Create a global and a single-use approval process
Last update: March 26, 2025
- Topics:
- Approvals
CREATED FOR:
- Intermediate
- User
The video explains how to create and manage approval processes for projects, tasks, or issues, distinguishing between global and single-use approval processes.
The video demonstrates creating approval processes, setting approvers, configuring statuses, and using stages for multi-level approvals.
It highlights the flexibility of both global and single-use processes for managing task approvals effectively.
Transcript
An approval process can be created on a project, task, or issue. These should not be confused with document approvals or proof approvals, which are specific approval requests for a particular document or proof. There are two types of approval processes. A global approval process, also known as an existing approval process, and a single-use approval process. These are similar in many ways and different in a few ways. You’ll see the similarities and differences as we go along. First, the global approval process. These are often created by the system administrator or a group administrator, but the ability to create them can be delegated to anyone with a plan or standard license by checking the Allow Administrative Access for approval processes box in the Access level. To create a global approval process, go to Setup, Processes, Approvals. Approval processes for projects, tasks, and issues are all created in the same way, but they can only be used in the object they’re created for. So project approval processes can only be used in projects. Task approval processes can only be used for tasks, and issue approvals can only be used in issues. We’ll create a task approval process for tasks that require the approval of a copywriter before the task can be marked as complete. We’ll click on New Approval Process, and we’re brought to this page. We’ll name the approval process Copywriter Approval. You can decide here if you want to make this available for all groups or only a certain group. Next, there’s the path. This is triggered when the task is set to the status you select here. If you want to have different approval paths for different statuses, you can create additional paths here. In this case, we want to trigger this approval process when the status is set to Complete. So when the task is marked as complete, the task status will change to Complete Pending Approval and will not really be complete until it is approved. Whoever we designate in the Approvers area will be notified and, after they give their approval, the task status will be changed to Complete. If the approval is rejected, the task will be changed to another status. The status it will be changed to is designated here. The default is to change it back to the status it was before being marked complete, but you can choose a particular status if you want. Then, of course, we need to designate who will approve the task. If we select a person, they will get a notification when the task needs to be approved. If we select a job role, like Copywriter, everyone on the project team who has that job role will be notified, and when the first of those notified approves the task, it will be approved, and the approval notification will be withdrawn from the others. If you want to have more than one person, job role, or team approve the task, you can put multiple names here. Then this checkbox comes up so you can choose whether only one decision is required or if you want everyone to approve. By unchecking this, it would mean we want one person on the project team with the Copywriter role, one member of the creative team, and Duck Phillips to approve this task. Everyone will get notified at the same time, and they can do their approvals in any order. Another way to approach a situation where you need multiple approvers would be to break this into stages. Take off all but the Copywriter for stage one. Then we’ll add a stage. Stage two, we’ll do the creative team. Add another stage. Stage three, it’ll be our friend Duck. Now stage one will be the first approval required, then if one of the Copywriters approves it, the creative team would be notified that it’s their turn to approve it. If anyone from the creative team approves it, Duck Phillips will then be notified to approve it. If a Copywriter rejects it, the status will change to the previous status and the person assigned to the task will need to do some rework before changing the status back to complete and starting the approval process again. The advantage with this approach is that Duck Phillips will not be notified to approve the task until the approvers from all the previous stages have already approved it. We’ll remove the extra stages and click Save to save this approval process. So now it’s just a Copywriter approval process looking for a Copywriter to approve it. That shows up on our list here. But it also shows up when we select a task, go to the Approvals tab and click on the Use Existing list. So we have Copywriter approval here. Now to create a single-use approval process, just click on Create Single-Use. Single-use means you can create an approval process in the same way as we just created a global approval process, only it will be saved with this task only. It cannot be shared like a global approval process can. There is a third option as well. You can choose a global approval process like Copywriter approval, save it. Then once you’ve saved it, this little Edit option appears and we can edit this approval process. Say we just want to have a particular person, Ann Owen, to be the approver. Let me get rid of Copywriter and now we save it. When we save it, we get this Convert Approval Process message. It says, Changes you make to the approval process attached from setup will be available only on this object. That’s what we want, so we’ll save it. Even though this is a single-use approval process, you can copy the task and keep the approval process with it. We can copy this, put it in another project, and notice the Approval Process option down here that it can carry over to it. Now we’re in this Easter sale mailer and we have this single-use approval process with it. You can also create project templates with single-use approval processes in them.
