NOTE: This type of action is not available with the Winter 2006 release. It is only available in the Winter 2006 Update and later releases.
The Publisher action allows you to copy attachments and selected column values from one list or library to another. The Publisher action type also offers two additional important abilities:
Ability to name new fields to be created in the destination list when the action is executed
Ability to write any type of value to a text field (including dates and numbers)
To prevent accidental loss of data, only copies are supported. To achieve the same effect as moving data from one list or library to another, you can make a Delete List Item action available for use after the Publisher action.
NOTE 1: When the Publisher action was initially introduced in the Winter 2006 Update, the source and destination lists or libraries had to exist in the same site. This limitation does not apply to Summer 2006 or later releases.
NOTE 2: Several prompts on the Actions Wizard user interface were reworded in the Spring 2007 release for improved clarity and usability. In these cases, the reworded prompt is stated first, followed by a slash and the original prompt (e.g., Create a New Action Definition/Create a New Action).
1. When a Publisher action is executed, it writes to a list that is identified in the action definition. Therefore, you need to create that destination list before you create the action definition.
2. Select the Create a New Action Definition/Create a New Action button at the top of the Actions Wizard.
3. In the Site URL for Document Libraries/Site URL field, type the URL of the action library that will hold the new action definition, or a Global Link, and click Add. If the action library is located in the current site, this field can be left blank.
4. All of the libraries that have a type of Document Library and can therefore be used to store an action definition are displayed in the Document Library for Action Definition/Document Libraries area. Highlight the action library you want to use.
Actions cannot be written to an action library located in a sub-area.
5. Type the name of the new action definition in the Action Name field.
This is the name that will be displayed to users, so make sure the name makes the purpose of the action as clear as possible.
At the same time, keep in mind that the drop-down that displays the action titles will automatically resize to fit the longest title. As a result, CorasWorks recommends that you limit your action names to approximately 30 characters in length.
6. Use the Action Type drop-down to select Publisher. When you make this selection, the page is refreshed and the Configure Action Type section of the display is expanded with the appropriate entry fields for that action type.
7. In the Message Displayed for Successful Action field, type the message to be displayed to users when an action is completed successfully.
As of Spring 2007, a default message of Success is placed in this field. The message can be changed if you wish.
The default success and error messages for an instance of the Actions Wizard can be changed via the Localization tab on the administration interface.
8. In the Error Message Displayed for Failed Action field, type the message to be displayed to users when an action fails for any reason.
As of Spring 2007, a default message of Error is placed in this field. The message can be changed if you wish.
9. If you are working with Spring 2007 or a later release and the user will be prompted for additional information when the action is executed, you have three options for the background color of the entry form displayed to the user when the action is executed:
To use the standard gray background for the entry form, leave the Background Color for Entry Form properties blank.
To specify a particular color for the entry form, click the Choose Color link and select the desired color from the Color Picker. You can also enter the hexadecimal value for the color if you wish.
To inherit the background color from the css file, select the Inherit from CSS checkbox. When you select this option, the entry field and the Color Picker to the left are disabled.
10. In the first field in the Configure Action Definition section, type the URL of the source list to use for mapping, or a Global Link, and click Add Site. If you leave this field blank, it will default to the current site. This list is not referenced when the action is executed. It is used for field mapping only.
11. In the Source List for Mapping field, select the name of the source list to use for mapping.
12. If you are working with Spring 2007 or a later release, two buttons are displayed below the Source List drop-down. Choose one of these options:
Use List Specified Above Select this option if the list item should be copied from the list in the URL identified above.
Use List Relative to Site Where Action is Run Select this option if the action should be created in the list in whatever site the action is executed from. The action will look for a list with the same name in that site.
o You cannot use this option and identify a Global Link in Step 11 above. The Global Link will override this option.
13. In the next field, type the URL of the destination list, or a Global Link, and click Add Site. As with the URL field above, if you leave this field blank, it will default to the current site.
14. Select the name of the destination list from the Destination List field. The page refreshes and an area below is populated with available source and destination fields.
15. If you are working with Spring 2007 or a later release, two buttons are displayed below the Destination List drop-down. Choose one of these options:
Use List Specified Above Select this option if the list item should be copied from the list in the URL identified above.
Use List Relative to Site Where Action is Run Select this option if the action should be created in the list in whatever site the action is executed from. The action will look for a list with the same name in that site.
o You cannot use this option and identify a Global Link in Step 11 above. The Global Link will override this option.
16. If you want the new item to include a copy of any attachments associated with the source item, select the Include Attachments checkbox. This feature is not available with the Winter 2006 release.
The size of the attachments allowed is dependent upon the virtual servers general settings.
17. Select the destination field for each of the fields you want to copy.
If a field exists with the same name in both the source and the destination lists, it is automatically mapped for you. You can change the mapping, create a new field, or leave the drop-down blank to exclude the field from the copy.
If a field does not exist in the destination list, you can either map it to a different field or create a new field in the destination and name it as you wish. Just type the name of the new field in the drop-down field. If you name a new field to be created, the same type of field as the source field will be created.
Any type of value can be mapped to a text field or the same type of destination field as the source. For example, a date field can be mapped to a text field or a date field. The Actions Wizard will only list compatible fields in the Destination Field drop-down.
Read-only fields and hidden fields can be referenced in the source list, but will not be listed as available fields in the Destination Field drop-down. So, for example, the Created By value from the source list can be mapped to a different field, but cannot be mapped to the Created By field in the destination list.
Calculated fields are not supported as either source or destination fields. They display a value that is calculated at run-time, so they do not store a value to copy.
18. You have the option to add a transfer message of static text to any text field in the destination list. For example, the transfer message could state the reason for the copy. If you wish to do this, select the destination field where the message should be placed and then use the entry field in the Transfer Message column to define the message.
No variables are supported; the message must be straight text.
The content of the transfer message will overwrite any value that would have been mapped from the source field.
If you use this field with the Select at Runtime option (see below), the user will be able to edit the contents of this field when the action is executed.
19. If you want the user to identify the value to place in a column when the action is executed, place a mark in the Select at Runtime checkbox. The value entered by the user will override the column value that would have been copied from the source item.
20. When you are finished defining the action, select Save.
If there are no errors, the action is now available for use in an Active Display.
An error will be displayed if:
o You mapped multiple source fields to the same destination field
o You manually entered the name of an existing field in the destination list