AEM 6.1 Request for Activation process

[neilw26664543]

I wish to configure my AEM 6.1 SP2 CFP-12 author instance, so that all activation requests made by content authors invoke a workflow so that the content change is approved by a content administrator before activation.

I have read a number of articles, (which seem to apply specifically to CQ 5.x) that say to remove replication permissions from the author, and this will automatically invoke the "request for application workflow"

My first query is that in 6.1, removing replication permissions from the author, completely disables the activate & deactivate buttons, and the author now has to select the "request for activation" from the workflow dialog.  Is this expected behavior in 6.1?  Or should thye be able to click the activate / deactivate buttons if the instance is configured correctly?

My final question is, can I override / replace the default request for activation workflow with a different workflow with an approval step?  I am aware that if I update the OOTB workflow, this may cause issues in future releases. 

Any examples would be appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

[rmahendra]

Yes. It is the expected behavior when you remove replicate permission.  "Request for Activation" workflow will be called when you publish a page.
For your second question, if you are starting a workflow from the create workflow dialog, then you can create a custom workflow with the approval step and trigger that.

[neilw26664543]

Hi.  Thanks for your reply, However I am still unclear...  Are you saying that in AEM 6.1 I should still be able to select either the "Activate" or "Activate Later" options?  Which should automatically call the "Request for activation" workflow ? Because at the moment, the only way I can do this is to specifically select the "Request for activation" from the workflow dialog.

Many thanks

[Jörg_Hoh · Accepted solution]

Hi,

the disabling of the buttons is a UI "feature". The servlet behind it ("/bin/replicate") is able to deal with a user having replicate permission (direct replication) or not. In the second case the "Request for Activation" workflow is called (sadly it's hardcoded).

So if you want to avoid creating multiple overlays to overcome this limitation, you should adjust the default workflow.