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Release Process

The release process for topics and publications is part of the Version Management in Paligo. For more information about workflow concerning assignments, see About Collaboration.

Each time content is released (both major and minor), an exact copy of that version (with all its topics and other resources), called a snapshot, is saved and archived. The snapshot can be downloaded or restored in the Resource View Paligo.

Snapshots can also be created by a contributor during an assignment or be manually created at any time via the Resource View.

Restore_Archived_snapshot_small.png

The snapshot number is shown to the left of the archived version.

  • 1.0.0 - The first number is stepped up for a major release. A major release consists of new features and / or large architectural changes.

  • 1.1.0 - The second number is stepped up for a minor release. A minor release makes significant improvements to the existing functions and smaller adjustments.

  • 1.1.1 - The third number is stepped up for a review or translation stage.

The workflow in Paligo consists of 5 stages connected to the Release Management, which steps up the version number for each stage. You change the workflow stage in the Resource View for the item:

  1. Work in progress - The initial stage of any topic or new version, for authoring and editing content.

  2. In review - For review and proofreading. When the document is in review, it is not locked, but marked as In review.

  3. In translation - For translating multilingual content. While the text is under translation, the topic is locked for editing.

  4. In translation review - For proofreading or post-editing translations in the translation editor.

  5. Released - The final version of the topic is locked for further editing and archived. To create a new version, it has to be set to Work in progress again. The archived snapshot will remain intact just as it was at that stage.

release.png

Each time content is released (both major and minor), an exact copy of that version (with all its topics and other resources), called a snapshot, is saved and archived.

You cannot make changes to a topic that is Released. This state is intended to show that a topic is complete, approved, and has been published. To make changes to that topic, you will need to switch its state to Work in progress again.

Note

When you change the status to Released, Paligo automatically approves completed translations in all available languages.

For example, if you have a topic translated into Italian and German.

  • The Italian content is 100% translated and 0% approved.

  • The German is 87% translated and 23% approved.

When you change the state to Released, Paligo sets the Italian content to 100% translated and 100% approved and the German content to 87% translated and 87% approved.

Tip

Learn more about the Release Process and how to Publish Content.

  1. Select the folder containing the content in Content Manager. Folder_small.jpg

    If the content is not in a folder, select the top-level folder Documents. Document_folder_small.png

    ContentManager.jpg

    This will open the Resource View.

  2. Change the status to Released for the content.

    Status_Released_small.png

    Note

    The box Change status for all included components is by default checked. If cleared, only the publication will be set to status released.

  3. Leave a release comment that explains to other users why it was released.

    The comment will be visible in the Resource View under the tab Snapshots, see View Snapshot Information.

    ReleaseComment_small.png
  4. For a minor release, check the box Make this a minor release.

    To learn how snapshots are numbered, see Release Process.

  5. Select OK.

    A snapshot is created and archived for this release.

Once a topic or publication is released, an archived version of it called a snapshot is saved.

To be able to edit released content, you have to change the status to Work in progress. By doing so, a new version is created. It will not affect the snapshot.

This can be done in two ways, either by:

  • Changing the status in the Resource View

    releasedpub.png
  • Opening released content in the Editor, you get the option to change the status back to Work in progress.

    openreleasedtopic.png

Should the publication (or other components where the topic is reused) not already be in Work in progress, Paligo will allow you to change their status as well. Use the checkbox Change status only for the current document to avoid changing status for other documents.

changepublicationpropagate2.png

The topics that do not require change in the new version can (and will by default) remain in Released status.

releasedtopic.png

If you think about the fact that one of the main purposes of Paligo is to reuse content, what does it mean to change the workflow or release status of a piece of content?

Obviously, because topics are reused, if you change the status of one document, it will have an effect on others as well. This can easily get very complex if you need to keep track of it yourself. Paligo does it for you by default though, but it's good to know how the default mechanisms work.

Note

Workflow changes in single-sourced content is a complicated topic, but almost all of what is described here happens automatically, so it is enough to have a fleeting understanding of the basics below.

Unless you want to know what goes on in detail, or you have special needs for controlling it manually, it is not required to understand all of the complexities behind the control of workflow status changes.

Whenever you change the workflow status of a document, there is a choice whether that should affect any documents related to it.

The checkbox in the menu for changing the workflow status gives you a choice whether any included topics should also have their status changed. This is sometimes called changing the status recursively.

The checkbox has different default values, depending on what the current workflow status is for the component you are changing:

Table 1. Default values for changing status recursively

Current workflow stage

Default checkbox value

Released

Not checked:

changeworkflowcheckbox.png

The change will by default only affect the one you are making the change on.

For example, if you change a publication from Released to Work in progress, only the publication itself will change, not its topics.

Logic: Just because you are changing e.g a publication from Released to Work in progress, most of the topics may not need to change, and will therefore remain released.

Any stage except released

Checked:

changeworkflowcheckbox2.png

The change will by default affect all components reused by the one being changed.

For example, if you change a publication from Work in progress to Released, then all the topics used in it will also be released.

Logic: If you are changing any component that is not released, e.g to Released, then normally this would mean that all included topics are also released.


You can of course change the default with the checkbox, but the default values are usually recommended.

Tip

If you change a released publication to Work in progress, you do not have to manually change the status of each topic you are going to work on. Paligo will give you the option to change its status whenever you try to open a released topic. This makes it clear what topics have actually changed during the workflow cycle.

The status change checkbox determines what happens to components reused in the one you are changing. But what about topics and other publications that are related?

