Guide

REFLO timeline guide — browse history, restore, and compare

REFLO Team2026. 7. 22. 오전 8:1722 min read

From protected folders through restore, compare, and milestones — a step-by-step tour of the History screen.

This guide is for anyone using the REFLO Mac app timeline (History) for the first time, and for anyone who wants to go further with restore and compare. Labels follow what you see on screen (History, Add protected folder, Blink, and so on).

What this guide covers

We focus on the History screen (the Safety workspace that opens at /safety in the app). Preview, restore, compare, milestones, and (Pro) tracks all live here.

> The bottom history dock from the older version (v1) — the short timeline summary along the bottom of the screen — is not in the current app. Protection status is shown in the top header, and timeline work happens on the History screen.

Before you start

Three things need to be in place before records appear on the timeline.

The REFLO Mac app must be running. (The REFLO icon should be in the menu bar.)
You need at least one protected folder. In the app, choose Add protected folder and pick the local folder that holds your working files.
You must edit and save a file inside that folder (⌘S, and so on). Files outside a protected folder are not recorded automatically.

After you add a folder for the first time, save a file from that folder in Finder. The first dot appears on the History timeline.

> This is the Apple Silicon (M-series) Mac app. Intel Macs are not supported.

How to open the timeline

Method A — when you open the app (default)

Launching REFLO usually opens the History screen right away. This is the main workspace for the timeline, restore, and compare.

Choose History in the menu bar (shortcut ⌘2) to go to the same History screen. (The screen title is History.)

Method C — when you don’t have a protected folder yet

On the History screen or in the Protection panel (the Protection item in the top header, shortcut ⌘1), you’ll see a prompt to Add protected folder. After you add a folder and save a file, the timeline starts to fill in.

How records accumulate

Each dot on the timeline marks when a save happened and what kind of save it was. The kinds you’ll see most often:

| Name (on screen) | When it appears | Good to know | |---|---|---| | Auto-save | REFLO quietly records when you save a file inside a protected folder | Everyday ⌘S is enough to build history | | Manual backup | You create one on purpose with Manual backup (protection) and similar | Use it when you want this moment as a checkpoint | | Milestone | A point you mark as a milestone with a name, pin, and so on | Shown as a landmark so it doesn’t get buried in auto-grouped saves | | Live Guard | Protection records for active work while Live Guard is on | Appears depending on Settings and plugin integration |

Why auto-saves are grouped into sessions

If every save were shown as its own dot, the timeline would get too dense. So when auto-saves on the same file come in close together, REFLO shows them as one work session.

If you step away and save again after about 45 minutes, it usually starts a new session.
Auto-saves with nearly the same content may also be grouped.
Points with a milestone, pin, note, or tag are treated separately so they aren’t buried in a group.

A grouped span may collapse into a chip such as Last N auto-saves. Click the chip to expand and see individual saves.

Manual backups and milestones are different

Manual backup: a save that means leave this moment as a checkpoint.
Milestone: among those (or on a specific version), a point you name or pin as a landmark. Use it for client handoffs, approved comps — moments you’ll need to find again.

A manual backup alone may not always show up as a landmark on the milestone rail. If you want it to stay visible, mark it as a milestone.

Tour of the screen

The History screen is roughly divided like this.

Preview area — see the selected moment (thumbnail or preview, when the format allows).
Timeline strip — a row of dots along time. Drag or click a dot to pick a moment.
Floating toolbar — view mode (Continuous / By day, and so on), zoom, search, and scope.
Icon rail — jump to save-record actions, Compare, Milestones, notes and tags, Add protected folder, and more.

The top header shows a short protection status (Safe / Caution / Risk). There is no expandable dock along the bottom like before.

Navigating

Continuous / By day

Continuous — records in time order, as one stream.
By day — the same stream, grouped by day, such as Today.

Standard / Full

At first, only the recent span loads in Standard mode. Scroll to the end of the view or switch to Full to keep loading older spans. That’s so a very large history doesn’t weigh the screen down all at once.

Zoom and scrub

Zoom the timeline to change density by year, month, day, hour, or individual version. Use ± on the toolbar or ⌘(⌃)+mouse wheel.
Drag along the line or click a dot to skim what did this look like then? (You may see a Drag to browse history hint.)
In dense stretches, empty time (gaps) may be collapsed. Expand them when you need to.

View scope

In Timeline view scope you can roughly choose:

All — across files and drives
Drive (protected folder) — one protected folder
File — only the file you’re looking at

When you’re focused on one file, File scope is the least noisy.

Search

⌘F or / opens Search timeline…
Use it to find dots by note, tag, file name, and so on.
Global version search across many files at once is available on Pro. Free may show an upgrade prompt.

