documentation/content/applications/studio/approval_rules.md

Approval rules

Approval rules are used to automate approval processes for actions. They allow you to define the criteria for when an approval is required before an action can be performed using a button.

Configuration

To add approval rules with Studio, proceed as follows:

1. {ref}Open Studio <studio/access> and switch to the required {doc}view <views>.

2. Select the button to which the rule should be applied.

3. Click {icon}fa-plus {guilabel}Add an approval step in the {icon}fa-server {guilabel}Properties tab.

4. Specify which users are responsible for approving the action by using one of the following fields or both:

   • {guilabel}Approvers to specify one or several users;

   • {guilabel}Approver Group to specify one user group.

     :::{note} An activity is created for all users set as {guilabel}Approvers when their approval is requested. :::

5. (optional) Select the {guilabel}Users to Notify via an internal note when the action is approved or rejected.

6. (optional) Add a {guilabel}Description to be displayed on the button.

:::{tip} You can specify under which condition(s) an approval step should be applied by clicking the {icon}fa-filter ({guilabel}filter) icon next to the {guilabel}Approvers field. :::

To add another approval step, click {icon}fa-plus {guilabel}Add an approval step. When there are multiple steps, you can:

• Enable {guilabel}Exclusive Approval on any step so that a user who approves a step cannot approve another step for the same record.
• Change the {guilabel}Approval Order of the steps by selecting a number, 1 being the first step, 2 the second step, and so on. A user responsible for a higher step can approve/reject previous step(s) unless {guilabel}Exclusive Approval is selected.

Click the {icon}fa-trash ({guilabel}trash) icon next to the {guilabel}Approvers field to remove an approval step.

:::{tip} You can create {ref}user groups <access-rights/groups> specifically for approvals. :::

(approval-rules-use)=

Use

Once an approval rule has been defined for a button, a user avatar icon is displayed next to the button's label for each approval step. Clicking an icon reveals the step(s).

:alt: Confirm button with two approval steps

:::{note} If an unauthorized user clicks the button, an error message is displayed and an activity is created for the users specified in the {guilabel}Approvers field, if any. :::

Authorized users can:

• Perform the action directly by clicking the button if it is the last/only approval step.

• Approve the action and let another user perform it - or move it to the next approval step - by clicking the user avatar icon next to the button's label, then clicking the {icon}fa-check ({guilabel}approve).

• Reject the action by clicking the user avatar icon next to the button's label and then the {icon}fa-times ({guilabel}reject) button.

• (only for users selected under the {guilabel}Approvers field) Delegate their approval rights to one or several users for all records by:

  • Clicking the {icon}oi-view-kanban ({guilabel}kanban view) icon and then {guilabel}Delegate.

  • Selecting one or several {guilabel}Approvers, {guilabel}Until when they will have approval rights (forever if left empty), and, optionally, the user(s) who should be notified via an internal note using the {guilabel}Notify to field.

    :alt: Delegate to dialog
    

:::{tip}

• A user who approves/rejects an action can revoke their decision by clicking the user avatar icon next to the button's label and then the {icon}fa-undo ({guilabel}revoke) button. They can also revoke the decision of other users for steps with a lower {guilabel}Approval Order unless {guilabel}Exclusive Approval is enabled.
• Approvals are tracked in the record's chatter. An approval entry is also created every time a Studio approval-related action is performed. To access approval entries, {doc}activate the developer mode </applications/general/developer_mode> and go to {menuselection}Settings --> Technical --> Studio Approval Entries. :::