Key takeaways
- Types of Approval Processes: There are two types—global approval processes (shared across tasks, projects, or issues) and single-use approval processes (specific to a single task, project, or issue).
- Global Approval Processes: These are created in the Setup > Processes > Approvals section and can be triggered by specific statuses. They can involve multiple approvers or staged approvals.
- Single-Use Approval Process: These are object-specific and cannot be shared. They can be created from scratch or by editing a global approval process and converting it.
- Multi-Level Approvals: Approval processes can include multiple approvers either simultaneously or in stages, ensuring sequential approvals before notifying the next approver.
- Reusability: Single-use approval processes can be copied with tasks, projects, or issues or included in project templates, allowing for easy replication across projects.
You can add a single use approval process for a project or task to a project template.
You can set up a single use approval on projects and issues in the same way as described for tasks in the video.
Recommended tutorials on this topic
Previous pageUnderstand the Portfolio Optimizer
Next pageApply an issue approval process in a request queue
Workfront
- Workfront Tutorials
- Administration and Setup
- Organizational setup
- Manage deleted items
- Configure system defaults
- Layout templates
- What are layout templates?
- Find layout templates
- Customize terminology with layout templates
- Customize the Main Menu with layout templates
- Add and manage pins through a layout template
- Customize Home with layout templates
- Assign and manage access to layout templates
- Customize object areas with a layout template
- Customize project details with layout templates
- Customize project headers with layout templates
- Customize reporting lists with layout templates
- Email and In App Notifications
- Create and manage users
- Approval processes and milestone paths
- System performance and maintenance
- Project finances
- Custom Data
- Custom Forms
- Calculated expressions
- Get started with calculated fields and expressions
- Learn the data expression structure
- Understand Date & Time and Mathematical expressions
- Create ADDDAYS, ADDWEEKDAY, ADDMONTHS, ADDYEARS expressions
- Use the Calculation Editor
- Create DATEDIFF and WEEKDAYDIFF expressions
- Create a SUB, SUM, DIV, or PROD data expression
- Use the CONCAT expression in a calculated field
- Create LEFT/RIGHT expressions
- Use the ISBLANK and CONTAINS expressions
- Create an IF text expression
- Things to know about calculated field expressions
- Manage work
- Projects
- Understand basic project creation
- Navigate the project page
- Learn four ways to create a project
- Fill in the project details
- Get started planning a project
- Take a project live
- Get started managing a project
- Find projects
- Share a project
- Understand the project team
- Understand project communication
- View project information
- Track overall project progress
- Track work progress with project metrics
- Understand the Gantt view
- Understand the Board view
- Tasks
- Issues/requests
- Request queues
- Portfolios
- Approval processes and milestone paths
- Create and manage project templates
- Project timelines
- Close a project
- Project finances for users
- Intermediate projects
- Projects
- Reporting
- Basic reporting
- Understand reporting elements
- Understand reporting components
- Create a basic grouping
- Create a basic view
- Add basic conditional formatting to a view
- Create a basic filter
- Understand the new filter experience
- Create basic filter activities
- Create a simple report
- Create a task report
- Copy a report
- Create reports with charts
- Create a matrix report
- Create dashboards
- Send and share reports
- Understand report settings
- Intermediate reporting
- Create filters with user-based wildcards
- Create filters with date-based wildcards
- Create OR statements in filters
- Understand built-in project filters
- Understand built-in task filters
