Resolving Workflow Issues in Sitecore Custom Code Execution

 Hello All,

In our recent project, we encountered a perplexing issue where an item in draft state was being published to the web when our custom code was executed. Interestingly, during normal publishing, the workflow was respected, and the item remained in draft state as expected. This inconsistency led us to investigate further and seek help from the Sitecore community.

The Issue

Our custom code was causing items in draft state to be published, bypassing the workflow state. This was not the case with normal publishing, where the workflow was correctly followed. The challenge was to understand why the workflow state was not being respected when using custom code.

Community Insight

After extensive investigation, we posted our query on Sitecore Stack Exchange and received a prompt and insightful response. The key points from the answer were:

1. Execution Context: The custom code might be executed as a scheduled task or something similar. These jobs run in the context of the "scheduler" site, which does not respect workflows by default.
2. Site Configuration: To ensure workflows are respected, you need to either select a different site to run in context of or set the "scheduler" site to enable workflows in your site configuration.
3. SiteContextSwitcher: The recommended solution is to use a SiteContextSwitcher to change to the "shell" site within your code. This ensures that the workflow is enabled and respected during the execution of your custom code.

Implementing the Solution

To resolve the issue, we implemented the suggested solution using the SiteContextSwitcher. Here’s how you can do it:

 

C#

// Code Generated by Sidekick is for learning and experimentation purposes only. using(newSiteContextSwitcher(SiteContextFactory.GetSiteContext("shell")))
{
    // Perform your publish logic here

}

// Alternativelyusing(newSiteContextSwitcher(SiteContext.GetSite("shell")))
{
    // Perform your publishing logic here

}

By switching the site context to "shell", we ensured that the workflow state was respected, and items in draft state were not published prematurely.

Additional Resources

For more detailed information and further reference, you can visit the original Sitecore Stack Exchange post here.

Conclusion

This experience highlighted the importance of understanding the execution context in Sitecore and how it can impact workflow behavior. By leveraging the community's expertise and implementing the SiteContextSwitcher, we were able to resolve the issue and ensure our custom code respected the workflow state.

We hope this post helps others facing similar issues and encourages them to seek support from the vibrant Sitecore community.

I hope you enjoy this Sitecore blog. Stay tuned for more Sitecore related articles.

Till that happy Sitecoring :)

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