Use an Approval workflow
The Approval workflow routes an item in a SharePoint site to specified people for approval. This workflow can be used in business processes as diverse as final product specification to vacation request approval.
In this article
How does the Approval workflow work?
The Approval workflow supports business processes that involve sending a document or item to colleagues or managers for approval. The Approval workflow makes an approval business process more efficient by managing and tracking all of the human tasks involved with the process and by providing a record of the process after it is completed.
If workflows are available, you can start an Approval workflow directly from a document or item in a list or library. To start a workflow, you select the workflow that you want to use, and then you fill out a workflow initiation form that specifies the workflow participants (approvers), a due date, and any relevant task instructions. After a workflow starts, the server assigns tasks to all participants. If e-mail alerts are enabled for the server, the server also sends e-mail alerts to all participants. The Approval workflow can be run in:
- Serial, in which tasks are assigned to participants one at a time.
- Parallel, in which tasks are assigned to participants all at the same time.
The workflow can also be run in stages, a series of serial and parallel tasks that can have different participants.
Participants can click a link in the e-mail task alert to open the document or item to be approved. Participants can choose to approve, reject, or reassign their approval tasks. They can also request a change to the document or item to be approved. Participants have the option of completing their workflow tasks from either the Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 site or from directly within certain programs that are part of Microsoft Office 2010. While the workflow is in progress, the workflow owner or the workflow participants can view the Workflow Status page to see which participants have completed their workflow tasks. When the workflow participants complete their workflow tasks, the workflow ends, and the workflow owner is automatically notified that the workflow is complete.
Top of Page
Add or change an Approval workflow for a list, library, or content type
Before a workflow can be used, it must be added to a list, library, or content type in order to make it available for documents or items in a specific location. You must have the Manage Lists permission to add a workflow to a list, library, or content type. In most cases, site administrators or individuals who manage specific lists or libraries perform this task.
The availability of a workflow within a site varies, depending on where it is added:
- If you add a workflow directly to a list or library, it is available only for items in that list or library.
- If you add a workflow to a list content type (an instance of a site content type that was added to a specific list or library), it is available only for items of that content type in the specific list or library with which that content type is associated.
- If you add a workflow to a site content type, that workflow is available for any items of that content type in every list and library to which an instance of that site content type was added. If you want a workflow to be widely available across lists or libraries in a site collection for items of a specific content type, the most efficient way to achieve this result is by adding that workflow directly to a site content type.
If you want to add an Approval workflow to a list, library, or content type, or if you want to change an Approval workflow that is already associated with a list, library, or content type, you follow the same steps.
- To open the Add a Workflow page or the Change a Workflow page for the list, library, or content type for which you want to add or change a workflow, do one of the following:
- Open the list or library for which you want to add or change a workflow.
- In the ribbon, click the List or Library tab, click List Settings or Library Settings.
Note The name of the tab can vary with the type of list or library. For example, in a calendar list it is the Calendar tab.
- Under Permissions and Management, click Workflow settings.
- Open the list or library that contains the instance of the list content type for which you want to add or change a workflow.
- In the ribbon, click the List or Library tab, click List Settings or Library Settings.
Note The name of the tab can vary with the type of list or library. For example, in a calendar list it is the Calendar tab.
- On the home page for the site collection, on the Site Actions menu
, click Site Settings.
- Under Galleries, click Site content types.
- Click the name of the site content type for which you want to add or change a workflow, and then click Workflow settings.
Note If workflows have already been added to this list, library, or content type, this step takes you directly to the Change Workflow Settings page, and you need to click Add a workflow to go to the Add a Workflow page. If no workflows have been added to this list, library, or content type, this step takes you directly to the Add a Workflow page.
- On the Workflow Settings page, click Add a workflow or click the name of the workflow for which you want to change the settings.
- Do one of the following:
- If you are adding a workflow, on the Add a Workflow page, in the Workflow section, select the Approval – SharePoint 2010 workflow template.
- If you are changing the settings for a workflow, on the Change a Workflow page, change the settings that you want to change according to the following steps.
- In the Name section, type a unique name for the workflow.
- In the Task List section, specify a tasks list to use with this workflow.
Notes
- You can use the default Tasks list, the Workflow Tasks list, or you can create a task list. If you use the default Tasks list, workflow participants will be able to find and view their workflow tasks easily by using the My Tasks view of the Tasks list.
- If the tasks for this workflow will reveal sensitive or confidential data that you want to keep separate from the general Tasks list, you should create a new tasks list.
- If your organization will have numerous workflows or if workflows will involve numerous tasks, you should create a new tasks list. In this instance, you might want to create tasks lists for each workflow.
- In the History List section, select a history list to use with this workflow. The history list displays all of the events that occur during each instance of the workflow.
Note You can use the default Workflow History list or you can create a new one. If your organization will have numerous workflows, you might want to create a separate history list for each workflow.
7. In the Start Options section, specify how, when, or by whom a workflow can be started.
Notes
- If you want to allow the workflow to be started manually, select the Allow this workflow to be manually started by an authenticated user with Edit Item permissions check box. Select the Require Manage Lists Permissions to start the workflow check box if you want to require additional permissions to start the workflow
- To use the workflow to manage content approval for a library, select Start this workflow to approve publishing a major version of an item. If prompted to turn on content approval, click OK. If Start this workflow to approve publishing a major version of an item is not available, content approval and major and minor versions may not be enabled for the list or library
- If you want the workflow to start automatically when new items are created, select the Start this workflow when a new item is created check box.
- If you want the workflow to start automatically when items are changed, select the Start this workflow when an item is changed.
- If you are adding this workflow to a site content type, specify whether you want to add this workflow to all content types that inherit from this content type in the Update List and Site Content Types section.
