Resource status & access
Resource status and access are central to controlling how ResourceSpace users interact with resources. Status determines whether the resource can be found or edited by users, and Access controls which users can download the resource.
Status
The states that are available to users will depend on their user group permissions. There are 6 default status levels used within ResourceSpace:
- Pending Submission (system code: -2)
- Pending Review (-1)
- Active (0)
- Waiting to be archived (1)
- Archived (2)
- Deleted (3)
Pending resources are awaiting entry to the catalogue of widely available content. Resources in these states cannot be found by users other than admins, or their contributor (See Pending review and submission).
Active resources are widely available within the system to be used. They're approved by an administrator or trusted contributor and in a typical use case, can be found by all users in the system by a normal metadata search.
'Waiting to be archived' is intended for resources that may have either been used too much or too little, or which are no longer relevant and therefore need to be removed from the ResourceSpace mainstream. A resource can then be reviewed to decide whether it should be archived or updated and returned to the Active state.
'Archived' is designed for resources that are no longer relevant but need to be preserved for reference or legacy. Most users of the system won't need access to these resources, but Admins can retrieve them if necessary. Status changes such as archiving can also be automated based on expiry dates via the Action dates plugin.
The Deleted state is for resources that are no longer required. By default, deleted resources are held in this state until additional steps are followed to fully remove them. See Deleting resources for more tips.
From v10.7, when a user attempts to change the archive state of a resource, a check will be made to ensure all required metadata fields have been completed*. By default, resources can be moved to the Pending submission and Deleted states without this requirement. Optionally, other archive states can be excluded from this requirement using the Advanced Workflow plugin.
*Required fields are always required, even if a particular user cannot see them because of permissions. These users may need assistance to publish resources if they are unable complete an empty required field.
Access
There are four access options for a resource. These are defined by the system and cannot be modified (except via language options).
- Open: everyone can see and download the resource
- Restricted: everyone can see it, but download is restricted
- Confidential: nobody can see it except admins
- Custom: you can choose from any of the above on a per user group basis, so that different groups may have different levels of access to the resource. Admin groups will still always have access - this can't be modified.