Creating a custom workflow

You can create different workflows for different content types. For example, the workflow for an article can include first draft, final draft, and publication. The workflow for an image can include initial upload, cropping, and adding metadata.

To create a workflow:

1. Click menu > Admin > Workflows.
2. In the Name field, type a name for the workflow.
3. In the Sites field, add sites to which the workflow applies (or leave blank to apply the workflow to all sites). For information about creating sites, see Creating a site.
4. In the Content Types field, select the content types to which this workflow applies.

5. In the Actions field, do the following:

   1. Click Add Status.
   2. Type the name of the status.
   3. If this is the first status that you created, click Add Transition in the status box New. Otherwise, click Add Transition in the previous status box that you created.
   4. Drag your mouse over the status box you created in step a.

   5. In the transition box, type a name for the transition.

      Tip

      Transitions in the workflow widget appear in alphanumeric order, which may be different from the intuitive workflow order. To ensure the transitions appear in an intuitive workflow order, start a transition’s name with a numeral.
      

   6. Repeat steps a–e to add additional statuses and transitions. Ensure you have a transition to the status Published.
6. Click Save.

The following illustration is an example of a simple workflow for an article.

After you save a workflow—

• Brightspot lists the workflow in the Workflows list.
• Each time you create a new asset for the workflow’s content type, the Editorial Toolbar displays the workflow status and a Workflow button.
• Brightspot saves a draft for each status in the workflow. You can retrieve those drafts from the Revisions widget.
• The asset’s current status appears in the Recent Activity and Unpublished Drafts widgets (see Standard dashboard and widgets).
• Assets created before a workflow was created automatically enter the workflow—unless they are published. For example, if you saved a draft of an article, and your administrator later created a workflow, your article can be submitted to the workflow.

For a details of an asset's statuses as it transitions through a workflow, see Progression of an asset through states.