| Red Hat Content Management System 6.1: CMS Administrator Guide | ||
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Workflows are composed of tasks that control the process of producing a content item from creation through publication. The CMS includes default workflows that you can use or modify, and you can design an unlimited number of workflows.
If you create a new content item based on a content type that does not have an assigned workflow, you must select one before you can continue.
When you create a workflow, you must enter the name and description, and then you must add the tasks. When you create a task, you must enter the name and description. The task name is displayed on the Workflow Details and Task Details screens. This gives you the flexibility to name your task according to the needs of your organization, while still using the three task types in the CMS. You can create any number of tasks that correspond to these task types and you can create new task types programmatically.
Each task is associated with one of three task types: Author, Edit, or Deploy. If you do not select a different task type, Author is selected by default.
Tasks can be dependent on earlier tasks. These dependencies control how tasks are assigned to different users as the content item is processed. For example, if the authoring task must be finished before editing, and editing must be finished before deployment, then select the authoring dependency when creating the Edit task, and select the editing dependency when creating the Deploy task. You do not need to select both authoring and editing as dependencies for deployment. You can only enter dependencies if you have added more than one task.
After you enter the basic task information, assign users and roles. You can assign multiple users and roles to a task, in which case only one user has to sign off on the task for it to proceed. However, when you use multiple tasks to define the workflow process, each task must be signed off.
As a content item progresses through the CMS, assigned users and users who are members of the assigned role must finish their task or the content item stalls. When a user assigned to the Deploy task locks the task, selects the Publishing tab, and applies a Lifecycle, the content item is published.
While there is no required order for initially entering information into the CMS, you must add a workflow before you can assign it to a content type, either during creating or editing.