Pre-operation events occur immediately before a requested operation is performed on a registry object. They include the following event types: PreCreate, PreUpdate, PreStateChange and PreDelete. When you apply a policy to a pre-operation event, CentraSite executes the requested operation only if the pre-operation policy executes successfully. You generally apply policies at these points to prevent the requested operation from being executed unless an object satisfies the verification checks performed by the policy.

Post-operation events occur immediately after a requested operation is performed on a registry object. They include the following event types: PostCreate, PostUpdate, PostStateChange, PostDelete. When you apply a policy to a post-operation event, CentraSite executes the policy only if the requested operation is performed successfully. Post-operation polices are often used to notify users (through email) that certain changes have occurred in the registry, to update specified attribute values and to assign permission settings on an object.