Which of my manuscript files is the latest draft?

Finding the newest file

Sorting the folder by Date modified is the obvious first move. It is only a clue. The date records the last save, not the last real writing: nudge a comma in an old copy and save it, and that copy jumps to the top. Look at word counts too, and at the last page of each file, since new writing usually lands at the end of the book or the chapter you were in.

When two files are close, compare them properly rather than by eye:

• Word: Review → Compare → Compare (on a Mac, Review → Compare → Compare Documents). Pick the older file as the original and the other as revised. Word opens a third document showing every difference as a tracked change.
• Google Docs: Tools → Compare documents does the same for two Docs and produces a new document of suggestions.
• Scrivener: snapshots compare versions of one document, not two whole projects. Open each copy, read its word count under Project → Statistics, and check the documents you remember working in last.

Sometimes the comparison shows both files have changes the other lacks. Then neither is the latest, and the comparison document is where you merge them by accepting what belongs.

Keeping it from happening again

Once one file has won, give it an unambiguous name and move every other copy into a folder called Old drafts. Do not delete them yet. Then pick a naming rule and keep it:

• Date first, written year-month-day, so alphabetical order is time order.
• A draft number that only goes up: 2026-09-23 Harbour Book d4.docx.
• Never final. The next round of edits always proves it wrong.
• One working file at a time; everything else is a dated copy.

Better still, let one file carry its own history. In Google Docs, Name this version in version history marks a milestone without making a copy. Word keeps a browsable history for files saved to OneDrive or SharePoint. Scrivener's snapshots do the same for each document in the Binder.

In Tabularia

There is no folder of files to choose between. A project holds one manuscript. What you open is always the current wording. The History view heads its list with Live Manuscript, which tells you the snapshot it started from and counts the changes since then. Milestones are named snapshots in that list, not duplicate files.

Real alternatives live as drafts in the Drafts & Sharing panel, each with a name that says what it tries. A draft you want to keep as the version of record can be locked.

What it will not do is sort out the files you already have. Each import makes its own project, and versions are compared inside a project, not between two of them, so settle the winner in Word or Docs first. On the Free plan the manuscript lives in one browser on one device; working from two computers needs Cloud sync, or you are back to wondering which copy is newer. And exports are files again, so date them.