Pageflex Product Release Options

Overview

When a product is amended in Pageflex the admin user has to 'release' it to make it visible to the end user.

On release there are 3 options given to the admin user that affect how the product is updated. It is important that the correct option is chosen to avoid unwanted repercussions with items that have previously been ordered or are currently saved in user’s baskets.

Option 1 – Prevent Ordering

This option will stop users from being able to re-order previously ordered documents and anything saved in a user’s basket cannot be ordered.
This option can cause issues with Claritum so should only be used where you want to effectively make the previous version of the template obsolete and where allowing users to still order these documents would cause issues with/for the client.

Option 2 – Allow Ordering – Maintain Original Product Settings

Probably the safest option to use as it means previously ordered items or basket saved items will be processed as they were prior to the latest release.
This can cause issues if a change has been made to the underlying Pageflex Studio template or project so care must be taken.

For example; an extra page has been added to a template that contains new variable fields and these extra variables have been added to the form fill step and the new version released. When a user orders a version (that was saved in their basket before the new version was released) it will produce a PDF based on the new template with the extra page but the form fill information will be based on the old version meaning the new variables will not have any values.

Option 3 - Allow Ordering – Convert to Latest Release Settings

This option is the one most people use; the system will attempt to order the basket saved or previously ordered document based on the new settings.
Issues can arise if the information entered when the document was originally ordered or saved does not meet the new criteria.

For example if a variable field has had a new validation parameter (‘required number’ etc) added to it and the saved document does not meet this criteria then errors will occur when the order is placed. 

Notes

The release page does inform the admin user how many documents their changes will affect in a ‘Usage Report’ section at the bottom of the page.

Best practice is to inform clients, when they request changes, how it may affect their user’s saved and previously ordered items. In an ideal world users should always edit their basket saved items in Claritum prior to ordering when they know a change has been made since they created or last saved it.