Workflows (Legacy version)

The Workflows app enables users to organize their work based on custom workflow states.

NOTE: This version of Workflows will be discontinued soon. Learn more about our new Workflows app, which allows you to create multiple workflows, rules and permissions. To install the new version, visit our Marketplace.

Overview

Work in Contentful can go through various states of a process before being published. The Workflows app allows users to assign these different states to an entry to easily organize and visualize how work is progressing through a specific pipeline.

Requirements

In order to install the Workflows app, you will need the following:

• Content Tags

• A Contentful admin or "manage space settings" privileges to install the Workflows app.

Getting Started

As an admin or space manager who has installed the app, you will be presented with the workflow builder screen. A single workflow can have multiple states. A simple example of a workflow could include four states:

1. To Do

2. In Progress

3. Done

4. On Hold

Each workflow can have states that match the stages in your content creation. The main goal is to allow content editors to move entries from one state to another to signify to others what needs to be done next. Each content type can only have one workflow. However, you can reuse a workflow across multiple content types.

The workflow builder screen is where you define what states a workflow has and which content types that workflow will apply to. When your editors open an entry of a content type where your workflow is assigned, they will see a sidebar widget where they can see and change the current workflow state. For example, an editor could see an entry is in "To Do", and move it to "In Progress" as they start work on that entry.

Using the sidebar widget

The sidebar widget indicates to users the current state of an entry in its given workflow. As a user works on the content, they are given the option to change the current workflow state when their work is finished. This change of state is reflected to other users in the sidebar and in the Workflows dashboard.

Using the Workflows dashboard

The Workflows dashboard allows users to see every active workflow and which entries are in the different states of each workflow. It will be accessible through two places: the main "Apps" navigation dropdown and the sidebar. It is a powerful visual and organizational tool to help managers and editors understand the progress of their work.

FAQ

Why does creating a workflow fail?

There are a few reasons why creating a workflow can fail. The most prominent reason, is that your space does not have Content Tagging enabled. To see if this feature is enabled for your space, you will need to contact our Customer Service team.

If your space does have Content Tagging enabled, you may have reached a limitation in the amount of tags you can create or you may be trying to create a workflow which shares the same name with another tag. If your problem persists, please contact Customer Service.

Can workflow states have restrictions or permissions?

No. A workflow state for an entry can be changed by anyone who has access to that entry. In the future, the Workflows app will enable further permission features. We'd be interested to hear about your specific use-case and would ask you to provide us with your feedback.

Can I create more than one workflow?

No. While the app is part of our Early Access Program (EAP), it will only offer the ability to create one workflow per environment.

How can I automate the change of workflow states?

Automation of workflow states will be possible in the future as the app moves out of our Early Access Program. We'd be interested to hear about your specific use-case and would ask you to provide us with your feedback.

Why do I need Content Tags in order to use the Workflows app?

Currently, Content Tags is an implementation detail of the workflow app. We use content tags to define and save workflow states for the app.

Can I be alerted when a workflow state changes (for example through a webhook)?

Not yet. While the app is in our Early Access Program, it will not be possible to define a webhook for when a workflow state changes on an entry. In the future, we'd like to provide this feature and would be interested to hear your use-case by providing your feedback.