Get started with Comala Document Management for Cloud

About Comala Document Management

Comala Document Management adds review and approval workflows to Confluence Cloud. Teams can assign reviewers, set deadlines, and track a document's lifecycle. Integrated reporting tools provide oversight of all status changes and approvals within a space.

Key concepts

Workflow

A workflow defines the stages a document moves through, such as Draft, In Review, and Approved. You can create workflows with any number of stages and apply them to individual pages or entire spaces. A single workflow can be reused across multiple pages and spaces.

Learn more in Create and edit Workflows.

Workflow state

A workflow state is the current stage of a document. The state displays on the page, so your team can see whether a document is in progress, under review, or approved. States update as reviewers take action.

Approval

An approval is a review action on a document. You assign one or more reviewers to a page. Those reviewers approve or reject the content at the appropriate stage in the workflow. The app records who approved, when, and at which stage.

Workflow trigger

A trigger monitors a specific event and performs an action in response. For example, you can configure a trigger to send an email when a document enters review, set an expiry date when content is approved, or restrict page editing during an approval stage.

Workflow parameter

A workflow parameter is a configurable value within a workflow. Examples include a list of default reviewers, a review deadline, or a notification message. Parameters let you reuse the same workflow across spaces while adjusting values for each team or project.

What you can do

Automate reviews and approvals: Assign reviewers, set deadlines, and route pages through multi-stage approval workflows. Reviewers receive notifications when content needs their attention.

Track document status: Every page with an active workflow displays its current state. Space administrators can view the status of all pages in a space using the document report.

Support compliance requirements: Require reviewers to authenticate their decisions using e-signatures. Set expiry dates to flag content that needs periodic review. Use audit trails and reporting to support FDA 21 CFR Part 11, ISO 9001, and ISO 13485 requirements.

Configure notifications: Set up email and on-screen notifications for specific workflow events. You can notify reviewers when they are assigned, alert authors when a document is approved, or flag content owners when a page expires.

Display workflow data on pages: Use page macros to show document state, approval status, and activity history directly on a Confluence page.

Publish approved content: Integrate with Comala Publishing to separate draft and published versions of a page. You can configure workflows to publish content automatically when it reaches an approved state.

Set up Comala Document Management

If you are new to Comala Document Management Cloud, follow these steps to set up your environment:

1. Installation and setup: Install the app and configure global permissions. See Installation.

2. Space activation: Enable Comala Document Management for specific Confluence spaces. See Onboarding.

Migrating from Data Center?

Planning a Cloud migration? Start here:

Product comparison – Key differences between DC and Cloud
Migration support from Appfire – Guided migration assistance