Note The Update List and Site Content Types section appears on the Add a Workflow page only for site content types.
- Click Next.
- On the Customize Workflow page, specify the options that you want for how tasks are routed, the default workflow start values, how the workflow is completed, and what actions happen when the workflow is successfully completed.
| Options |
Description |
Assign to |
Type or browse to the users and groups to whom you want to assign the workflow tasks. Groups include SharePoint and Active Directory security groups. |
Order |
Assign tasks to one participant at a time by selecting One at a time (serial).
Assign tasks to all participants at once, by selecting All at Once (parallel).
|
Add a new Stage |
You can create sequential phases in the workflow that can have different participants and different order. |
Expand Groups |
Make sure this option is selected if you plan to specify groups as workflow participants and you want individual tasks for every group member.
Clear this option if you plan to specify groups as workflow participants, and you want only one task to be assigned to the group.
|
Request |
Type a default message that appears with each task. |
Due Date for All Task |
Type or select a date for serial and parallel task. If a date is not entered, individual tasks will not have due dates. |
Duration per Tasks |
Type a number for how long serial workflow participants have to complete workflow tasks |
Duration Units |
Select either Day(s), Week(s) , or Months as the increment of time used by Duration for Serial Tasks. |
CC |
Type or browse to the users you want to notify when a workflow starts, but not assign workflow tasks. |
| End on first Rejection |
Select this option if you want the workflow rejected when a participant in the workflow rejects the document or item. |
| End on Document Change |
Select this option if you want the workflow rejected when a participant in the workflow changes the document or item. |
| Enable Content Approval |
Select this option if you want to update the approval status for a document or item after the workflow is complete.
Notes
- If you are using this Approval workflow to manage content approval (moderation) for a library, and you selected the Start this workflow to approve publishing a major version of an item check box on the Add a Workflow page.
- If you did not select the Start this workflow to approve publishing a major version of an item check box on the Add a Workflow page because you do not want this workflow to be the default content approval workflow for a library, you can select the Update the approval status (use this workflow to control content approval) check box to make this workflow a secondary content approval workflow that specific users can start manually.
|
- Click OK.
Top of Page
Start an Approval workflow on a document or item
You can manually start an Approval workflow on a document or item directly from the list or library where it is saved. The options available to you when you start the workflow may vary depending on how that workflow was customized when it was added to the list, library, or content type for the item. You must have at least the Edit Items permission to start a workflow. Some workflows may require that you also have the Manage Lists permission to start a workflow on a document or item.
Note If you want to ensure that workflow participants receive e-mail alerts and reminders about their workflow tasks after you start a workflow, check with your server administrator to verify that e-mail is enabled for your site.
- If the list or library is not already open, click its name on the Quick Launch.
If the name of your list or library does not appear, click Site Actions, then click View All Site Content, and then click the name of your list or library.
- Point to the name of the document or item for which you want to start a workflow, click the arrow that appears, and then click Workflows.
- Under Start a New Workflow, click the name of the Approval workflow that you want to start.
- Type or browse to the names of the people you want to approve the document or item in Assign To and select the order you want for the workflow tasks, either One at a time (serial) or All at once (parallel).
Note If you are going to create a serial workflow, type or select the names of the workflow participants in the order in which you want the tasks to be assigned.
- If you want sequential phases in the workflow that can have different participants and different order, click Add a new stage, and fill in the information.
- If you are including groups as workflow participants, clear Expand groups if you want only one task notification to be assigned to the group instead of individual task notifications for every group member.
- To include a message or specific task instructions, type this information in Request. For example, type a message about approving a contract and a URL to the document.
- If you want to specify when all workflow tasks need to be completed or the tasks will be overdue, type or pick a date for Due Date for All Task.
- To specify how long serial workflow participants have to complete workflow tasks, type a number in Duration per Tasks and then select Day(s), Week(s) or Months in Duration Units
- If you want to notify people when a workflow starts, but not assign them workflow tasks, type or browse to their name in CC.
- Click Start.
Top of Page
Complete an Approval workflow task
Participants in an Approval workflow can complete their workflow tasks from either the list or library where the item or document is located or from directly within certain programs that are part of Office 2010. For information about how to complete a workflow task in a client program, see the Help for that program.
- Point to the name of the task that you want to complete, click the arrow that appears, and then click Edit Item.
Note If the workflow does not use the default Tasks list, your workflow task may not appear in the Tasks list. To locate your workflow task, go to the list or library where the workflow item is saved. Point to the name of the item that you want to complete, click the arrow that appears, and then click Workflows. On the Workflow Status page, under Running Workflows, click the name of the workflow in which you are a participant. Under Tasks, locate your workflow task.
- Do one of the following:
- To approve the item, type any comments that you want to send to the workflow owner in Comments, and then click Approve.
- To reject the item, type any comments that you want to send to the workflow owner in Your Comments, and then click Reject.
- To cancel working on the task now, with the option of coming back to it later, click Cancel.
- To request a change to the item to be approved, click Request a change, specify to whom you want to assign the change request, describe your change request, specify the duration and units for serial tasks, and then click Send.
- To reassign the approval task to another person, click Reassign task, specify to whom you want to assign the task, specify the duration and units for serial tasks, and then click Send.
Note Depending on how the workflow was customized when it was added to the list, library, or content type for this item, the options to reassign the task or request a change may not be available.
Top of Page
View the status of a workflow for a document or item
- If the list or library is not already open, click its name on the Quick Launch.
If the name of your list or library does not appear, click Site Actions, then click View All Site Content, and then click the name of your list or library.
- Point to the name of the document or item for which you want to view the status of workflows, click the arrow that appears, and then click Workflows.
- On the Workflows page, in the Workflows section, are the running and completed workflows for the document or item.
Top of Page
