--- title: "Workflow designer in Document360" slug: "workflow-designer" description: "Workflow designer feature helps project team members to create and maintain a step-by-step stage for any new or existing documentation. This makes collaboration easier between the writers, editors, illustrators, subject matter experts, and other project team members." tags: ["Review", "Workflow"] updated: 2026-07-10T06:39:06Z published: 2026-07-10T06:39:06Z canonical: "docs.document360.com/workflow-designer" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.document360.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Workflow designer A workflow in Document360 is a structured process for creating, editing, reviewing, and publishing articles or category pages. It enables teams to establish clear stages in the documentation cycle and ensures that content moves through a consistent, accountable process before it is published. The Workflow designer is where admins and project owners define the stages in this process, adding custom statuses, configuring assignees, setting read-only restrictions, and reordering the workflow to match their team's requirements. --- ## When to use the Workflow designer Use the Workflow designer when: - Your team needs a multi-stage review process before articles are published, for example Draft > Peer Review > SME Review > Published. - You want to automatically assign articles to specific users or user groups when they enter a particular workflow stage. - You need to restrict editing on articles at certain stages to maintain content integrity during review. - You are setting up a new project and want to define a documentation workflow that fits your team's structure. --- ## Access the Workflow designer 1. Navigate to **Settings** () in the left navigation bar. 2. Select **Knowledge base portal** > **Workflow designer** in the left navigation pane. The Workflow designer page displays the existing workflow, including the built-in system statuses **Draft** and **Published**, and any custom statuses you have created. ![Workflow designer page showing the default workflow with Draft and Published system statuses](https://cdn.document360.io/860f9f88-412e-4570-8222-d5bf2f4b7dd1/Images/Documentation/Workflow%20designer.png) --- ## Workflow status types | Type | Description | | --- | --- | | **System status** | Predefined statuses: **Draft** (start) and **Published** (end). Cannot be deleted or reordered. | | **Custom status** | User-defined statuses you create between Draft and Published to match your team's review process, for example Peer review, SME review, or Legal review. Can be created, edited, reordered, and deleted at any time. | --- ## Add a workflow status 1. On the **Workflow designer** page, click **Create workflow status** in the top-right corner. Alternatively, click the **(+)** button between existing statuses to insert a status at a specific position. ![Workflow designer showing the Create workflow status button and the + button between statuses](https://cdn.document360.io/860f9f88-412e-4570-8222-d5bf2f4b7dd1/Images/Documentation/image-1768534852109.png) 1. Enter a **Name** (required) and **Description** (optional) for the status. 2. Optionally, use **Auto assign to** to automatically assign users or user groups when an article enters this status. You can configure up to 20 assignees per status, as a combined total of individual users and user groups. NOTE When an article transitions to this status, the configured auto assignees are applied automatically. Additional assignees can be added or removed at the article level without affecting the Workflow designer configuration. Assigned users see the article on their Tasks page. 1. Turn on the **Read-only** toggle if you want to prevent team members from editing or publishing articles while they are in this status. NOTE When **Read-only** is enabled, team members cannot edit the article content or publish it while it is in this workflow status. 1. Turn on the **Make comment mandatory** toggle if you want to require users to enter a comment whenever an article is moved to this workflow status or published through it. NOTE - When **Make comment mandatory** is enabled, users cannot publish an article or move it to this status without entering a comment. The comment is stored as part of the version metadata and is available in the version history on the Knowledge base site and in PDF exports. This setting cannot be overridden at the article level. - For the **Draft** status, the mandatory comment check is applied only when an article is moved from another workflow status to **Draft**. It does not apply when a new article or a new version is created. 1. Click **Add**. ![Create workflow status dialog showing Name, Description, Auto assign to, and Read-only fields](https://cdn.document360.io/860f9f88-412e-4570-8222-d5bf2f4b7dd1/Images/Documentation/create%20workflow%20status.png) --- ## Manage workflow statuses Once a custom status is created, you can edit, reorder, or delete it from the **Workflow designer** page. ![Workflow designer page showing edit, reorder, and delete options on a custom status](https://cdn.document360.io/860f9f88-412e-4570-8222-d5bf2f4b7dd1/Images/Documentation/manage%20workflow%20status.png) - **Edit:** Hover over the status and click the **Edit** () icon. Update the **Name**, **Description**, **Auto assign to**, **Read-only**, or **Make comment mandatory** setting as needed, then click **Update**. - **Reorder:** Drag a status to a new position using the **Reorder** () handle on the left. System statuses (Draft and Published) cannot be reordered. - **Delete:** Hover over the status and click the **Delete** () icon, then click **Yes** to confirm. CAUTION A deleted workflow status cannot be recovered. All due dates and assignee data associated with that status will also be lost. --- ## Troubleshooting ### Cannot edit article — read-only workflow status **Error:** You can't edit this article as the current workflow status is marked as read-only. This error appears when an article is in a custom workflow status with the Read-only toggle enabled. To resolve: 1. Navigate to **Settings** () > **Knowledge base portal** > **Workflow designer**. 2. Locate the status with the lock icon. This indicates Read-only is enabled. 3. Click the **Edit** () icon and turn off the **Read-only** toggle. 4. Click **Update**. If you do not have the appropriate permissions, contact your project admin. --- ## Best practices - Design your workflow before you start publishing. Map out your team's review stages before creating custom statuses. Changing the workflow mid-project can disrupt articles already in progress. - Use Auto assign for predictable review stages. If the same person always handles SME review, configure them as the auto assignee for that status. This reduces manual handoff steps and ensures no article gets stuck. - Keep the workflow lean. A shorter workflow with fewer stages is easier for the team to follow. Add stages only when they represent a meaningful checkpoint with a distinct owner or action. - Use Read-only for approval stages. Enable Read-only on statuses such as "SME Review" or "Final Approval" to prevent accidental edits while the article is being reviewed. - Communicate status changes to your team. When you add, rename, or delete a workflow status, inform your team so they understand what each stage means and what action is expected from them. --- ## FAQ **Can I delete a system status like Draft or Published?** No. System statuses, Draft and Published, are predefined and cannot be deleted or reordered. Only custom statuses can be deleted. **What happens to articles currently in a workflow status if I delete that status?** The status is removed from the workflow entirely. All due dates and assignee data associated with that status are lost and cannot be recovered. Articles that were in the deleted status will need their workflow status updated manually. **If I update the Auto assign to configuration, does it apply to articles already in that status?** No. Changes to the Auto assign to setting in the Workflow designer only apply when an article transitions into that status. Articles already in that status are not retroactively updated. **How many assignees can I configure per workflow status?** You can configure up to 20 assignees per workflow status. This limit applies to the combined total of individual users and user groups. At the article level, you can manually add any number of assignees. **Can I reorder system workflow statuses?** No. System statuses, Draft (start) and Published (end), are fixed in position and cannot be reordered. Only custom statuses can be reordered.