- Understand built-in issue filters
- Understand basic text mode for filters
- Understand basic text mode for views
- Understand basic text mode for groupings
- Create custom prompts
- Advanced reporting
- Calendar reports
- Basic reporting
- Manage resources
- Workfront Goals
- Workfront Planning
- Integrations
- Adobe Creative Cloud
- Adobe Experience Manager Assets Essentials
- G Suite
- Jira
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft Teams
- Adobe Workfront for Microsoft Teams Overview
- Install Adobe Workfront for Microsoft Teams
- Access Adobe Workfront from Microsoft Teams
- Search for and share Adobe Workfront items in Microsoft Teams
- Create Adobe Workfront tasks from Microsoft Teams
- Submit Adobe Workfront requests from Microsoft Teams
- Manage Adobe Workfront notifications in Microsoft Teams
- Slack
- Fusion
- Welcome to Workfront Fusion
- Understand the basics
- Initial scenario design walkthrough
- Initial scenario design exercise
- Mapping panel and formula editor
- Mapping panel important notes
- Beyond basic mapping walkthrough
- Beyond basic mapping exercise
- Use filters
- Filters walkthrough
- Filters exercise
- Access previous versions walkthrough
- Access previous versions exercise
- Universal connectors and routing
- Universal connectors exercise overview
- Introduction to universal connectors walkthrough
- Introduction to universal connectors exercise
- Understand routers
- Routers walkthrough
- Routers exercise
- Common routing patterns
- Routing patterns walkthrough
- Routing patterns exercise
- Set-it and get-it
- Get/Set variables walkthrough
- Set/Get variables exercise
- Iteration and aggregation
- Execution history and scheduling
- Beyond basic modules
- Data structures and data stores
- Final functional bits and bobs
- Troubleshooting and error handling
- Workfront Fusion administration
- Design optimization and testing
- Workfront Proof
- Learn the benefits of proofing
- Understand the difference between a document and a proof
- Proofing viewers explained
- Administration and setup
- What is an automated workflow template
- Customize proof comment actions
- Customize proof decision options
- Understand email alerts and proof notifications
- Proof roles and email alerts
- Report on proofs
- Set default at risk proof settings
- Set up global proof settings
- Set default proof roles
- Set up proof account default settings
- Settings for proof users
- Upload proofs
- What is a proof version
- Who uploads the proof versions
- Convert a document to a proof
- View and compare proof versions
- Upload a proof version
- Manage proof versions
- Upload a proof of a video
- Upload a proof of a website
- Upload a proof with a basic workflow
- Upload a proof with an automated workflow
- Upload with a drag and drop
- Combine multiple files into a single proof
- Proof workflows
- Review and approve work
- Workfront DAM
- System setup
- Metadata and keywords
- Brand Connect customization
- Workfront DAM user: Contributor
- Understand Workfront DAM as a contributor
- Understand asset management as a contributor
- Understand finding assets as a contributor
- Understand lightboxes as a contributor
- Understand metadata and keyword best practices
- Work with assets as a contributor
- Send a file as a contributor
- Publish assets as a contributor
- Add a Workfront DAM link
- Brand Connect user
- Home
- Agile
- Best Practices
- Agile
- API Explorer
- Business case and portfolio optimizer
- Communication
- Custom forms
- Custom reports
- Dashboards
- Documents
- Filters, views, and groupings
- Job roles
- Layout templates
- Licenses and access levels
- Onboarding and adoption
- Organization units
- Portfolios and programs
- Preview sandbox
- Project, task, and issue preferences
- Project templates
- Proofing
- Request queue
- Resource Planner
- Resource pools
- Scenario Planner
- Schedules
- Statuses
- System performance and maintenance
- Text mode reporting
- Timeline planning and management
- Timesheets and logging time
- Utilization
- Workfront Goals
- Workload Balancer
- Workfront for executives