Contents
- The comparison: writing a letter
- The four states of a version
- The three buttons that matter
- Approvals
- Why this is good news
- Common surprises
The comparison: writing a letter
You write a letter on a fresh sheet of paper, read it over, and only then put it in the envelope. Until you post it, nobody else reads it, and the last letter you sent stays in the recipient's drawer. Exponential works the same way: pressing Edit gives you a fresh sheet (a draft), and the site keeps showing the last published version until you press Send for publishing. The old version goes into a drawer (it is archived), and you can take it out again (Publishing, versions and the trash).
The four states of a version
| State | In the letter comparison | Who sees it |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | The letter you are writing | Only you |
| Pending | The letter is waiting for a colleague's signature | You and the approver |
| Published | The letter that was sent | Everybody who may see that page |
| Archived | Earlier letters in the drawer | Editors, under Manage versions |
An item has exactly one published version at a time. A site keeps a limited number of old versions per item; when the limit is reached, the oldest archived version is removed to make room (Publishing, versions and the trash).
The three buttons that matter
At the top of the edit form:
| Button | Means |
|---|---|
| Send for publishing | Post the letter: the draft becomes the published version |
| Store draft and exit | Put the unfinished letter in your desk; continue later from My drafts on the dashboard |
| Discard draft | Tear up the sheet; the published version stays exactly as it was |
The draft is saved automatically every few minutes while you work, so a closed browser tab costs little (The edit form).
Approvals
Some sites require that a second person approves before something goes live. Then Send for publishing makes your version pending, and it is published when the approver agrees. You find your waiting versions under My pending items (How do I send content for approval?). Whether your site has approvals, and for which parts, is decided by your administrator.
Why this is good news
- You can practice safely: open Edit, try things, press Discard draft. Nothing happened.
- You can work in pieces: start today, finish tomorrow.
- You can go back: an older version can be turned into a new draft and published again (Undoing a mistake).
- You can see who changed what, because every version carries its author and time (How do I find out who changed what?).
Common surprises
| Surprise | Explanation |
|---|---|
| "I changed it, but the site shows the old text" | The draft was stored, not published; look in My drafts. Or a cache still shows the old page (Caches explained). |
| "It says Possible edit conflict" | You or a colleague already has a draft of this item (When someone else is editing). |
| "I cannot publish, the form comes back red" | A required field is empty or wrong; the message says which. |
| "My new item vanished" | A new item whose draft is discarded is never created. Start again. |
Related pages
- Words explained
- Changing a page
- Publishing, versions and the trash
- Drafts, versions and undo
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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