Publish approval is a review step between editing and publishing a connection's configuration. When a connection owner switches it on, a draft is submitted for review and goes live only after an approver on each side has approved it.
The setting is per connection and off by default, so existing connections keep working as they do today.
Why does publish approval matter?
Publishing changes production, and a connection joins two systems that different people or companies run. Publish approval lets the people responsible for each side confirm what goes live there, and records every step in Activities.
Without it, anyone with access to a connection can change either side and publish straight to production. With it, each side has a named approver.
In Exalate Classic, each admin controlled one side by working in that side's own console. In New Exalate both sides work in one console, and publish approval gives each side the same last word: nothing goes live without its approver.
It applies to Conversation Mode too. Approvers review the rules, not the scripts.
How does publish approval work?
Publish approval follows four steps. The connection owner sets it up once, and then every change follows the same path.
- The owner switches on publish approval and ticks an approver for each side.
- Anyone with access edits a draft and selects Submit for review. A summary is required and a version name is optional.
- The approver for each side reads the differences, then selects Approve for {side} or Needs changes.
- When the last side approves, the version goes live. That button reads Approve and publish.
The review covers the draft of each direction, and both go live in the same step. Only one version can be in review at a time on a connection.
Needs changes sends the draft back to its author, clears every approval, and shows the note at the top of the draft. Submitting again starts a new cycle.
Who can do what?
| Action | Owner | Collaborator |
|---|---|---|
| Switch publish approval on or off | Yes | No |
| Choose who approves each side | Yes | No |
| See who approves each side | Yes | Yes |
| Submit a draft for review | Yes | Yes |
| Withdraw a submission | Only the person who submitted it | Only the person who submitted it |
| Approve or request changes for a side | If ticked as approver for that side | If ticked as approver for that side |
| Publish a draft directly | If approver on both sides | If approver on both sides |
An approver is an Owner or Collaborator who is ticked for a side. It isn't another role.
Where can you see what happened?
Every step of a review appears in the Activities tab: submission, withdrawal, each approval, requested changes and publish. Entries name the version of each direction and the review cycle. Activities are kept for 90 days, and you can export them to CSV.
On the review page, the card Activity on this version shows the same steps for that version.
Which plans include publish approval?
Publish approval is available on the Trial, Professional and Enterprise plans. Starter and Scale connections show "Publish approval: Not in your plan" with an upgrade prompt, and keep publishing as they do today. It isn't available for connections still on the license-based system.
Good to know
Approvers see a waiting review when they open the connection. Exalate doesn't email them, so tell your approver when you submit.
In this section
- How to Set Up Publish Approval
- How to Submit a Change for Review
- How to Review, Approve or Request Changes
- Publish Approval: FAQs and Troubleshooting