How to use the Editorial Workflow

Last updated on February 22, 2022 at 3:59 pm
Learn about the different moderation states and revision log message that are part of the Editorial Workflow.
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Editorial workflow

After completing all required fields on a node, you'll scroll down to the required Editorial Workflow panel. Using the Editorial Workflow, you'll be able to draft, review, publish or archive content that you create. You'll also add a Revision log message to tell other editors or yourself in the future what changes you made each time you save the node.

The editorial workflow widget

Moderation states

Depending on your role in Drupal, you'll be able to save a node as one of the following moderation states:

  1. Draft
  2. In review
  3. Published
  4. Archived

Draft

All nodes start in a Draft moderation state. This means that the content isn't live on VA.gov because you're still working on it.

In review

You can use the In review moderation state as a note to yourself that you or someone else is reviewing this content. If you save as In review then come back to the node, your Save as menu will have an additional moderation state, Approved

These aren't automated workflows, so they don't send any notifications to you or anyone else. These are optional moderation states that you can use or not, depending on your business practices. Nodes in these moderation states don't show live on VA.gov.

Published

The Published moderation state tells Drupal that you want this content released live on VA.gov. After you select this moderation state, complete the Revision log message, and click Save, this content will go live on VA.gov after the next content release.

To unpublish content that is currently saved as Published, you must come back and save the node as Archived. Saving a Published node as Draft or In review won't unpublish the node; it will still be live on VA.gov.

Archived

Save a node as Archived to unpublish the node. You can also use Archived for a node that's in Draft or In review if you decide you don't need it after all. To prevent accidental deletion of important information, there is no delete function for most users.

The Archived moderation state is only available to some roles for some content types. Learn more about archiving in a separate article.

You can save content as draft, in review, published, or archived

Revision log message

The Revision log message is a required field where you note what changes you made each time you save a node. Enter a brief message that tells other editors or yourself in the future what changes you made this time. This is helpful if you need to revert back to a previous revision for some reason.

Learn more about Revisions in a separate article.

Revision log message

Save

After completing the Editorial Workflow, click Save. This will save and close the node so other editors with access can edit it. If you selected the Published moderation state, this will also set the node to publish live on VA.gov after the next content release.

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