This guide covers how to view past, present and future versions of the Handbook, the Glossary and the Technical Standards using the timeline feature. In this guide, we set out:
- the basics of using the timeline on the Handbook website;
- viewing the Handbook on any date;
- viewing how provisions in the Handbook have changed over time;
- using the timeline with the Handbook Glossary;
- using the timeline with the Technical Standards; and
- accessing the Handbook archive.
Getting started
The Handbook website’s timeline functionality shows you what the Handbook looks like at any point in time – in the past, the present and the future. This feature can help you to understand which rules and guidance were in force on any given date. We’ve improved the timeline functionality by providing tools to enable you to compare two different versions of the Handbook, giving you a richer picture of how it has changed over time (jump to Comparing the Handbook for further information).
The timeline feature works across the Handbook, the Glossary and the Technical Standards. You can access the timeline using the options that appear in the left-hand side menu when you navigate to any of those pages. When you’re in the timeline, you’ll see a banner at the top of the page, indicating the date of the version to which you have navigated. You’ll also see the date in the URL. You can always return to the current version (i.e., the version that is in force today) using the ‘Go to current version’ button in the banner.
Any search you perform while navigating through the timeline will return the results as of that point in the timeline. If you aren’t in the timeline, the search results that will be returned will be those that are relevant as of the current date. For further information on searching, see How to search for content on the FCA Handbook website.
All dates and times shown on the website are displayed in UK format and in the UK time zone. Whenever the website (or this guide) refers to the ‘current date’, that means the date on which you as the user are accessing the website.
Viewing the Handbook on a specific date
When you click on the Handbook tree page, you’ll see a ‘Select timeline’ option in the menu on the left-hand side. Ticking this box enables you to select a date and view the whole Handbook tree as of that date. The information in the ‘Last modified’ and ‘Recent changes’ columns in the Handbook tree will also be updated according to the date you select. You can click into any chapter or section of the Handbook to see what it looks like on your selected date.
The ‘Select timeline’ checkbox appears on all chapter and section pages as well, so you can also navigate into those pages to change the timeline. When the ‘Select timeline’ option is ticked on a chapter or section page, a timeline graphic will appear on the right-hand side. This shows you the point in time at which you are viewing the page alongside the dates on which that page has been or will be amended via a legal instrument. Each date corresponds to a different version of the chapter or section – you can click on the dates to jump forwards and backwards between versions. When you click the arrows at the top of the page to move between chapters and sections, the new page will be displayed as of your selected date.
The text of each provision under the chapter or section you are viewing will change, in line with the date you've selected. The banner at the top of the page will reflect the date of the version of the chapter or section that you are viewing. It will also show you when the chapter or section was last updated and indicate when any future updates to the chapter or section, if any, are scheduled to come into force.
Comparing the Handbook
To compare different versions of the Handbook, click into a chapter or section page and click on the ‘Track changes’ button in the left-hand side menu. This brings up a pop-up box that contains a list of dates along the left-hand side.
These are the dates on which the chapter or section has been or will be amended via a legal instrument. They each correspond to a different version of the chapter or section. By default, you’ll see only the dates on which the chapter or section was changed in the current year. You can change the year to see previous versions using the dropdown box in the top right-hand corner of the pop-up box. If there are no amendments in the year, no dates will be displayed.
To the right of the list of dates, there are 3 options:
- View this version
- Compare to previous
- Compare to current
| View this version | This shows you what the chapter or section looked like on the date selected. |
| Compare to previous | This shows you the changes that were made on the date selected. Only the amended provisions within the chapter or section are displayed. |
| Compare to current | This shows you all changes that have been made since the date selected. All provisions within the chapter or section are displayed. |
When you use the ‘Compare to previous’ or ‘Compare to current’ features, the changes made will be shown as follows:
- Deletions will be shown as struck-through and highlighted in red.
- Additions will be shown as underlined and highlighted in green.
Using the timeline with the Glossary
When you click on the Glossary page, you’ll see a ‘View timeline’ option in the menu on the left-hand side. This works in the same way as on the Handbook tree page: you can select a date and view the whole Glossary as of the selected date. You can also click on an individual Glossary term to view its specific timeline.
You can compare different versions of the Glossary in the same way as you can compare different versions of the Handbook by clicking on ‘Compare timeline’ from the main Glossary page. This brings up the 3 options described above: ‘View this version’, ‘Compare to previous’ and ‘Compare to current’. If you’d like to see the changes made to a specific Glossary term in track changes, you can use the ‘Compare to previous’ or ‘Compare to current’ feature and enter the term you’re looking for in the search bar at the top of the page.
Using the timeline with the Technical Standards
The timeline functionality in the Technical Standards section of the website works in the same way as in the Handbook:
- You can set a date on the Technical Standards tree page and view all of the Technical Standards as they existed on that date.
- You can view when the articles and chapters of the Technical Standards were last updated, and view the most recent changes made, from the Technical Standards tree page.
- You can view a specific article or chapter of a Technical Standard on a particular date, and view the point in time at which you are viewing the page alongside the dates on which that page has been or will be amended via a legal instrument.
- You can compare different versions of articles and chapters of Technical Standards using the ‘Compare to previous’ and ‘Compare to current’ buttons described above.
Accessing the Handbook archive
To access the Handbook archive, navigate to the Handbook tree page and click ‘Select timeline’. Enter a date between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2004. You’ll then be able to click on a ‘Go to archives’ button, which opens a separate item in the menu on the left-hand side. This opens up the list of PDF files that constitute the Handbook archive.
You can search in the Handbook archive using the bar at the top of the page. For more information on how to make the most of the search functionality, see How to search for content on the FCA Handbook website.