Document drafts in Omni
What's a draft?
What's a draft?
A draft is an isolated copy of a document, including its workbook and dashboard or app. In a draft, you can make changes to the queries in the document, add visualizations, modify the presentation, and so on without impacting the live - or published - version of the document.
Why use drafts?
Why use drafts?
Incorporating drafts into your Omni workflow allows you to:
- Make incremental progress. With small, manageable goals, it’s easy to show progress without waiting for your work to be perfect.
- Explore without commitment. Whether you’re working solo or with a team, utilizing drafts lets you iterate on ideas without worrying about the final product.
- Increase your efficiency. Drafts enable you and your teammates to view each other’s changes and collaborate in a controlled environment, preventing overlap and ensuring that everyone’s contributions remain distinct.
Who can use drafts?
Who can use drafts?
Users with the ability to create documents can use drafts. The initial draft for a document is created when the document is saved.To access or publish drafts for other users’ documents, you’ll need permissions that allow you to edit the document.
Do drafts work with models and themes?
Do drafts work with models and themes?
No, models and themes don’t work with drafts.
- Workbook models - While you can make changes to a workbook model while in a draft, workbook model changes can only be promoted from the published version of a document. Refer to the Model management guide for more information about promoting model changes.
- Themes - Themes can only be managed from the published version of a document. The File > Theming option will be disabled while viewing a draft. Exit the draft to access and manage themes.
Can I start in a draft and move to a branch?
Can I start in a draft and move to a branch?
Yes! In a workbook, click File > Move to branch to move the current draft to an existing branch. Refer to the Branch mode guide for more information.You can also detach a draft from a branch if you change your mind. While in the branch, click File > Move to different branch > Detach from branch to detach the draft.
Opening and editing drafts
Analyses must be saved as documents before you can create a draft. To create or open a draft, click File > Edit or the Edit button in the top right corner of the document. If a document already has a draft, this opens the existing draft. Changes in a draft - including those to models, queries, and the dashboard or app - are only visible in the draft, meaning they won’t affect the published version of the document. This ensures that you can safely iterate without impacting those viewing the published document. Clicking Leave draft saves the changes made to the draft and opens the published version of the document.Collaborating in drafts
To collaborate efficiently, Omni recommends:- Ensuring only one user at a time edits a draft, which will reduce the likelihood of authors stepping on each other. This is because, currently, a document can only have one draft at a time, which means authors will ‘share’ the draft.
- Working small. Creating and publishing small changes allows you to work more quickly and make a document’s version history easier to follow.
Exploring documents without drafts
Sometimes, it can be useful to explore a document without creating a draft. For example, when multiple authors want to edit the same document. There are a few ways to create copies that will allow you to explore without overwriting changes in a draft:The ability to duplicate and create new explorations is controlled by the document’s settings and your organization’s content permissions.
Drafts and branches
Drafts can be added to or removed from branches at any time, giving you the flexibility to pick the best workflow as you go. Refer to the Common publishing workflows guide for example workflows.Viewing draft changes
Reverting to an older version of the current draft
To revert to an older version of the current draft:- While in the draft, open the History drawer.
- Open the draft’s changes.
- Hover over a change.
- Click the and select Restore as draft.
Archiving drafts
Archiving a draft allows you to remove an existing draft without deleting it. When a draft is archived, the draft is stored in a separate Archived drafts section of the History drawer:
Open the Archived section of the History drawer to a restore discarded draft
Restoring discarded drafts
Restoring an archived draft replaces the document’s active draft.
- Open the document’s Workbook.
- Click File > History or the History button in the rail.
- Expand Archived drafts.
- Click the Restore button next to the draft you want to restore.
- When prompted, confirm the restoration. If the document has an active draft, Omni prompts you to confirm replacing the active draft with the resotred draft.
Publishing drafts
When a draft is published, the changes in the draft replace the currently published version of the document. The published version of a document is read-only, but you can still drill down and use filters. To make changes to a document, open a draft of the document. You can restore a previously published version of a document from the History drawer. Refer to the Workbook documentation for more information.If publishing a draft would remove dashboard tiles that Restricted Queriers and Viewers can currently see in the published version, Omni shows a Publishing restricts access warning before you publish. Use the dialog to view each affected tab and the reason for the restriction, such a field outside the topic or a SQL-based tab. If the published version isn’t restricted today, the dialog also notes that this publish would be the first to restrict it.This check only applies to models with Restricted Querier or Viewer roles assigned. Publishing is not blocked by this warning.