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Workflow check & uncheck include when publishing

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webteam

26 Aug, 2015 03:47 PM

Can a workflow check or uncheck the "include when publishing" box? We want to prevent an asset from being published by a scheduled full site publish if it is still in the middle of the workflow.

1. 1 Posted by Ryan Griffith on 26 Aug, 2015 06:41 PM

   

   Hi,

   A workflow would not be able to toggle the publishable state of the asset, but you might be able to accomplish this using a custom workflow trigger. Unfortunately, we do not currently have any documentation for developing custom triggers. If this sounds like an option, let me know and I'll try to dig something up for you.

   That being said, as long as the changes have not yet been merged, the publish of that asset should still reflect the current version of the asset and not the working copy.

   Please let me know if you have any questions.

   Thanks!

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2. 2 Posted by webteam on 26 Aug, 2015 06:59 PM

   

   Thanks Ryan. These assets would mostly be brand new pages created. They wouldn't be pages that have ever been published before. Would the workflow still prevent it? I only tested this by clicking the parent folder & hitting publish.

   What type of requirements would we need to create a custom trigger in regards to knowledge & server access?

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3. 3 Posted by Ryan Griffith on 26 Aug, 2015 07:35 PM

   

   Hi,

   This is a little different then, since I believe the asset would need to be created in order for others to access it. That is, it can't be a draft of an asset in the creation state.

   What type of requirements would we need to create a custom trigger in regards to knowledge & server access?

   Let me check with the developers to see if we have information on this, or if a Workflow trigger would be the best option.

   Off-hand, another workaround would be to add some user training to the overall workflow (not Cascade workflow) to disable publishing when putting the asset into the workflow, and re-enabling publishing when you are ready to finalize the workflow. You could even add steps to your workflow as a reminder, like a "[Disable|Enable] publishing" step.

   Please let me know if you have any questions.

   Thanks!

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4. 4 Posted by webteam on 27 Aug, 2015 03:17 PM

   

   I'm noticing a couple other minor issues, maybe you can help me confirm.

   1. We can't click new page, type some stuff and click save draft without having submitted it once first. It seems a page/asset must be created before you can save as a draft, even though the draft button is available. This does't seem to matter if a workflow is used or not.

   2. When using a workflow, I have created an edit step where the user can go back and edit the page. I can save it as a draft here but then when I come back later to edit the draft I am no longer able to submit the draft. I have to copy my changes from the draft and then edit the "current" version.

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5. 5 Posted by Ryan Griffith on 27 Aug, 2015 04:51 PM

   

   Hi,

   After checking with the developers, it looks like I spoke to soon about the custom Workflow Trigger. Unfortunately, the Workflow Trigger API is not currently public so I am not able to provide you with information or documentation.

   We can't click new page, type some stuff and click save draft without having submitted it once first. It seems a page/asset must be created before you can save as a draft, even though the draft button is available. This does't seem to matter if a workflow is used or not.

   Correct, the issue here is drafts are only visible to the user who created the draft. This is why you need to save the asset first.

   I see that we do have a related suggestion on our Idea Exchange to add this functionality. Feel free to vote this up if you would like to see this functionality implemented in a future release.

   When using a workflow, I have created an edit step where the user can go back and edit the page. I can save it as a draft here but then when I come back later to edit the draft I am no longer able to submit the draft. I have to copy my changes from the draft and then edit the "current" version.

   Correct, this is sort of a fail-safe to ensure the draft doesn't update the working copy.; so the workflow must be completed prior to the draft being merged. This is similar to not being able to update the current version of an asset in workflow.

   These assets would mostly be brand new pages created. They wouldn't be pages that have ever been published before. Would the workflow still prevent it? I only tested this by clicking the parent folder & hitting publish.

   So, coming back to this. If the assets in question are mainly new assets, what if you simply disable publishing for the Asset Factory's base asset and train the users to enable publishing on the new page once it's "ready to go"? This would avoid accidentally publishing the new page while it's being worked on.

   Please let me know if you have any questions.

   Thanks!

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6. Support Staff 6 Posted by Tim on 08 Sep, 2015 02:50 PM

   

   Hi,

   Just wanted to make sure you saw Ryan's post above. Let us know if you need anything else.

   Thanks!

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7. 7 Posted by webteam on 08 Sep, 2015 03:12 PM

   

   Thanks Ryan & Tim. You can close this. Ryan answered everything we needed.

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8. Support Staff 8 Posted by Tim on 08 Sep, 2015 03:12 PM

   

   Awesome. Thanks for the update! Have a good one.

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9. Tim closed this discussion on 08 Sep, 2015 03:12 PM.