Documents

Documents are managed as versioned records so teams can update content without losing change history.

For most customers, documents are the core working artefacts that connect authoring, review, revisions, approvals, and evidence preparation.

This screenshot is produced by the docs capture workflow so the guide points at a stable asset that can be regenerated intentionally.

Who this is for

This page is for teams that author, review, revise, approve, or restore controlled content.

What documents support

• Create and update documents.
• Clone documents to accelerate new work.
• Inspect version history.
• Restore a previous version.
• Route documents into approval workflows.

How documents usually move through a team

Most teams do not treat documents as isolated files. They use them as governed working records that move through drafting, review, revision, and approval.

That means teams usually need answers to practical questions such as:

• Who usually owns the current version.
• When a change can be made directly versus when it should go through a revision path.
• How supporting media or evidence should be attached.
• What kind of review signal the approval workflow is supposed to provide.

What teams should decide before editing

Before changing a document, teams should check:

• Whether the current document is still the right source record.
• Whether a revision is safer than editing the base record directly.
• Whether related evidence or media should be updated at the same time.
• Whether the change is significant enough that compare and history views should be reviewed first.

Typical document workflow

1. Create the document record.
2. Draft or update the content.
3. Link supporting media or context where needed.
4. Review history or compare versions when the change is sensitive.
5. Move into revisions or approvals when the work needs governed review.

flowchart TD
	A[Create document record] --> B[Draft or update content]
	B --> C[Link supporting media or context]
	C --> D[Review history and compare versions]
	D --> E[Move into revisions or approvals]

Review, compare, and restore

Version history is not just an audit log. It is an operational tool.

Teams should be encouraged to:

• Compare versions before accepting a disputed change.
• Restore an earlier version when a rollback is lower risk than editing forward.
• Review linked media and evidence when the document is used in a formal review context.

Core lifecycle operations

TrialStack supports the key document operations customers expect in a governed system:

• List and open documents.
• Create a new document.
• Update the current version.
• Clone a document to reuse structure or content.
• Retrieve version history.
• Compare earlier and current versions.
• Restore a previous version.
• Soft delete and undelete under policy control.
• Link and manage media.
• List revisions derived from a source document.

stateDiagram-v2
	[*] --> Draft
	Draft --> Revised: Update content or create revision
	Revised --> InApproval: Move into approval workflow
	InApproval --> Approved: Approval decision recorded
	InApproval --> Revised: Further changes requested
	Revised --> Restored: Restore prior version
	Restored --> Revised
	Approved --> Deleted: Soft delete under policy
	Deleted --> Revised: Undelete

Document hydration is also available for template-driven workflows. It is a drafting accelerator, not a replacement for human review.

What data users actually maintain on the document form

The document form is intentionally lighter than the trial form. Its job is to define the governed document record clearly and then let authoring, revision, approval, and supporting context build on top of that record.

Users should expect the main document form to focus on a single details section containing:

• the document name
• the template the document is based on
• the working language
• a short description of what the document is for

That simplicity is part of the product design. The complexity of document work comes from versioning, revisions, approvals, media, and hydration workflows rather than from an overloaded header form.

Approval and revision model

Document documentation should clearly separate:

• the main document record
• approval state and approval history
• revisions derived from a base document

Each path exists for a different reason and should be used deliberately.

When to use approvals versus revisions

Use approvals when the goal is to preserve and communicate formal review state for a document.

Use revisions when the team needs a derived document workflow that stays visibly connected to the source record.

In many teams, both will matter: revisions shape the document work, and approvals govern whether the result is ready for broader reliance.

Where document hydration fits

Hydration belongs in the drafting stage. It helps teams start from structure or generated content faster, but it should not blur authorship or review responsibility.

Hydration should be understood as:

• A starting point for content development.
• Something that still needs subject-matter validation.
• Part of a wider document workflow, not its own disconnected feature.

Where documents fit

Documents often support:

• Trial execution.
• Evidence generation.
• Approval and review processes.
• Downstream AI-assisted hydration or extraction workflows.

Customer guidance for quality-sensitive teams

Teams working in review-heavy environments should be explicit about when to:

• Update the document directly.
• Create or work from a revision.
• Compare versions before restoring.
• Attach evidence or media to support review.
• Move into a document approval workflow.

Acceptance checks for document data entry

• A user can create a document from a controlled template and language context.
• A user can understand the difference between the base document metadata and the later authoring or approval workflow around it.
• A reviewer can identify the governing template and document purpose from the record itself.
• Document header data remains simple enough to support repeatable downstream workflows instead of duplicating the content body.

Common customer misunderstandings to prevent

• A revision is not the same thing as a document approval decision.
• History is not only for auditors; it also supports day-to-day operational review.
• Cloned documents still need their own validation and ownership.
• Hydrated drafts should not be treated as approved content by default.

Read next

• Entity views and forms
• Evidence Packs
• Revisions
• Document Approvals
• Governance And Compliance
• Integrations And API

API reference

Use TrialStack API reference for exact document contract details, including revision listing, hydration, clone, compare, restore, history, delete, undelete, and media-linking operations.