Using Drafts for Dynamic Content and Inputs
Drafts is currently in beta. Contact your Technical Account Manager to have it enabled for your account.
Drafts let you make and test changes to a piece of Dynamic Content or an Input without affecting the live version your end users generate from. A draft version can be edited and tested, but it does not affect an live templates. Publish it only when you're confident it's right, without worrying that a mid-flight edit could break generation for your team.
Admins with edit access to a given piece of Dynamic Content or an Input can work with drafts.
Drafts are part of the broader on Version History functionality. Publishing a draft adds a new entry to the version history, and you can create a draft from an earlier version.
How Drafts Work
A draft is particular kind of version. It is only accessible by admins, and lives alongside the live version. Draft versions have these particular properties:
- One active draft: Each Dynamic Content or Input can only have one active draft at a time. If a draft version already exists, any draft changes will overwrite the existing draft version.
- Drafts do not affect the live version: Creating, editing, or discard a draft all leave the live version untouched. Generation always uses the live version.
- Publish a draft to replace the version: When you are ready to roll out your changes, you can publish the draft. Upon publish, a new live version is created from the draft configuration, and the previous live version moves to the version history.
Drafts are available for Dynamic Content and Inputs. Template drafts are not currently supported.
Creating a Draft
You can spin up a draft version in several ways.
Note: only one draft can be active at a time. If a draft already exists and you try to save another, Matik will prompt you to confirm that you want to overwrite the previous draft version.
While saving your edits
When you make changes to a live version, you can choose to save your changes as a draft version. When clicking Update, you can select one of these options.
- Update as Draft: Saves your changes to a draft. Draft edits will not affect end users.
- Update & Publish: Skips the draft and publishes immediately. Edits will immediately go live for end users.
Updating as draft will spin up a new draft version, if one does not already exist. (If a draft version already existed, your changes will overwrite the exist draft version).
From the actions menu
This method works well if you want to ensure you are in draft mode before you even begin iterating.
Open the three-dot ⋯ actions menu in the form header, and select Create Draft. This creates a draft from the current live version and switches the form into draft mode. (Note: this option is only available if the Dynamic Content or Input does not already have a draft).
From an earlier version
This method works well if you want to work in draft mode, but you know you want to use a previous version as a starting point.
Open Version History and click a past version to view it. From there you can save it as a draft using Publish as Draft, which creates a draft pre-filled with that version's configuration.
Editing and Testing a Draft
When you're viewing a draft, Matik makes it clear you're not editing the live version:
- A Draft banner appears at the top of the form: "Draft Created · [date] · Edits won't affect your end users," with a Publish draft link.
- The status line below the asset name reads Draft · Created [time] (the live version reads Live · Published [time]).
- The save button becomes a single Update Draft button.
You can edit the draft using the form as usual.
Test a draft the same way you'd test live content. Use Test Query or Test API from the draft to run your changes and see the results, without affecting the live version.
Publishing a Draft
When your draft is ready to go live, open the Compare & Publish flow. You can reach it from the Publish draft link on the draft banner, or from Review & Publish Draft on the draft's row in Version History.
The flow has two steps:
- Compare Versions: A side-by-side view of the Live Version and Draft Version, with each changed field tagged Changed. A summary tells you how many fields differ (for example, "1 field has changed."). Review the differences, then click Continue.
- Enter Publish Details: Optionally add a Title and Description for this version — a short commit message that helps your team understand what changed and why. Click Publish Draft to finish.
On publish, your draft becomes the new live version, the previous live version moves into version history, and Matik confirms with a Draft published message. From that point, end users generate using your published changes.
Discarding a Draft
To throw away a draft without publishing, open the ⋯ menu and select Discard Draft (also available from the draft's row in Version History).
Discarding removes the draft and leaves the live version exactly as it was. There's no undo, so discard only when you're sure you don't need the changes.
Best Practices
- Test before you publish. Run Test Query or Test API on the draft and review the Compare Versions diff so you know exactly what's changing before it goes live.
- Write a clear publish description. The Title and Description you enter when publishing become part of the version history. A short note like "Updated close-date filter to current quarter" saves your team from guessing later.
Limitations
- Dynamic Content and Inputs only. Drafts are not available for templates in this beta.
- One draft per asset. Each Dynamic Content or Input supports a single active draft at a time. Saving a new draft overwrites the existing one.
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