Understanding the difference between Stories and Versions is key to getting the most out of Storydoc. This article walks you through what each one is and how they work together to help you create personalized presentations at scale.
Where to Find Stories and Versions
In your Storydoc dashboard, click Stories in the left sidebar. Once inside a folder, you'll see two tabs at the top of the content area: Stories and Versions.
These two tabs represent two different types of documents — and knowing the difference will change how you work with Storydoc.
What Is a Story?
A Story is your master document. Think of it as the foundation — it's completely standalone and can be created, used, and shared exactly as it is.
But Stories become even more powerful when you use them as templates. You can add variables — placeholders written in double curly brackets, like {{company_name}} or {{date}} — anywhere in the story. These variables mark the fields that will be personalized when a Version is created. To learn how to add variables to your stories please see: How to Personalize Your Storydoc | Storydoc Help Center
In the example shown, a single Story includes variables for:
Company name
Date
Presented To (recipient's name)
Presented By (sender's name and email)
Prospect's logo
What Is a Version?
A Version is a personalized copy of a Story. When you create a Version, all the variable placeholders from the original Story are filled in with real information — turning your master template into a customized presentation for a specific person or company.
For example, the same Story used as a template can produce a Version for ManpowerGroup — with the company name, date, recipient's name, sender's details, and logo all filled in automatically.
Browsing Your Versions
Click the Versions tab inside any folder to see all personalized copies that have been created from your Stories. Each Version shows which Story it was based on, who created it, its status, the number of readers, and its last activity.
This makes it easy to track every personalized presentation your team has sent — all organized in one place.
Stories vs. Versions: A Quick Summary
Story — Your master document. Build it once, use it as a reusable template with variables.
Version — A personalized copy of a Story, with variables replaced by real recipient details.
One Story can power many Versions — each tailored to a different prospect, client, or use case.
Stories are where you make design and content changes; Versions inherit those changes.
This structure lets your team maintain a single source of truth while delivering a personalized experience to every recipient.