Publish
Publish makes the model available for end users to view on the Process Portal. It can still be modified after publishing, so it is not write-protected. If it has been modified, you simply have to reload the Process Portal and the new version is shown without having to publish the model again.
Preview
Preview allows you to see what the published model would look like in the Process Portal. It is, however, still possible to preview the model in the Process Portal using a unique link to the Preview. This function can be used, for example, when only some users are allowed to view a model before properly publishing it.
Approve
Approve results in a model that is final and read-only. Any changes to the model must be saved in new version. An approved version is final and can't be changed anymore. Approving a model does not publish it to the Process Portal.
Reject
If you want to retract the approval of a model you do this via the Reject action. However, even with rejection, the model remains read-only and changes can only be saved in an enforced new version.
Hide
With Hide, you can make your model invisible despite the fact that it is published. For example, if you have to modify a published model, you can Hide the model until you have made your changes and published the new version.
Deploy
Deploy turns a process into an executable workflow. Deploy validates the latest changes and, if there are no validation errors, the process can be executed as a workflow. Only the most recently deployed process is executed as a workflow! If you make changes to a process but do not deploy it, the executed workflow will be the version without your changes, ie. the most recently deployed version. Be sure to deploy a process before executing it.