Initial status of objects in IXIA CCMS

The initial status for a new object is determined differently for CCMS Web and CCMS Desktop.

Initial status for objects in CCMS Web

CCMS Web determines the initial status of a new object dynamically based on a combination of the object's default initial status and the role of the user who creates the object. This two-step approach ensures that objects are created at a status where the user can work on them.

An object's default initial status is the one that has the initial="true" attribute in the *_status.xml file for that object type. Each object can have only one initial status.

For example, in the default configuration, Contributors can only work on topics at the Authoring:contribute status. However, the initial status for topics is Authoring:work.

If CCMS Web created the topic at Authoring:work for a Contributor, then the user could not work on the new topic they just created.

To avoid this kind of situation, CCMS Web uses this logic for determining the initial status of objects:

  1. The initial status for the object is retrieved from the system configuration.
  2. If the user has a role that is active at the initial status, then the initial status is used and the user is assigned to the object with the corresponding role.
  3. If the user does not have a role that is active at the initial status, then CCMS Web looks at all the user's roles and finds one that is active for the object at any status. CCMS Web then creates the new object at that status and assigns the user in that role. Where there are multiple statuses, it takes the one with the lowest level.

To follow the example above, a Contributor creates a new topic. CCMS Web determines that the default initial status for topics is Authoring:work. Contributors are not active at Authoring:work. CCMS Web then looks for a topic status where Contributors are active. It finds that Authoring:contribute qualifies. CCMS Web creates the new topic at Authoring:contribute and assigns the user to it in the Contributor role.

Initial status for objects in CCMS Desktop

In CCMS Desktop, new objects are always created at the default initial status for that object type. Therefore, new objects of the same type all start with the same status.

For example, in the default configuration, all new topics start at the status Authoring:work when created, regardless of the role of the user creating them.