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Common content & model publishing workflows

Omni offers flexible workflows for drafting, reviewing, and publishing changes to documents and the models that back them. Whether you’re fixing a typo, rolling out coordinated dashboard updates, or making sure content stays in sync with model or database changes, drafts and branches give you the control you need.

This guide walks through some common scenarios - ranging from quick edits to large, coordinated updates - so you can choose the right workflow for the job.

Requirements​

To follow this guide, you should be familiar with how drafts and branches work in Omni. Refer to the Editing & publishing content guide for a general overview of both features.

Applying small changes to one document​

Sometimes you just need to fix something quickly, such as correcting a typo, adding context to a chart, or renaming a query. For these lightweight edits, drafts are the simplest way forward. Anyone with Editor permissions or higher can create a draft, make the change, and publish when it’s ready.

Publishing multiple documents​

When you’re rolling out a set of related changes across multiple documents, it’s often best to group them together. For example, you might be updating a set of dashboards to reflect a new metric definition or aligning terminology across several reports. In these cases, branches let you bundle drafts and publish them all at once for a smooth, coordinated release. Here's how to do it:

  1. Create a new branch.
  2. Update documents as needed, ensuring that drafts are attached to the branch.
  3. Merge the branch, which will publish all attached drafts at the same time.
Using git & pull requests?

Currently, pull requests can only be created from Omni if a branch includes a model change. If you're using the git integration and the Pull requests required setting is enabled, use following steps to enable the pull request flow in Omni:

  1. Navigate to the model IDE.
  2. Add a whitespace to the model file.

Coordinating content with model changes​

If your model changes, your content often needs to change with it. For example, you might rename a field in the model or restructure a view to improve performance.

Using a branch ensures model changes and content updates happen together. Including the Content Validator in your workflow will help catch any issues, so you can feel confident that everything will work as expected when you publish. Here's how to do it:

  1. Create a new branch.
  2. Make the changes to the model.
  3. Use the Content Validator while in the branch to identify content issues.
  4. Update the content as needed, ensuring that drafts are attached to the branch.
  5. Recheck the Content Validator to verify your content is error-free.
  6. Merge the branch, which will promote the model changes and publish the documents.

Coordinating content with database changes​

When the source database changes, Omni’s model and content may need to be modified to accommodate the updates. For instance, maybe a table is renamed, or new columns are added to a key dataset.

By creating a branch and running a schema refresh, you can safely update the model, validate impacted content, and publish once everything is aligned with the new database structure. Here's how:

  1. Create a new branch.
  2. In the model IDE, trigger a schema refresh.
  3. Update the model as needed.
  4. Use the Content Validator to identify content issues created as a result of the database changes.
  5. Update the content as needed, ensuring that drafts are attached to the branch.
  6. Re-check the Content Validator to verify your content is error-free.
  7. Merge the branch, which will promote the model changes and publish the documents.

Approving changes in Omni before publishing​

Omni doesn’t yet support a built-in approval workflow, but you can still use existing functionality to manage quality and oversight. We recommend using:

Testing changes in an embedded context​

If you’re embedding Omni and want to test updates before pushing them to production, a copy-based workflow is currently the best option. For example, you can duplicate a document in a draft, try out your changes in the embedded environment, and then apply updates to the original once you’re confident everything works. Here's how to do it, step by step:

  1. In a draft, use File > Save As to create a copy of the document.
  2. Use the copy of the document to test the changes.
  3. If needed, update the original document.
  4. Publish the draft of the original document.