Status and Status Type

Statuses can be freely defined and named. A status in Content Manager is categorized either as a Draft type of status or as a Released type of status. This status type has consequences on the behavior of Content Manager.

Status

A status indicates the position of a content in its lifecycle and what can be done to it. You can create as many statuses as your business processes need, and give them explicit names. You always assign them a status type.

Status type

Content Manager divides statuses into two categories or status types:
Draft status type
This indicates that the document is not yet suited for the intended audience. All statuses during the authoring process should be defined as being of the draft type. The status gets a (D) in the status list.
Released status type
This indicates that the document is suited for the intended audience. All statuses after the end of the authoring process should be of the released type. When an object version has a released status, only administrators can modify the document, or else a new version (or a branch) needs to be created. The status gets a (R) in the status list.

Choosing a type

If for example all content must receive the approval of a user before being released, you may want to create a status Approved. You need to set the type of this status.
  • If the approval means the content is ipso facto considered as good to publish, then Approved is set as a Released (R) type.
  • If after approval an additional operation must take place before the content can be shown to the outside world, then Approved is set as a Draft (D) type.

The type is important, it means for example that you can (D) or cannot (R) make changes to that version later, unless you are an administrator.

Consequences of the status type

When you create a new status, you also define what are its impacts on the workflow. Status types, however, have consequences on the behavior of the product that are set in the tool and cannot be changed. The main consequences are:
  • When you need to change the content of an object version of a Released type, you need to create a new version or a new branch for this object (unless you are administrator).
  • The new version or new branch of an object is by default of a Draft type.
  • All object versions in a publication need to be of a Released type of status before the baseline can be frozen.
  • When a publication contains only objects of a Released type and is published, the output receives the status Release candidate.

Changing released content

When you need to change the content of a version that is Released without creating a new version, you normally need to use administrator rights. The constraints are however different whether you use Publication Manager or the Web Client, and whether the object is used in a released publication output or not.

AdministratorOther user
In a released publication output
  • Web Client: The AddVersion dialog appears.
  • PM: The AddVersion dialog appears.
  • Web Client: The AddVersion dialog appears.
  • PM: The AddVersion dialog appears.
NOT in a released publication output
  • Web Client: The object is checked out.
  • PM: The AddVersion dialog appears.
  • Web Client:
    • If the transition is allowed for that user, the object is checked out.
    • If the transition is not allowed for that user, the AddVersion dialog appears.
  • PM: The AddVersion dialog appears.