Collaborate with coworkers

Manage workflows

Use workflows to assign content items to team members, work together smoothly, and manage content easily with a Kanban board, commenting, and notifications.

Workflow stage

A workflow is the lifecycle of a content item from its creation until it's done and ready to be published. Explore the below workflow stages to leverage its power in Prepr.

workflow stages

To do

When you create a new content item, it is first set to the To do stage. This means that you have yet to start work on this content item. To do content items are typically items in which raw text has been entered with many missing fields.

In progress

The moment the content item is further compiled by you or your team, the stage is updated to In progress. The content item is built and all fields are now filled with the correct content. You can save content items in this stage, even if required fields have not been entered.

Review

When the content item is almost finished and needs a final check, set the workflow stage to Review. If someone else has to review your work, you can assign this content item to someone else. You can save content items in this stage, even if required fields have not been entered.

Done

The content item is finished and does not need any further adjustments. The content is set to Done automatically when the content item is published. Check out the Manage content items doc for more details. You can only save content items in the stage Done if all required fields have been entered.

Note

If you schedule a content item, make sure the workflow stage is set to Done if you want it to be published automatically on the Publish on date.

Archived

A content is automatically Archived when the Unpublish on date and time is set on the content item and has been reached.

Note

The workflow stage does not necessarily indicate that a content item has been published or not. You can easily see if a content item has been published at the top of the content item sidebar. Check out the Manage content items doc for more details.

Assignees

You can assign content items to a user and filter the content item list by assignee, making it easier to focus on the items you need to work on. To assign a content item, or change the assignee, choose Assignee in the content item sidebar. You can assign the content item to yourself or to another user.

assignees

To get a clear overview of all content items that have been assigned to a specific user, you can filter the content item list by the assignee. Click on the user for whom you want to see all content items. Select Assigned to me if you want to see all content items that you have to work on.

Commenting

To make internal comments on a content item, you can use the comment section in the content item sidebar. You can notify other users by mentioning them in your comment. This can be useful when they need to review your content item first.

commenting

To send a notification, type @ and the name of your co-worker. Then, click the Add comment button to add your note to the content item.

mentions

Your co-worker will receive a notification in Prepr, at the top of the screen, as well as an email (within a few minutes) with a link to the right content item.

Kanban view

At the top right of the content item list, switch from the List view to the Kanban view. Here you can see the content items by each of the workflow stages. In this view, you can easily drag and drop a content item to update the stage.

kanban view

Notifications

When you assign a content item to someone else or mention them in a comment, they will receive a notification in Prepr at the top of their screen and a Prepr notification by email within a few minutes. The link in the email will lead them directly to the right content item.

notifications

When another Prepr user starts working in the same content item as you, this will be visible above the save button.

collaborators

Automate workflows

The automation tool allows you to let Prepr perform tasks for you fully automated. You can set up an automation by selecting a certain task and a certain trigger. This means you don't have to do work twice if you work routinely. This tool will optimize your workflow in no time.

Use cases for automations

Here are a few common use cases for automations:

  • Each new article in your Prepr production environment needs to be created (duplicated) in your Prepr development environment;

  • A tweet or a notification must be created and published when someone added an article;

  • A post needs to be assigned to the chief editor when the stage of this post is in Review;

  • A page should be deleted when it's expired.

Add an automation

To create an automation, go to Settings > Automations and click Add automation. After that, just click through the three-step wizard.

1. If

First, select the event that triggers the automation. Select the model to which the automation should apply and choose Created, Changed, or Published.

if

2. Where

You can now filter on properties and conditions. Properties are characteristics of the content item, such as Workflow stage, Locale, and the available model fields.

where

Available properties and conditions:

Property
Condition
Workflow stageSelect one of the available stages: Done, Review, In progress, To do, or Archived.
LocaleAll available locales in your Prepr environment Only visible when multiple locales are set in your environment.
Text fieldLeave empty when input is required. Enter a text field value when the value should match exactly.
List fieldSelect one of the list items.
Boolean fieldChoose true or false condition.
Number fieldLeave empty when input is required. Enter a number (integer or float) when the value should match exactly.

3. Then

At last, determine what should happen when this trigger is started. Choose to create a new content item, update the content item or delete that content item.

Create a new content item

You need to specify the properties of the new content item:

  • Select the model of the new content item to be created (required)
  • Set the Workflow stage (required)
  • Choose the Assignee (optional, leave empty for unassigned)
  • Link (optional, only visible when the original content item contains a content reference)

create a new content item

In most cases, your different models also consist of different field names. After you have specified the properties, you can map the fields from the original content item with the fields in the new content item. You can only map fields with the same field type. So for example a text to a text field, an asset to asset, list to list, and boolean to boolean.

create content item

If you have user permissions to multiple Prepr environments, you can also choose to create a content item in a second Prepr environment.

Note

When you choose to create a new content item in a different environment, the assets won't be added to that environment. You should add the asset in the duplicated content item manually.

Update content item

You can also choose to update the content item when the automation triggers. Use this automation, for example, to automatically assign a content item when the stage is set to Review.

update content item

Delete content item

The third option is to delete the content item when the automation triggers. This can be useful if you want to delete a content item after it has expired.

4. Test your automation

It is now time to test your automation. There are two outcomes:

Test succeeded

When the automation test succeeds, you will see one of the following messages:

  • Create a content item: Content item has been created. Go to content item
  • Update content item: Content item has been updated. Go to content item
  • Delete content item: Content item should have been deleted.

Test failed

When the automation test fails, you'll see the message Automation test failed. Check results. Click the link to see an overview on which properties or conditions the automation failed like in the image below.

test failed

Click Edit to adjust the rule and run the test again.

Update an existing automation

To change an automation, go to the detail page of that workflow. Click Edit to change the If, Where, or Then. Save the changes and test your custom automation again.

Activate and deactivate automations

When you create an automation, the default status of this automation is inactive. To activate the automation, you need to enable the Active toggle. Save the automation for it to take effect immediately.

To temporarily or permanently inactivate an automation, disable the Active toggle and save the automation. From that moment on, the automation is no longer called and therefore no longer takes effect.

Delete automations

Delete an automation with one of the following actions:

  • Click and choose Delete in the automation list view.
  • Open the automation and click the Delete button to delete it in the automation detail page.