Start approval flow

The approval is processed on the right side of the approval record. All options for handling the approval are listed here.

The approval view is divided into two different flow overviews.

Change between the two views by clicking on either Steps or Log.

display mode approval flow
Figure 1. Overview of the approval flow

Steps of the approval flow

Click Steps in the right side of the approval record to view the approval steps.

The approval flow is displayed step by step, each with its own box. The responsible user, i.e. the creator of the approval, is at the top of the list. Each remaining step represents a part of the approval with the chosen approver(s).

The colours indicate where in the flow the approval is currently located. In this example, Sienna Morton is blue, which means that the approval currently is in her hands.

display mode steps
Figure 2. Display of approval flow

Click on the icon expand step icon to expand the options that are available to either the responsible user or the approver. Click on the icon collapse step icon to hide the processing options.

These icons are only visible to the responsible user or approver when the approval is on the current approver’s step.

In the following table, the functionalities for the “Steps” overview are described.

Responsible

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The responsible user, in this case Hannah Hendricks, creates and initiates the approval flow.

In the “Comment” field it is possible to write a comment with relevant information. Click on image72 to save a comment without submitting it.

All approvers can see the comments when processing the approval.

Click on Start to start the approval flow.

Step 1

step 1 copy recipients

Step 1 is the first approver. In this example, this is Sienna Morton.

This approval step has copy recipients - in this case, Siún Moynihan and Stanley Matthews.

Step 2

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Step 2 is the next approver in the approval flow - in this case, Harper Ross.

This approval step has a specified deadline for its approver (24/05/2022).

Step 3

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Step 3 is the final step in the approval flow. There can be several approvers on the same step, in which case they are listed as shown in the example. Here the approvers are Hector Richards and Abigail Anderson.

Before an approver can perform any approval actions, they will be asked to save any unsaved changes to the record.

If the current approver makes changes to an approval record or any attached documents and then perform their approval action, the dialogue “Save changes?” appears. The current approver must then click OK to save the changes to the approval record.

As a result, the following approver, when receiving the approval, will not see an unnecessary notification stating that changes have been made.

The activity log

Click on Log in the approval flow to switch from an overview of the approval flow to the activity log.

The activity log describes, line by line, the approval actions taken in the approval flow, as shown below.

display mode log
Figure 3. Approval process activity log

All changes made by the approver currently viewing the log are bolded.

Any comments to the individual approval steps can be copied from the activity log by clicking on the Copy comment icon. The copied text is saved to Windows' clipboard and can be inserted in e.g. a record or a chat by either pressing Ctrl+V or by right-clicking and choosing the Paste option where available.

Click on Read more to read the full comment.

Changes made to the approval record or attached documents do not appear in the activity log.

On behalf of in the activity log

It is possible to approve on behalf of another user if “On behalf of” privileges are granted. It is also possible to approve on behalf of a unit if the user’s unit is selected as approver.

The user who has processed the approval on behalf of another user or unit is displayed in the activity log.

activity log on behalf of
Figure 4. The activity log with a user approving on behalf of someone else

Viewing document versions

In the “Log” it is possible to view older versions of the approval record’s documents. Older versions can also be accessed via the “Approval” tab.

Click on the Show document versions image79 icon to display the approval record version above the document selector. A set of numbers in parentheses appear in front of the documents indicating the version of each.

document versions action log
Figure 5. Show document versions in activity log

Click on a log entry when the “Show document versions” view has been selected to view the older versions of the record along with any attached documents. This makes it possible to follow the approval’s development, the work process and previous document versions. The first number in the sequence shows the document version that will open if clicked. The latter number shows the total amount of versions that exists. For example, if the numbers read “(3/5)”, the document will open in version three out of five.

The previous versions are also displayed in the preview so it is not necessary to open the document to view a previous version. This facilitates version comparison along with the ongoing preparation of approval documents.

A new document version is created every time a document is updated. A new record version is created when changes are made to the approval record itself or to the approval flow.

Exit version view by clicking on Show document versions image79 again.

When “Show document versions” is turned on, it is not possible to make corrections to the approval record or to the approval flow.

Create a new record version when deleting documents

It is possible to create a new version of the record when any attached documents are deleted by another user.

When a document is deleted, a dialogue will appear allowing the user to create a new version of the record.