How do I tell which of the two I am looking at?
Open the change and read the Who panel. It states which case applies, in its own words.
| What the panel says | What is happening | Will it change? |
|---|---|---|
| Not attributed yet. Actorly is checking Shopify's activity log for who made this change. | Waiting. Below it the panel says one of three things. If the log has been read past the change: "has been read up to" a time, "Actorly has looked and found no match yet" and "keeps looking until" a date. If the log has only been read to a time before the change: "This change is newer, so Actorly has not looked yet", with no date. If no read time is available: "Actorly keeps looking until" a date. | Yes: to Likely, Possible, or Unknown. |
| Investigating. Actorly is still reading Shopify's activity log for the period this change falls in. | A busy stretch of the log holds more entries than one check can read, so Actorly reads it in parts. | Yes, when it has read it. |
| Unknown. Shopify's activity log had no entry for this change. | Final. "This will not change later." | No. |
| Unknown. For this kind of record, Shopify's activity log does not name who made a change. | Final from the start. Nothing to wait for. | No. |
Why does Shopify not record who made a change?
It depends on the kind of record.
- For some kinds, Shopify records nobody at all. Examples are inventory, themes, shipping profiles, locations, markets and store settings. Actorly can tell you what changed and when, but not who. These changes are Unknown from the start. The Who changed it column of the What Actorly watches table says Not possible for them.
- For some kinds, Shopify records a name in some cases. Even for products, Shopify records an event for some changes and not others, which is why Actorly says a name is shown "when Shopify reports it".
- For a few kinds the column says Not yet. That is the claim Actorly makes in the table, not a sign that it ignores Shopify's activity log. For variants, collections, customers, draft orders, blogs, articles, pages, orders and discounts, Actorly already reads the log and shows the matched name with its word.
The Who panel says which applies: "For this kind of record, Shopify's activity log does not name who made a change."
Why can a product change still say Unknown?
When the kind is one Shopify records, there are three reasons.
What can I still learn about an Unknown change?
Nothing changes the word, and Actorly will not add a name later. The rest of the change window is still true.
- How Actorly learned of it shows whether Shopify sent a notice or a routine check found it, and the two times.
- Around the same time lists other changes within an hour either side, "Listed by how close in time they happened". It shows what happened nearby and does not link them.
- The record at that moment and History of this record show what the record held and its earlier changes.
- Restore history shows whether Actorly made a later change by restoring a value.
How do the Overview counts treat Unknown?
On Overview, With a named actor counts only changes where Shopify's activity log let Actorly match a person or app, at any confidence. The unnamed count under Who is making changes covers both Unknown, which never changes, and Not attributed yet, which may. The rest of the changes are not all Unknown, so that number does not by itself say how many are final.
A worked example
Sample: a product's description changes at 10:00. At 10:01 Changes shows Who: Not attributed yet. The panel says Actorly has read the activity log up to a time after the change, has found no match yet, and keeps looking until a date. At the next reads, one of two things happens. Shopify's log has one entry for the product close to the change, naming Jordan: the row becomes "Staff member: Jordan O. (Likely)". Or the log has no entry by the deadline: the row becomes Unknown and the panel says "This will not change later." From then on it never shows a name.
Frequently asked questions
How long does Not attributed yet last?
Until the deadline the Who panel shows. It reads "Actorly keeps looking until" a date once the log has been read past the change, and says "Actorly has not looked yet" when the log has only been read to an earlier time. If Actorly finds no one by the deadline, the change becomes Unknown and stays that way.
Will a name ever be added to an Unknown change?
No. Unknown is permanent. Actorly never fills it in with a later guess.
Why do some product changes have a name and others do not?
Shopify records an event for some changes and not others. Where it records one, Actorly matches it to the change by time and shows how sure it is. Where it does not, the change is Unknown.
Does Actorly Restore show more names?
No. Who made a change is identical on Actorly Watch and Actorly Restore.
Is a new row on Overview's Recent changes already Unknown?
A new row is Not attributed yet while Actorly checks, unless the kind is one Shopify records nobody for, in which case it is Unknown from the start. Unknown is only written when the answer is final.
Can I correct a name or an Unknown?
No. There is nothing to edit. Actorly shows a match with its confidence word, or Unknown, and does not let either be changed.