How do I use fields to control which models are published?

Recommended approach

We primarily recommend controlling publication through approved models using the Maintenance Flow. In the web profile, you can choose to publish only models with the status Approved. This approach usually provides better control over which models are published.

Read more in the following articles:

• How do I publish only approved models?
• How does maintenance of models in 2c8 Apps works?

Using fields for publication is an alternative for organizations that:

• do not use the Maintenance Flow
• want to manage publishing manually
• want to control publishing through model metadata

Why use fields for publication?

In the web profile, you can manually select which models should be published. An alternative is to use fields to automatically control the selection of models. This means that models are included in the publication based on a field value, for example:

Should be published

When the field is checked for a model, the model is automatically included in the publication.

Benefits of using fields

Using fields instead of manual selection has several advantages:

• you do not need to update the web profile every time models are added or removed
• the publication selection becomes easier to maintain
• multiple models can be updated at the same time
• the selection can be managed directly in the model structure

Important considerations

If models are published through field-based control, models may be included without a clear connection through breakdowns or model structure. This can create unclear relationships in the publication if the selection is not managed consistently.

If you use the Maintenance flow, models usually need to be unlocked before field values can be changed. This may create extra steps in the process when fields are used to control publication. This only applies when the maintenance flow is combined with field-based publishing.

Create a field for publication

1. Open Browser
2. Go to Descriptions and Fields
3. Click + Create new field type
4. Name the field
   Example: Should be published
5. Select field type
   Example: Checklist
6. Enter a value
   Example: Yes
7. Link the field to Models
8. Click the checkmark

Select models that should be published

Select multiple models at the same time

1. Open Browser
2. Filter to show Models
3. Select the models to include in the publication
4. Right-click
5. Select: Set field values
   
6. Select the field: Should be published
   

Select a single model

1. Open the model
2. Right-click on the model area
3. Select: Properties
4. Go to: Fields
5. Check: Should be published
   

Filter models in the web profile

1. Open the web profile
2. Go to: Models to publish
3. Click the pencil icon
4. Select: Filter
5. Filter by the field: Should be published

Now only models where the field is checked will be published.