Treat final text, comments and revision history as three different records. Keep clean text for reading and migration, export or summarize discussions with authors, dates, locations and decisions, and make sure internal comments are not mixed into externally shared final documents.
The text downloads successfully, but the comment panel is empty. The Markdown contains the final wording, but not the person who objected to the first draft. Months later, nobody can explain why a paragraph changed without reopening Feishu.
The export is not necessarily broken. Document content and collaboration history are different layers.
Before choosing a method, decide whether the archive must preserve the final text or the reasoning behind it. The answer changes both the files and the verification test.
Define the archive purpose
| Purpose | Keep | No need to preserve |
|---|---|---|
| Publish or deliver the final version | Clean text, images, attachments and version identifier | Internal discussion and personal reminders |
| Hand a project to another owner | Final text, key decisions, owners and open items | Resolved small talk |
| Audit or dispute review | Comment text, authors, dates, revisions and approval evidence | Discussion unrelated to the decision |
Mixing these purposes creates two common failures: internal comments leak into a final document, while important decisions are removed as though they were ordinary comments.
Separate text, comments and revision history
Final text
This is the material people must read, search and migrate. It should remain structurally clean enough for Markdown, Word or PDF.
Comments and annotations
Comments preserve the discussion: questions, objections, additional sources and mentions. Their location and reply relationship often matter as much as the words.
Revision history
Revision history answers who changed something and when. A final page alone cannot reconstruct that process when several people collaborated or an approval took place.
Test with a real document first
Use one document that contains comments, replies and version history. Try the official export, a print-to-PDF route and a browser-based export. Check four things:
- Whether comments appear in the result.
- Whether author, date and anchor are still present.
- Whether changes between versions can be identified.
- Whether images, tables and internal links still work.
Different export routes preserve different layers. A downloaded file is not proof that the collaboration record came with it.
Turn comments into a durable record
When comments need to survive, create a separate discussion log. A minimal template includes:
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Document and version | Identifies the text under discussion |
| Comment location | Points to a section, paragraph or page |
| Author and date | Preserves responsibility and sequence |
| Original comment | Avoids changing conditions through paraphrase |
| Decision | Records acceptance, rejection or deferral |
| Owner | Shows who continues the work |
Resolved comments in Feishu are not guaranteed to be available forever. For important projects, keep an offline screenshot, PDF or structured discussion log.
Record revision history
Version history is not the same as final page text. For an auditable archive, record:
- Version number or save time
- Editor and participants
- Scope of the change
- Reason for the change
- Approval or confirmation
If two versions differ substantially, do not write only “updated.” State whether the change affected structure, data, compliance or wording so the next person knows what to verify.
Three checks before sharing
Did internal comments leave the team?
A client-facing or public file should not expose internal objections, personal information, pricing discussions or unresolved risks.
Does every decision have an owner?
A discussion log with opinions but no owners leaves the same problem for the next person. Record who approved, who acts and when the item is due.
Can the archive stand on its own?
Open the final text offline and check images and attachments. Open the discussion log and confirm that authors, dates and locations remain. Both tests must pass.
A practical sequence
- Freeze a specific document version.
- Export clean text and label it as the final or archive copy.
- Preserve the comments and open items that still matter.
- Record version differences, approvals and owners.
- Check for internal leakage, then move the folder and verify it offline.
Not every comment needs to be kept. Anything that affects a decision, responsibility or future action does. The goal is not to clone the entire comment panel, but to let a future reader understand why the final text looks the way it does.