Use notebook snapshots

Notebook snapshots allow authors of ArcGIS Notebooks to preserve up to five configurable point-in-time snapshots of a notebook. Notebook snapshots are full copies of the notebook in JSON format, preserved as resource files on the notebook item.

Using the notebook editor, authors with the Create and edit notebook privilege can create and manage notebook snapshots for a notebook item they own. When creating a snapshot, the user can provide a name and a description for the snapshot. By default, a snapshot name will include the notebook title and the time the snapshot request was initiated.

Taking a notebook snapshot allows you to preserve the notebook at a certain point in time, to which you can revert the notebook at a later time, if desired.

Note:

By default, a maximum of five snapshots is allowed for each notebook item. The option to create a new snapshot is unavailable once this limit is reached. Additional snapshots cannot be created unless one or more of the existing snapshots is deleted. The maximum number of snapshots can be configured in the Administrator API by adjusting the maxSnapshotsPerNotebookItem property in the System Properties resource.

Create a snapshot of your notebook

When your notebook is ready, you can create a snapshot of its current state. In the Snapshots pane in the notebook editor, create a snapshot by completing the following steps:

  1. Save your notebook with a title, if you haven't already.
  2. On the top ribbon of the notebook editor, click Snapshots.
  3. Click Create snapshot to open the dialog box.
  4. For Name, provide a name to describe the snapshot.

    By default, the snapshot name will include the notebook title and the time the snapshot request was initiated.

  5. Optionally, provide a description for your snapshot in the Description text box.
  6. Click Create.

Work with existing snapshots

Once a snapshot of your notebook has been created, you can preview, restore, download, or delete the snapshot. These options are available in the Snapshots pane of the notebook editor or from the Snapshots tab of the notebook's item page.

Click the name of the notebook snapshot or use the preview option to preview the notebook associated with a snapshot.

Restoring your notebook from a snapshot reverts the existing notebook to the state of the chosen snapshot.

Note:

To maintain a copy of the notebook's current state before restoring, you can create a new snapshot or save the notebook as a new notebook item.

Downloading a snapshot allows you to keep a copy of the notebook as an .ipynb file for offline use.

Notebook snapshots are only available to the owner of the notebook. If a user opens a shared notebook item, the user cannot view or manage snapshots for that item.

When a new copy is made of a notebook on which snapshots have been taken, those snapshots are not copied to the new notebook item. This is true whether the notebook owner or another user makes the new notebook copy.