For instance, if you release one publication, and all its topics, what happens to another publication where some of the same topics are reused?

There are many scenarios, but the ones below may help understanding the most important effects:

Figure 1. Work in progress → Released (changing the publication status)

If we change Publication A from Work in progress to Released, all its topics will by default also be released. This means that the sub set of topics reused also in Publication B will of course also be released.

The component Publication B in itself will not be affected.

Work in progress → Released (changing the publication status)
Work in progress → Released (changing the publication status)

Figure 2. Released → Work in progress (changing the publication status)

If we change Publication A from to Released to Work in progress, only the publication component itself will change. This means in this scenario, Publication B will not be affected at all, neither its topics nor the component itself.

Released → Work in progress (changing the publication status)
Released → Work in progress (changing the publication status)

Figure 3. Released → Work in progress (changing the topic status)

If we change Topic A from to Released to Work in progress, we will also by default change the publication it is reused in. Since it is reused in both Publication A and Publication B, both of these publication components will change to Work in progress.

Released → Work in progress (changing the topic status)

You can override this behaviour if you want, using the checkbox in the dialog, but it is normally not recommended. If you are changing Topic A, you are of course effectively working on a new version for any component where it is reused.

There can of course be exceptions for pragmatic reasons. If you have reused Topic A in 100 publications, and you need to make a minor change, and the publications do not need to be republished. Or the change is filtered only for Publication A. Then it's completely up to you to override the default, using the checkbox.

Released → Work in progress (changing the topic status)
Released → Work in progress (changing the topic status)

These are some of the common scenarios, but of course there are others. As mentioned, if the default behaviour fits you well, you rarely need to think about it, as it all happens automatically.

But you are encouraged to try various scenarios out on sample content if you want to learn more.

A snapshot is an archived version of the content at a particular point in time. During a release, a snapshot is always created, but can also be created by a contributor during an assignment in Contributor Editor or manually created at any time in Resource View. To be able to create a snapshot in Resource View, you have to be an author or administrator, see User Types.

The snapshots are useful when comparing the content between different versions or for restoring lost content. Comparing a snapshot from before and after an assignment makes it easy to visualize the changes made to the documentation. To learn more, see Timeline.

Tip

When importing content, Paligo will not automatically create a snapshot of the imported content. Paligo recommends that you always create a snapshot of imported content, to have an archived version to compare with the changes you make.

  1. Select the folder containing the content in Content Manager. Folder_small.jpg

    If the content is not in a folder, select the top-level folder Documents. Document_folder_small.png

    ContentManager.jpg

    This will open the Resource View.

  2. Select the blue arrow to the left of the topic.Arrow_Blue.jpg

  3. Select the Snapshots tab to see existing archived versions.

    Versions_Tab_small.png
  4. Select the dotted menu (...) to the right of the topic.

    Create_Snapshot_ResourceView_small.png
  5. Select Create snapshot. Snapshot_small.png

  6. Add a comment that explains to other users why it was created.

    New_Snapshot_small.png
  7. Select OK.

    The new snapshot is added to the Snapshots tab.

Snapshots are useful when you need to restore an old version of a publication or a topic. The snapshot is a ZIP file consisting of several XML files (the topic, translations, variables) and images.

When a snapshot is restored, that file is imported back into Paligo and treated like new content, which results in topics and fragments getting new IDs.

The restored version is independent in regards to the original content. Because the restored release may have had completely different variables and the like, such resources will be separate and possibly partially duplicated. You may therefore want to clean such resources up after republishing your old version.

There is no limit to how many snapshots Paligo stores. Restoring an old snapshot does not affect other archived versions and does not remove earlier versions.

However, snapshots (whether restored or not) use up your storage space. If you know that you do not need old versions, you should remove them.

Important

Restoring snapshots is not something recommended on a regular basis, but only for exceptions when you need to republish an old version.

If you need to keep multiple release versions in parallel in your system, with reuse between them, you should instead look into doing so with the help of Reuse Forks and Filtering / Profiling, possibly combined with Branching.

  1. Select the folder containing the content in Content Manager. Folder_small.jpg

    If the content is not in a folder, select the top-level folder Documents. Document_folder_small.png

    ContentManager.jpg

    This will open the Resource View.

  2. Select the blue arrow to the left of the topic or publication. Arrow_Blue.jpg

  3. Select the Snapshots tab.

    Restore_Archived_snapshot_small.png
  4. Select the arrow to the right of the download button and choose Restore snapshot

    Restore_Snapshot_small.png
  5. Select in which folder to restore the released version. 

    restorerelease.png
  6. Select OK.

  7. If necessary, make changes. Changes made to the topics in a restored release do not affect any of the topics in your current version in Paligo. It is a completely separate copy.

  8. Republish to any format you like.

Administrators, authors and contributors can create content snapshots. A snapshot is an archived version of the content at a particular time. It is useful when comparing different snapshots.

When a snapshot is created, you can add information about why the snapshot was created (for example feature changes, feedback comments or contributions). This information is visible in Resource View.

  1. Select the folder containing the content in Content Manager. Folder_small.jpg

    If the content is not in a folder, select the top-level folder Documents. Document_folder_small.png

    ContentManager.jpg

    This will open the Resource View.

  2. Navigate down the folder structure until you find the topic of interest.

  3. Select the blue arrow to the left of the topic to show its information. Arrow_Blue.jpg

    Resource view of a topic. There is a versions column that lists the snapshot comments.
  4. Select the Snapshots tab to show available snapshots.

    If needed, select Edit comment to update a comment. Comment_small.png