A workflow could either be in published, checked-out, or inactive state. A workflow executes only when it is in published state. We can publish a workflow using the Publish option in the actions menu. The status of the workflow is always visible in the title bar. If a workflow is in published state, we cannot modify its properties or make any changes to any of its activities.

In order to modify a workflow that is in published state, we must manually check out the workflow from the actions menu. A workflow must be in checked-out state in order for us to modify it. When we create a new workflow, it is by default in checked-out state and we can modify its content--add or modify activities or change workflow properties such as name, table, description, and condition.

All changes to a checked-out workflow are saved in a newer version of the workflow and are not available to the system till we publish the workflow back again.