How to restore work if you have reset your history

[drewf280]

I like to go all the way to the top of my history panel and click it to see a comparison from when I first opened the project I'm working on and the current state of it. However, if you go back to any point of the history panel and click on it and then use any tool in photoshop, it will erase any work you had done after that point. Until you hit ctrl z, that is. Unfortunately, I forgot to revert my history back to the current state and kept drawing, thus losing all the progress I had made since opening the file. I usually don't save my file until I'm ready to close it, so I can't just load up a previously saved version of the document.

Is there any way to go deeper into the history panel and get back the work I did? Thanks. !

[SJRiegel · Accepted solution]

You can take "snapshots" in the history panel to temporarily save various states of your work. 

Keep in mind that these do not persist after the file is closed.

[Stephen Marsh]

I really like snapshots and may develop many during an open session… Which is why I was lucky enough to have the following script written at my request:

https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2034807

Prepression: Downloading and Installing Adobe Scripts

P.S. You can also use this script to save out incrementally numbered PSD file “versions” as you work:

Re: How to incrementally save images using a hotkey

[Stephen Marsh]

Non-linear history is your friend.

[AstroBear]

Sounds like the perfect fix! How in the world do i find that "History Options" box in Photoshop CC 2019???

[Sean McCormack]

You don't need to click to see what it looks like, you can right click at any history point and choose 'Copy History Step settings to Before'. Pressing \ will swap between before and after, while Y will give a split view.

[stevenm19778069]

To avoid this type of thing, always use control J to make a duplicate layer before you start working on the image. This will make the background layer the unedited layer. Now if you want to do a quick comparason to the unedited image, hold the alt key and left click the background layer eyeball. This will tun off all the visable layers accept the borrom one. Click it again and it will turn all of the previously visible layers back on.