Manage a document's lifecycle
All documents begin their lifecycle in a Draft state. While in this state, a document may be checked out and checked in to track incremental changes with document versions. A document then progresses through further stages of its lifecycle by way of a workflow. When a document is published, its revision level is incremented.
An example lifecycle of a document is shown in the table below.
| Action/Process | Document name | Status | Version | Revision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Upload | 12345-XX-example.docx | Draft | v1 | XX |
| Check out/Check in | 12345-XX-example.docx | Draft | v2 | XX |
| Check out/Check in | 12345-XX-example.docx | Draft | v3 | XX |
| Send for Review | 12345-XX-example.docx | In Review | v3 | XX |
| Publish | 12345-AA-example.docx | Published | v3 | AA |
| Check out/ Check in | 12345-AA-example.docx | Draft | v4 | AA |
| Send for Review | 12345-AA-example.docx | In Review | v4 | AA |
| Publish | 12345-AB-example.docx | Published | v4 | AB |
About document workflows
A document workflow is used to move a document through different statuses and to publish the document for final use.
The workflows that define the lifecycle of a document are fully configurable by your Tenant Administrator. See workflow administration.
Set and progress the workflow for a document
- Locate the document for which you want to set a workflow.
- Click it to open its detail view at the bottom of the plugin.
- In the details tab, click Edit.
- Choose the workflow from the drop-down list that you want to use.
- In the details tab, click Save.
A button to begin your chosen workflow appears at the top left corner of the details view.
Other users may receive email notifications when they must perform their task during the document workflow, such as approving the document to be published. Assigned tasks are found in the Assignments tab.
Publish a document
Publishing a document changes its status from Draft to Published — this lets your team members know that the document is complete. To make additional changes to the document, the document must then be checked out to return the document to a Draft state and a new document version must be created to capture additional changes.
To publish a document:
- Progress the document through its workflow until it reaches the publishing step.
- If you have the role to do so, click Publish.
The document status is set to Published. The revision level is incremented to its first revision level (eg. XX becomes AA).
Revise a document
A published document cannot be edited in its published state. If you want to make further changes to the document, you must first check it out. This downloads an editable copy of the document to your computer where you may make your changes. When you check the document back in, the version number increases and the new version will be in a draft state.
When the document is published again, the revision level is incremented again (eg. AA to AB)