Workflow

Overview

An entry's life-cycle is controlled by the workflow assigned to the content type that the entry is based on. Contensis supports two standard built-in workflows types.

Basic workflow

Allows content to be authored and then published instantly.

Approval workflow

Allows content to be submitted for approval so that it is controlled by an authorised approver before it is made live.

Entries are by default controlled by the basic workflow, but this can be changed by specifying a different workflow type in the content type editing screen.

Workflow specific methods

We have created some useful workflow extension methods which offer shortcuts for events in our standard workflows. Alternatively you can use the more generic Workflow.Invoke / Workflow.InvokeAsync methods.

Invoking events generically

Workflow events can be invoked using the generic Invoke or InvokeAsync methods on the Workflow object.

using Zengenti.Contensis.Management;

// Get a management client
var client = ManagementClient.Create({url}, {clientId}, {sharedSecret});

// Select to relevant project 
var website = client.Projects.Get("movieDb");

// Retrieve an entry
var entry = website.Entries.Get("d69ad539-0e3a-4d7f-9c9d-1fad1b39faad");

// Invoke a workflow event
try
{
    entries.Workflow.Invoke("awaitingApproval.decline",
        new
        {
            message = "Need to work on the last part as it doesn't read very well..."
        }
    );

}
catch(WorkflowException ex)
{
    // Something went wrong invoking the workflow
}
catch(RestException restEx)
{
    // Something went wrong in the service or the entry does not exist
}
catch(Exception)
{
    // Client API issue
}

The eventName parameter passed to the Invoke methods follows the structure, except for sysUnpublish:

{workflowStateId}.{workflowEventId}

These are the available events for the supported workflows

Basic workflow

draft.publish
sysUnpublish

Approval workflow

draft.submit
awaitingApproval.approve
awaitingApproval.decline
awaitingApproval.revoke
declined.submit
sysUnpublish

It is possible to only specify the workflowEventId i.e. 'approve' or 'submit' and the Management API client will automatically prefix the current state of the entry, but this is less explicit and open to invalid event invocations.

If a workflow event is invoked that is not valid for the current state, then a WorkflowException will be raised detailing the invalid action.

It is important to note certain states have 'sysUpdate' and 'sysDelete' events, which can't be invoked directly through a workflow event invocation, but can be invoked using the Save and Delete methods on the entry. When an entry is in the Published state, calling save (which in-turn invokes sysUpdate) will automatically move the state back to Draft.

Event permissions

The invocation of workflow events is controlled by the roles & permissions security API, which can be configured within the Contensis Roles screens. Individual events can be permissioned so that granular control is possible, ensuring each step of a workflow is only invocable by an authorized user. If authorization is denied when invoking a workflow event then a AuthorizationException is raised, detailing the unauthorized access.

Still need help?

If you still need help after reading this article, don't hesitate to reach out to the Contensis community on Slack or raise a support ticket to get help from our team.

New support request