Leaving a milestone

On the timeline, select the version (dot) you want to keep.
From the milestone menu or rail, Mark as milestone, and give it a recognizable name or use a pin.
Landmarks gather on the left (or in the milestone column). Arrow keys jump between milestones only.

Example names: Client v1 handoff, Color locked, Ready to print.

On the Free plan, a workspace can have a limit of 5 milestones. Hitting the limit may show a Pro prompt.

Restoring an earlier version

Pick the moment you want on the timeline.
Run Restore (shortcut ⌘R) or Restore from this save record.
You’ll usually choose one of:

Restore as new file (recommended) — creates a restored copy without touching the original.
Overwrite current file (caution) — replaces the current file with that moment. Use carefully.

As the prompt says, REFLO automatically safety-backs up the current file before restoring. Confirm once more before overwriting.

Even when a format has no preview, restore itself often still works. If you see a preview error, don’t panic — try Restore or check the list.

> Restore is based on a local protected folder. Depending on how you’re connected, you may see a note that this is local drive only.

Continue into compare

Use this when you want what’s different between these two moments?

On the timeline, pick a baseline moment and a moment to compare, or enter compare mode from the Compare rail / ⌘⇧C.
Choose a mode.

Split — side by side (available on Free)
Overlay / Heatmap / Blink — Pro (suited to design and image work)

Documents such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint can go to Text compare instead of the four visual modes, so you can see differences in the writing.

When you’re done, Esc exits. (If precision tools are open, Esc may work in two steps.)

Tracks (branches) — Pro

You can keep the original flow and split a new branch (track) from any moment on the timeline. The app calls this a track. The legend explains that a solid line is the current flow; a faded line is another track.

Free does not support creating tracks (branches).
Records that accumulate on a track still belong to the same file’s timeline.
The side you like can be compared, then brought into the current flow so you can keep working. (This is not automatic merge the way code tools do it.)

For the concept, see the branch introduction.

Cloud History (optional)

Timeline records accumulate on this Mac (local) first.

Cloud History is available when you connect an account or add it as an add-on (it is planned to be included by default on the Team plan). When it’s on, spans that have been uploaded can be continued on another Mac.
Free does not include Cloud History.
Records uploaded after you turn it on are the main set; older local-only spans can be moved optionally.

See the Cloud History introduction for details.

Shortcuts (History screen)

| Shortcut | Action | |---|---| | ⌘2 | Go to the History screen (menu: History) | | ⌘↑ | Previous (older) version | | ⌘↓ | Next (newer) version | | ⌘⇧C | Compare mode | | ⌘R | Restore | | ⌘F or / | Search | | Esc | Close / exit compare or a panel | | − / + | Zoom the timeline out / in (when a text field isn’t focused) |

If the screen shows a hint like Shortcuts: ⌘↑ previous version · …, follow that.

What changes by plan (summary)

Confirm exact numbers on the pricing page and in the app. This is only the parts that touch the timeline directly.

| Item | Free | Pro | |---|---|---| | Local retention | About 14 days | Effectively no time limit (disk and Settings policy still apply) | | Protected folders | 1 | No limit | | Manual backups | 5 per month | No limit | | Milestones | 5 | No limit | | Compare | Split only | Includes Overlay, Heatmap, and Blink | | Tracks (branches) | Not supported | Supported | | Global version search | Not supported | Supported | | Cloud History | Not supported | Add-on (direction: included on Team) |

When you try to open or restore a version older than 14 days, Free may show a Pro prompt.

FAQ

I saved, but no dot appeared on the timeline

Check that REFLO is running.
Check that the file path is inside a protected folder. (Outside a protected folder, nothing is recorded.)
Check that the file actually saved (modification time).
On the History screen (⌘2), select that file and scope again.

I don’t see Compare or Milestone menus

On the History screen, select a file and a version (timeline dot) first. Then check Compare and Milestones on the left icon rail.

What is a session? Did I create it?

No. It’s a display grouping when there are too many auto-saves. After a break of about 45 minutes or more, a new group often starts. Click a chip if you want to expand individual saves.

Preview doesn’t appear. Can I still restore?

Depending on format, size, and environment, preview can fail on its own. Read the message, then try restore from the list.

Can I see this inside Photoshop / Illustrator too?

The plugin panel can continue viewing save records and restoring. The REFLO Mac app must be running, and some things (compare, playback, and so on) happen on the Mac app History screen. → Plugin introduction

I’m worried history will grow too fast

Frequent saves of large files can grow history as well. Delta (space-saving storage you turn on in Settings) plus retention and cleanup policy can help. → Delta introduction