How to use the Versions feature in DaVinci Resolve 18.5

When using DaVinci Resolve, have you ever wished you could see different views of the footage in progress without having to constantly hit the undo button? Well, there is a way and it's relatively simple to do.

This feature is called Versions. Although it has been around for a while, since the DaVinci Resolve 18.5 upgrade came out, it has become more effective.

Read the following article to learn more about using Versions on DaVinci Resolve's Fusion and Color pages.

What exactly is the Versions feature in DaVinci Resolve?

DaVinci Resolve has some great features worth checking out - Versions is one of them. Versions is a feature that allows you to have multiple visual representations of the same thing.

For example, let's say you've created a title on a Fusion site and want to see how it looks using different fonts or adding other effects to it. You can create up to 6 versions of the title and switch between them to see which version stands out the most.

Versions is a very effective tool to use for many effects.

How to use Versions on the Fusion site

Let's continue with an example of how to use Versions to create different titles.

Start on the Edit page and add the Text+ effect to your timeline from Effects > Toolbox > Titles . You don't need to edit the title yet.

In the Inspector tab , click the Fusion icon - it looks like a magic wand. From there, the Fusion page will open and you can start editing your header.

In the Inspector tab on the Fusion page, click the Versions icon - it looks like two rectangles stacked on top of each other. From there, you will see 6 tabs for 6 Versions of your title. Start editing Versions 1 of the title.

Once you've edited your title the way you want, click Versions 2 . This will allow you to continue editing your title without having to worry about changing the original title.

You can repeat this process up to 6 times with different styles like fonts, spacing, cropping, shadows, and anything else you can imagine. To see different titles, click between the different versions and you will be able to choose your favorite version from there.

How to use Versions on the Color page

The Color page is where you can add all kinds of fun effects like blurring and tracking moving objects, as well as using DaVinci Resolve's color correction tools. The Versions feature on the Color page works a little differently than Fusion.

Let's say you want to change the highlights and shadows of your footage a bit, but you don't want to ruin the original in case you don't like it.

Start by opening the Clips tab . Since Versions 1  has not been changed, you will immediately create Versions 2 . To do this, right-click the clip in the Clips tab. Select Local Versions > Create New Version . Give it a name and click OK.

If you right-click on the clip again, you'll notice at the top that you're in Version 2 of the clip. You can edit this clip as much as you like and it will not affect the Versions 1 clip. You can do this step as many times as you like to create as many different Versions as you need.

When you're ready to view between different versions, simply right-click on the clip and select the version you want to view. The version with a check mark next to it will be the version you are working with.

Versions is a convenient feature when you're not ready to make edits. Additionally, using it is quite easy.

If you find yourself having trouble deciding how to edit a clip, try using Versions so you can see all the templates and choose which version is right for your project.

Samuel Daniel

Update 19 October 2023