one protected draft into the current tab so you can continue it.
- Continue with the live form keeps reviewing live state and leaves every protected draft untouched.
- Discard my unpublished changes archives and removes your unpublished drafts for this form. It does not remove a collaborator's work or change the live form.
If the status says local recovery is unavailable or asks you to keep the tab open, do so and retry Save changes. Browser recovery is best effort; a successful status message or the reloaded public form is stronger proof than simply closing the tab.
Do not clear browser storage, disconnect an integration, or move to a private window just to resolve an ordinary recovery notice. Those actions can remove useful local evidence without changing the protected server draft.
Use Undo and published versions
Use Undo or Ctrl+Z for a recent editor mistake. Undo creates a new unpublished change, so wait for protection and then save when the result is correct.
For an older state, open Publish, find Published versions, and choose Restore version. Discarded readable drafts remain available there. The selected version opens as a draft: review it in Preview, then choose Save changes to make it live. Restoring a draft also preserves its protected Coupon history for review. This is different from Restore from Backup, which replaces live form data immediately.
Handle an old or unreadable recovery draft
If a very old draft no longer has the protected starting version needed for a safe merge, EZFormz pauses instead of guessing or changing the live form. Choose Save changes to review the warning. You can keep the draft paused, or confirm that EZFormz should archive a readable copy in Version history and reload the current live form. Unreadable recovery data is kept privately for support review rather than being published.
If support performs a fresh start for a form, the version live at that moment becomes the only starting point. Older drafts and Version history for that form are removed, older browser recovery is cleared, and already-open old tabs cannot save over the fresh starting point. A fresh start is a support recovery action, not an ordinary troubleshooting step.
Keep sensitive data out of drafts and previews
Draft and preview data may persist in browser storage and on EZFormz, and permitted collaborators may be able to work on the same form. They are recovery and testing features, not secret storage. Never place passwords, API keys, payment credentials, private access links, authentication tokens, or unnecessary personal data in field defaults, hidden fields, instructions, images, drafts, or previews.
Avoid editing the same form in several tabs unless needed. If EZFormz reports a conflict, review the displayed choices instead of repeatedly saving over them.