---
title: How to read a Shopify change: before, after, when | Actorly
description: Open a change in Actorly to see what it was before, what it is now, when it happened and who made it if Shopify reports it. What each column and label means.
canonical: https://actorly.app/docs/reading-a-change
---

[Docs](https://actorly.app/docs) Reading a change

# How to read a Shopify change.

Open any row in Changes to see what changed, what it was before, what it is now, when it happened and who made it if Shopify reports it.

## What a row shows.

**Change** What changed: the field's name, or how many fields changed.

**Resource** The product, collection or other record it happened to.

**Who** The person, app, Shopify or Actorly, beside how sure Actorly is.

**When** The time of the change.

**Source** How Actorly learned of it: a Shopify change notice, a routine check, or an Actorly restore.

## Created, updated, deleted.

Each change is labelled Created, Updated or Deleted. When a whole record was created or deleted, there are no field-by-field changes to show.

Shopify keeps no copy of a deleted item. Actorly records that the deletion happened, when, and what the item last looked like. Deleted items are listed on the Deleted tab, not put back.

For some kinds, Actorly notices a deletion on a routine check. The Deleted tab then says "Noticed missing": that is when Actorly noticed, not when it was deleted.

## Before and after.

A change that has a before and an after shows both values, so you can see exactly what moved. Variants are recorded separately from products, so a price change shows on its own.

Actorly cannot show the old and new values of a change made before you installed it. Shopify does not keep them.

## One record's own history.

To see everything that has happened to one product, open it in the Data room. It lists the values Actorly holds and every recorded change, and "History of" that record opens the same list in Changes. See [how to search](https://actorly.app/docs/search).

## Questions.

### Why does a change have no before and after?

A record that was created or deleted as a whole has no field-by-field changes. Actorly shows that it happened and when.

### Does Actorly show every change in my store?

No. It records the parts of a store it tracks, and each has its own limits. [The coverage page](https://actorly.app/coverage) lists them.

## Keep reading.

**Still stuck?** Write to support, or start the record today: Actorly Watch is free, with no clock.

[Contact support](https://actorly.app/contact)[Install free on Shopify](https://apps.shopify.com/actorly)