Publishing vs. Draft Documents
Why Publishing vs. Draft Documents
CalmCompliance gives you control over when document updates go live. Published versions are immediately visible to everyone who can access the document. Draft versions let you prepare updates privately, gather feedback, and refine changes before sharing them with your team. Use drafts when you need collaboration or review before going live; publish directly for small corrections or urgent updates. Drafts are only visible to users with Manager or Admin roles for Documents—regular users continue to see the current published version until you publish.
How to Create a Draft
Open the document you want to update
Click Upload New Version
Select Draft as the version type
Upload your updated PDF file
Click Upload
The draft is saved but doesn't replace the current published version. Only Managers and Admins can see that a draft exists.
How to Publish a Draft
Open the document with the draft
Click Publish Draft
If this is the first time the document is being published, enter the starting version numbers in the First Version section (Major and Minor). For later publishes, choose Version Type: Minor or Major.
Add a Change Description (required)
If no approval policy is required, a Request Approval toggle appears. Enable it if you want someone to review the draft before it goes live. When enabled, click Next to advance to the Select Approver step and choose a user or group.
Click Publish Now (or Request Approval if approval is enabled)
If no approval workflow or one-off request is active, the draft immediately becomes the current version. If the document has an approval workflow, the draft is sent to approvers and publishes automatically once approved. If you submitted a one-off approval request and it is still pending, you can cancel the request to return the draft to an editable state.
Common Questions
Can regular users see drafts? No. Only users with the Manager or Admin role for Documents can see that a draft exists. Regular users (Member access) continue to see the current published version.
Can I have multiple drafts for one document? No. You can only have one draft at a time. Replace the existing draft by uploading a new draft version, or publish the current draft first, then create a new draft.
What happens if I publish a draft but it needs approval? The draft is sent to approvers and doesn't immediately become current. Once all approvals are complete, it publishes automatically. If you need to withdraw the request while it is still pending, open the document and click Cancel Approval in the page header. The draft returns to an editable state and Publish Draft becomes available again.
Can I discard a draft without publishing? It depends on whether the document already has a published version.
If the document has a published version, you can discard the draft to remove it and keep the current published version unchanged.
If the document has never been published, the Discard Draft button is hidden and you cannot discard the only draft. Instead, delete the whole document. See Managing Your Document Library for how to delete a document.
Who can cancel a pending approval request? Only the person who originally submitted the request can cancel it, and they must still have permission to add document versions.
Where can I see cancelled approval workflows? Cancelled workflows appear in the document's approval history. Open the document, click Manage in the header, then open the Approvals tab. The workflow shows a cancelled status with a timestamp. The audit log also records an Approval Cancelled event with the document name, version number, and optional reason.
When I compare a draft against the published version, do I need to save first? No. When you or other collaborators are actively editing the draft in the collaborative editor, the comparison reflects live changes without requiring a save first. The diff reads from the current editor state so reviewers can see the latest edits in real time.