Workflow versioning

When creating a workflow in the Workflow Designer, you have the option to save a draft (minor) version of the workflow, or publish it as a major version of the workflow.

Minor version - When you select to save a draft, a minor version of the workflow is created. The second digit of the version is increased, for example 1.0 to 1.1. A minor version is a design time version only, and managed in the Designer and Workflow Designer. Once deleted from design time, the version is no longer available.

Major version - When you select to deploy a workflow, a major version of the workflow is created. The first digit of the version is increased, for example 1.0 to 2.0. A major version shows in design time in the Designer and Workflow Designer, and is also stored as a runtime version in Management. While working with a major version in design time, the version can be edited and deleted, but is not deleted from the runtime versions list in Management. This allows you to have a clean design time experience, while all major versions are still available in Management if you need to manage or download the version at a later stage.

Design time vs runtime versions

See the table below to better understand the differences between design time and runtime versions of a workflow.

Version Description
Design time
  • Managed in the Designer and Workflow Designer.
  • Minor and major versions of a workflow.
  • Require the same permissions as when editing a workflow.
  • Typically used as a short term solution to test, roll back, or to compare the differences between versions to see what has changed for troubleshooting purposes while designing your workflow.
Runtime
  • Managed in Management.
  • Only major versions of a workflow.
  • Require administration rights.
  • Typically used as a long term solution to keep record of what has changed in the workflow over time.

Workflow versioning helps keep your workflows functioning properly as you can continue making changes during the normal life cycle of automation projects. In this topic, we discuss the details of design time versions. For information about runtime versions, see Versions in Management.