A policy action also has a declared scope. The action's scope specifies the object and event types with which the action can be used. Some actions have very specific object-type and event-type requirements. For example, you can use the "Validate Policy Deactivation" action only during a PreStateChange on a Policy object. Other actions support a broad range of object and event types.

A policy can contain only actions that support the full set of object types and event types specified by the policy's scope. For example, if you create a policy that executes on the PreCreate and PreUpdate events for XML Schemas, it can only contain actions whose scope includes the PreCreate and PreUpdate event types and the XML Schema object type.

When you create a policy, CentraSite's user interface will only allow you to select actions that satisfy the specified scope of the policy. If you subsequently change the policy's scope, CentraSite will not allow you to save the updated policy unless all of its actions support the policy's new scope.