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Edition Lifecycle Walkthrough

This tutorial walks through every state an edition can be in, what triggers each transition, who can take action, and how to handle edge cases like rejected submissions and re-opened editions.

The edition status machine​

Created
  └─► Draft
        └─► Submitted
              ├─► In review
              │     ├─► Changes requested ──► [Contributor edits] ──► Submitted
              │     └─► Approved
              │             └─► Closed
              └─► [Recalled by contributor] ──► Draft

Status reference​

StatusWho can editWho can approveDescription
DraftContributors—Edition created, data entry in progress.
Submitted—ReviewersSubmitted for review, data locked for contributors.
In review—ReviewersA reviewer has opened the edition.
Changes requestedContributors—Reviewer requested corrections — edition re-opened for editing.
Approved——All required reviewers approved. Ready to generate output.
Closed——Output published and finalised. No further changes.

Phase 1 — Draft​

Creating the edition​

  1. Go to Editions → + New Edition.
  2. Select the blueprint and fill in edition settings (name, reporting period, dates, assignees).
  3. Click Create Edition — status is Draft.

What contributors can do in Draft​

  • Fill in any field in any section.
  • Save without submitting (auto-saved every 30 seconds).
  • Add, edit, and delete repeating rows.
  • Upload attachments.
  • Use Copy from Prior to pre-populate sections.

What contributors cannot do in Draft​

  • Generate an output (requires Approved status).
  • Approve or reject (that is the reviewer's role).

Saving vs submitting​

Save preserves work without changing status — the edition remains Draft. Use it freely during data entry.

Submit for review moves the edition to Submitted and notifies reviewers. Data becomes read-only for contributors immediately.

tip

Use Save early and often. Contributors regularly lose work by closing a browser tab before saving. Auto-save runs every 30 seconds, but explicit saves are immediate.

Phase 2 — Submitted​

Submitting the edition​

  1. Verify all required sections are complete (green ticks in section nav).
  2. Click Submit for review.
  3. Status moves to Submitted — data is immediately locked.
  4. All assigned reviewers receive a notification.

What reviewers can do in Submitted​

  • Open the edition to begin review.
  • Raise field-level, section-level, or edition-level comments.
  • Approve or request changes.

What contributors can do in Submitted​

  • View the edition (read-only).
  • View reviewer comments as they are raised.
  • Recall the edition (return to Draft) — available until a reviewer opens it.

Recall: returning to Draft before review starts​

If you submitted with an error and review has not yet started:

  1. Click Recall submission on the edition.
  2. Status returns to Draft.
  3. Reviewers receive a notification that the submission was recalled.
  4. Make corrections and resubmit.
note

Recall is only available while the edition status is Submitted. Once a reviewer opens the edition and it moves to In review, recall is no longer available — the reviewer must select "Request changes" instead.

Phase 3 — In Review​

When a reviewer opens the edition​

The status moves from Submitted to In review the moment a reviewer opens the edition. This signals to other reviewers that review is underway.

Reviewer actions​

Raise a comment:

  1. Click the comment icon next to any field (field-level) or the comment button in a section header (section-level).
  2. Write the comment — tag other reviewers with @mention if needed.
  3. Click Add comment.

Comments are immediately visible to contributors (read-only) and all other reviewers.

Resolve a comment: Click Resolve on any comment you are satisfied with. Resolved comments are archived in the activity log but remain visible.

Approve: Click Approve — the edition status moves to Approved. All contributors and the report owner receive a notification.

Request changes: Click Request changes — the edition returns to Changes requested status and contributors can edit again.

Phase 4 — Changes Requested​

What happens when changes are requested​

  1. Edition status changes to Changes requested.
  2. Contributors receive a notification with the count of open comments.
  3. The edition becomes editable for contributors again.

How contributors respond​

  1. Open the edition — the Review comments panel shows all open comments.
  2. Click on a comment to navigate to the relevant field or section.
  3. Update the field or row.
  4. Reply to the comment: write your response and click Reply.
  5. When all issues are addressed, click Resubmit.
caution

Do not click Resubmit until all open comments have been addressed. Reviewers can see which comments have replies and which are still silent.

Multiple rounds of review​

Changes requested → Resubmit → In review can repeat multiple times. Each round is tracked in the activity log with timestamps and who took each action. There is no maximum number of rounds.

For long review cycles:

  • Contributors should reply to every comment, even if just to confirm the update.
  • Reviewers should use Resolve to close comments they are satisfied with.
  • The report owner can see the comment count to gauge progress.

Phase 5 — Approved​

What approved means​

All required reviewers have clicked Approve. The edition data is locked permanently.

What you can do in Approved status​

  • Generate the output: Click Generate output on the edition — select an output template and Report Forge renders the report.
  • Preview the output: Click Preview output to see a draft render.
  • Export: Download PDF, Excel, Word, or CSV from the output viewer.
  • Close the edition: After publishing, click Close to move the edition to Closed status.

Output generation​

See Design Your First Output and Publish and Export for the full output workflow.

Phase 6 — Closed​

Closing an edition signals that the reporting cycle is complete and the output has been published.

What closed means​

  • The edition is read-only for all users.
  • Output generation is still available (you can regenerate for archival purposes).
  • The edition is included in historical comparisons and lookup field resolution.

Who can close an edition​

Project Admins and Report Owners can close an approved edition.

Re-opening a closed edition​

Closed editions can be re-opened to Approved status by a Project Admin in exceptional circumstances (e.g. a material error is discovered after publication). This creates an audit trail entry.

caution

Re-opening a closed edition should be rare. The preferred approach for corrections in a subsequent period is a correcting narrative in the next edition, not re-opening a closed one.

Edge cases​

Reviewer added after submission​

If a new reviewer is added while the edition is In review or Changes requested, they receive a notification and can immediately participate in the review.

Multiple reviewers — all must approve​

If the blueprint requires all reviewers to approve, the edition status remains In review until every reviewer has clicked Approve. Each reviewer's decision is tracked individually.

Multiple reviewers — first to approve​

If the blueprint is configured for first-reviewer approval, the first Approve click moves the edition to Approved. Other reviewers are notified.

Report owner vs reviewer​

The report owner can observe the edition lifecycle but cannot approve unless they are also listed as a reviewer. Report owners can recall editions, add reviewers, and close approved editions.

Audit log for edition lifecycle​

Every status change, comment, reply, and approval is recorded in the edition audit log. To view it:

  1. Open the edition.
  2. Click Activity log in the right panel.
  3. Filter by Status changes, Comments, or All activity.

The log is read-only and cannot be edited or deleted.