Add the Create Approval action to a transition

To automate some of the approval process, you can add an Action called InspireCreateApproval to a transition in a workflow template. This Action tells Inspire to send notifications to workgroup users to confirm components that should be included in the approval process.

Required permissions

You must have permission to the Projects Module to work with projects and workflows. Other than that, you do not need special permissions to create, edit, or delete workflow templates.

However, keep in mind that administrators and other users can set permissions on components and folders.

  • You must have permission to edit the workflow template component.
  • You must have folder permissions where the template is stored.
  • For details on how to check and set permissions, refer to: Set permissions

For a complete list of permissions, including starting a workflow from a template, read: Workflow permissions.

Tips and tricks

  • When using InspireCreateApproval action, if a user in the workgroup confirms that they want to include component references in the approval process, then Inspire opens the Approval screen for the approver.
    • Referenced components are not displayed on the screen and can't be selected individually during the approval process in a workflow.
    • The approver is prompted: "Do you want to include referenced components of the workflow components for approval? Components tagged with ApprovalNotRequired will be skipped."
  • When using InspireCreateApproval action, if a user in the Review workgroup confirms that they do NOT want to include component references in the approval process, then the workflow moves to the approval Activity without including referenced components.
  • Use this automated Action to get all necessary components included and move the workflow to the approval stage. The Approval process can be included into workflow at any step, even before reviewing or without reviewing at all.
  • If you want the workflow to advance and have all source components approved without user intervention, you can use the Inspire Approve Action (InspireApprove) instead. Follow the steps in: Add an Inspire Approve Action to a topic workflow template.

Before you begin

  • You must have already created the InspireCreateApproval action. Follow the steps in: Add the Create Approval action to a topic workflow template.
  • An Action is unique to the template it's included in. If you want to use the new or updated Action in a different template, you have to re-create it in that specific template.
  • This automated Action is only available in a topic workflow template (not a sequential reviewer template), or a completely new workflow template component.
  • A component cannot be included in the approval process if the ApprovalNotRequired tag has been attached to the component. For more details, read Exclude a file from approval using a tag.

To add the Create Approval action to a transition, do one of the following:

Add the action to a new transition

Before you begin

To add the Create Approval action to a new Transition:

  1. Click Components.
  2. In the Folders pane, select Workflows.

    You can save a workflow template to another folder. If you did this, open that folder instead of the Workflows folder.

  3. In the Components pane, select a workflow template.

    The InspireCreateApproval action is only available in Topic workflows or a completely new workflow template component.

  4. In the first Activity that you want to connect through a transition, go to the toolbar and select Create transition.
  5. On the Create Transition screen, In Name, enter Send for approval or another similar title.

  6. In From Activity, select the preceding step (such as Review) where you want to insert the automation of approving components.
  7. In To Activity, select the name of the Activity that should happen next (such as Approve).
  8. In Action, select the InspireCreateApproval option.

    If you don't see the option you need, Cancel out of this update and follow the steps in: Add the create approval action to a topic workflow template.

  9. To save your changes, click Create.
    Results:
    • You can see your new transition with two lines: one line connecting it from the start activity; one line connecting it to the end activity.
    • To move your transition in the editor but not change the start and ending activities, click the transition's title bar, and when you see the move cursor, drag it inside the editor.

      The lines connecting the transition to the start end activities are re-drawn as you move the box

Update an existing transition

Before you begin

To update an existing transition:

  1. Click Components.
  2. In the Folders pane, select Workflows.

    You can save a workflow template to another folder. If you did this, open that folder instead of the Workflows folder.

  3. In the Components pane, select a workflow template.

    The InspireCreateApproval action is only available in Topic workflows or a completely new workflow template component.

  4. Select the transition you want to update, and in its title bar select Update transition.
  5. On the Update Transition screen, in Action, select the InspireCreateApproval option.

    If you don't see the option you need, Cancel out of this update and follow the steps in: Add the Create Approval Action.

  6. To save your changes, click Update.
    Results:
    • Your transition changes are saved.
    • The changes are applied to all new workflows that are started using this template.
    • For workflows that use this template and are in progress:
      • If the Transition you are updating has not occurred yet, the changes will be applied when the workflow moves to the updated transition.
      • If the Transition you are updating has already been completed, the changes will not be applied.