Apply a workflow to all documents in a space
- Robert Alexander Marshall
- Comala Publishing
A Comala Document Management workflow template can be added and applied across all documents in a space as a space workflow.
Making a space workflow active overrides a page workflow added individually to a page or blog post, and the same workflow template is added to all the documents. You can use a space workflow to centrally manage your documentation process in a space.
Apply a space workflow
The space administrator permission can make a workflow active in the app space settings.
Open the app space settings by choosing
Space settings>App links>Comala Document Management
In the app space settings, the current workflows listed are available to add and apply to your documents.
You can make a workflow active in the space by moving the grey slider for the workflow to the right. The slider turns blue when the workflow is active
this active space workflow is added and applied to all documents in the current space
the space workflow overrides any previously applied page workflows
you can also initialize the applied workflow state on all the documents
A workflow cannot be added to a space homepage. Confluence Cloud does not allow certain properties, such as the workflow content byline, to be added to the homepage.
The space administrator can also choose to enable the Remove Restrictions setting for the space. This removes the page-level view and edit restrictions on a document on a workflow transition to its final state.
When there is no active space workflow in the space, a space administrator can choose to add a space workflow using the options on a page:
The on-page options are only available when
a page workflow is not added to the page
a space workflow is not active in the app space settings
Apply a space workflow using the page workflow byline breadcrumb
Only available on a page when there is no added page workflow on the page or active space workflow.
On a page or blog post
choose the Add Workflow byline breadcrumb in the content sub-title
select Add Workflow to this Space
Apply a space workflow using the page tools menu option
Only available on a page when there is no added page workflow on the page or active space workflow.
On a page
open the page tools menu
choose Add Page Workflow
In the Add workflow dialog box
select the right-hand option
choose Next to open the space document management dashboard
Activate multiple space workflows and apply them based on labels
A space administrator can activate multiple workflows in the app space settings and apply them conditionally using labels.
Multiple active workflows: You can enable more than one workflow at the same time.
Label-based workflow application: Each workflow can be assigned one or more content labels, ensuring it applies only to documents with at least one of these labels. You can also exclude labels to apply the workflow to documents without those labels.
Priority order: Workflows are applied in the order defined in the app space settings, following their label conditions.
A workflow without conditions applies immediately.
A workflow with conditions applies only if the conditions are met.
Once a workflow is applied, no further workflows are checked.
The order in the list determines priority. A workflow appearing later in the list won’t override an earlier one, even if it has a label. The first matching workflow in the list is applied to avoid confusion.
This lets you manage different documentation processes within the same space. Each workflow is applied automatically, enhancing efficiency and compliance by minimizing manual selection.
Multiple active workflows
When multiple workflows are made active in the app space settings, each workflow is applied in the order defined in the app space settings and subject to any label conditions.
Only one workflow can be applied to a document. The first listed workflow in the app space settings that meets the page's conditions is applied.
The workflow is applied to all pages by default if no label condition is set.
Once an active workflow is applied to a page, other active workflows are ignored, even if they match the page's conditions.
Here’s how it works:
Space administrator enables multiple workflows in the app space settings.
The workflows are applied based on the order specified in the settings. For example, as shown in the screenshot above, workflows are applied in the following order:
‘A Simple Approval Workflow’ is applied to all documents with the label simple.
The ‘Basic Approval Workflow’ with no label condition is applied to all other documents in the space.
Workflows are ordered alphabetically in the app space settings
Since workflows are ordered alphabetically by workflow name, a space administrator can control the order in which active workflows are applied by using a naming convention in the app space settings. For example, you can use prefixes to control the order, such as 01_Review Process and 02_Approval Flow.
If a document does not meet the conditions for an active workflow, no workflow is applied, and a No Applicable Workflow byline is displayed on the page or blog post.
All documents in the space are displayed, but if no active workflow is applied, the report displays no workflow name for the listed document and a Status of Not Initialized.
Create a workflow conditioned by labels
A space administrator can condition a space workflow's application to documents based on the Confluence content labels. These labels act as filters, ensuring that the active space workflow is applied only to documents that meet the label conditions.
Label conditions can be used to apply a workflow to documents:
with at least one of the specified labels
without any of the specified labels
Add workflow labels
Labels are used to determine which workflows apply to specific pages. The space administrator can use the visual editor to add one or more labels to a custom workflow to the Labels option.
To add labels to your workflow,
Open the required custom workflow from space settings and click Edit workflow.
Under the Labels options, add the required labels.
The labels added to the workflow condition are displayed in the app space settings.
When you add more than one label to the workflow, the active workflow applies to any document with at least one specified label, subject to the workflow order.
Exclude labels
You can apply the workflow to any document without specified labels by checking the Exclude labels option.
When you check the Exclude labels option, the added labels are displayed in red in the visual editor and for the saved workflow in the app space settings. When active, the workflow with the labels excluded condition is applied to any document without any specified labels, subject to the workflow order.
Add sticky labels
Sticky Labels improves label management by introducing a mechanism to ensure that essential labels remain consistently applied to a workflow.
Adding sticky labels to your workflow allows only admins to remove any workflow labels, ensuring better control and stability of the applied workflows.
The system automatically prevents non-admins from attempting to remove a sticky label. However, non-admin users can still manage regular labels.
To add sticky labels,
Open the required custom workflow from space settings and click Edit workflow.
Under Advanced options, add the required sticky labels.
Bulk apply workflows
In Comala Document Management, some pages or blog posts might not appear in the Document Report if they haven't been initialized with a workflow state. Administrators can Bulk Apply Workflows to scan all pages and blog posts in a space, apply the appropriate workflow, and initialize their workflow status, making them visible in the Document Report.
You must have Space Administrator permissions to access and use this feature.
Steps to bulk apply workflows
Log in to your Confluence space and open Space Settings.
Under App links, click Comala Document Management.
In the App links page, click the More icon and select Apply workflow updates. This action will apply all the current space-level workflows to all uninitialized documents in the space.
Once the process is complete, click Done.
All documents will now appear correctly in the Document Report.
