---
title: Edit a work
description: "Open a saved work, change its title, reference, ISWC, language and other details, save it, and recover edits you have not saved."
keywords: [edit work, title, ISWC, language, save, recovery copy, unsaved changes, keyboard shortcuts, version]
---

Use the editor to change a saved work or fill in what is missing. Save what you know and complete the rest later.

## Before you start

You need to be an owner or editor. With view-only access the form is switched off and the editor says **You have view access to this workspace.**

## Steps

1. In **Catalogue**, press the work's title. See [Find, filter and sort works](/docs/workspace/catalogue/find).
2. Change what you need. The bar at the top reads **Unsaved changes. Press Save work to keep them.**
3. Press **Save work**. The bar reads **Saved** with a version number. Each save is a new version. See [History, undo and deleted works](/docs/workspace/catalogue/history).
4. Press **Back to catalogue**.

## What the editor holds

The form runs down the left: **Work title**, **Your work reference**, then:

- **Writers** and **Publishers**: [Writers, publishers and shares](/docs/workspace/catalogue/shares).
- **Recordings (ISRCs)**: [Recordings](/docs/workspace/catalogue/recordings).
- **Alternative titles** and **Performers**: [Additional details](/docs/workspace/catalogue/additional-details).
- **Work details every society needs**: the boxes below.

On the right, or above the form on a narrow screen, **To do** lists what is missing and each society's status. A badge on the bar, a number followed by **to do**, jumps to it. The buttons that begin **Save and go to**, and **Save and finish**, save and then move you along the form.

![The work editor with the save bar at the top, the boxes for title and reference, the first writer and the To do panel.](/docs/img/workspace/editor.png)

### The boxes on this page

- **Your work reference**: 1 to 14 letters, digits or other printable characters, without accents or spaces at the start or end.
- **Work identifier (ISWC)**: it looks like T-123.456.789-4. TrackForge sets the dots and hyphens when you leave the box. A last digit that does not fit is flagged, but the work still saves. See [the ISWC problem](/docs/cwr/problems-and-fixes#iswc-format).
- **Language**: choose by name. **Most used** comes first.
- **Work duration (HHMMSS)**: six digits, so 000330 is 3 minutes 30 seconds. Minutes and seconds go up to 59 and it cannot be all zeros.
- **Copyright date (YYYYMMDD)**: eight digits, such as 20200131, and a real date.
- **Work version type**: **Original work**, or **Arrangement or adaptation of another work**, which bulk edit calls **Modified version**.

## If you leave without saving

Each change is copied into a recovery copy kept in this browser for 24 hours after your last change.

- Reopen the work and the editor says **Recovered unsaved changes from this browser. Review and save them to your catalogue.** In the list, that work's row shows **Unsaved browser edits available**.
- Press **Save work** to keep the changes. Press **Discard recovered changes** to return to the saved version. That button goes once you change something more.
- Closing the tab asks you to confirm first. Another browser or device has no copy.
- If the page says **This browser could not keep a recovery copy. Keep this page open until your save succeeds.**, you cannot leave until the save works.

## Keyboard shortcuts

- Ctrl+S, or ⌘S on a Mac, saves from anywhere in the editor.
- Escape closes the directory window that **Choose writer from directory** opens.

## If something goes wrong

- ****Not saved — retry**.** Your edits are still on the page. Press **Save work** again.
- **Someone saved a newer version.** A window headed **A newer version was saved** opens over the editor, with a table of the fields that differ. Your edits are kept, and nothing is saved until you choose. **Review my edits over this version** applies them to the newer version, unsaved, for you to check. Where you both changed a field, choose which value to keep first. **Use saved version** drops your edits. **Decide later** closes the window, and **Compare and choose** on the notice in the editor opens it again.

## Related

- [Fix problems on a work](/docs/workspace/catalogue/fix-problems)
- [What the statuses mean](/docs/workspace/catalogue/statuses)