Assign, Switch, and Disable a Workflow

Scroll Documents comes with two bundled workflows that can be enabled for an entire document. When a workflow is assigned, it applies to all pages in all versions of the document, with the exception of published versions. This ensures that all content in a document follows a structured review and approval process.

When a workflow is first assigned and the changes are saved, Scroll Documents automatically applies the Approved status to all pages in all versions.

If you want to set pages to a different workflow status—either in a single version or across all versions—you can bulk transition them using the Workflow Report.

Prerequsites

Before you can assign, switch, or disable a workflow, make sure you have the necessary permissions, see: Assign the Required Permissions

No notifications are triggered when you assign, switch, or disable a workflow.

Assign a Workflow

To assign a workflow to a document:

1. Open the Document Manager.

2. Select Manage > Workflows.

3. Choose a workflow from the available options.

4. Click Assign workflow.

Available Workflows

When assigning a workflow, you can choose from the following options:

No Workflow

Pages do not have a workflow status. Whenever a version is saved or published, all of its pages are copied with their current content.

Simple Workflow

The Simple Workflow only differentiates between two statuses and is useful when authoring alone or with a small team:

• Draft: The initial status for newly created pages.

• Approved: The final status, indicating that the content is complete.

Setting a page to Draft before publishing or Saving a version is an easy way to postpone certain changes to a later version.

Approval Workflow

The Approval Workflow is particularly useful when documentation requires a structured review process. Authors can submit drafts for review, and editors or subject matter experts can either approve the content or request further revisions:

• Draft: The initial status for new content.

• In Review: An intermediate status where a subject matter expert or documentation editor can review the content.

• Approved: The final status, indicating that the content is complete and reviewed.

Switch Workflows

If a document already has a workflow assigned and you need to switch, for example, from the Simple Workflow to the Approval Workflow, this can be done in the Workflow section:

1. Navigate to the Document Manager

2. Select Manage > Workflows.

3. Select the desired workflow from the workflow selection dropdown.

4. A preview of the changes to existing workflow statuses in your document is shown at the bottom. Review them carefully before applying.

   • To learn more how workflows statuses are mapped, scroll down to: How workflow statuses are mapped when switching ⬇️

5. Click Switch Workflow.

How workflow statuses are mapped when switching

When switching from one workflow to another, statuses will be remapped as follows:

• Draft pages remain Draft pages.

• Approved pages remain Approved pages.

• When switching from the Approval Workflow to the Simple Workflow, pages in In Review will be transitioned back to Draft since the In Review status does not exist in the Simple Workflow.

To keep in mind:

• When selecting a different workflow in the Workflow section, a preview of what will happen to existing workflow statuses in your document is displayed at the bottom. Review these changes carefully before you click Switch Workflow. This will apply the workflow switch to all pages in the document.
  

• Switching from the Simple Workflow to the Approval Workflow does not cause information loss. However, when switching from the Approval Workflow to the Simple Workflow, any pages currently in In Review will be grouped together with Draft pages, as the Simple Workflow does not include an In Review status.

Disable Workflows

If a workflow is currently assigned to a document, you can disable it. To do so:

1. Navigate to the Document Manager.

2. Select Manage > Workflows.

3. Choose No Workflow from the workflow selection dropdown.

4. Click Disable Workflow.

Disabling the workflow will remove page-level workflow management for the document and erase all workflow statuses from pages within it. This operation cannot be undone, so only disable workflows if you are sure you will not need these statuses in the future.