Move from legacy document approvals to Unified Approvals

Last update: October 15, 2026

CREATED FOR:

Admin

Adobe cloud storage projects use Unified Approvals by default. This article describes the functionality available in Unified Approvals compared to legacy document approvals.

NOTE

Unified Approvals is the default only for new objects created on Adobe cloud storage. Legacy Workfront storage objects keep their current approval service.

For more information, see Move to Workfront on Adobe cloud storage.

Understand what is changing from legacy document approvals to Unified Approvals

Legacy document approvals

Unified Approvals

Approvers and reviewers

Approval by individual users only

Approval or review by individual users or teams

Deadlines and reminders

No automated reminders

Automated reminders 72 hours out, 24 hours out, and on the due date

Approval stages and paths

One approval stage, no parallel paths

Multiple approval stages and parallel review paths

Approval templates

Each approval configured from scratch

Reusable templates available in Workfront Setup

Review and markup

Proofing viewer

Proofing viewer on legacy Workfront storage objects, or the Frame.io viewer on Adobe cloud storage objects

AI-assisted review

Not available

Automatic brand-compliance checks with Content Reviewer

Reporting

Legacy reporting

Home KPI widgets and Canvas Dashboards

What happens to approvals already in progress

In-flight approvals that were created in legacy document approvals continue to function as they did before. New approvals on Adobe cloud storage objects use Unified Approvals. New approvals on legacy Workfront storage objects keep the approval service those objects already use.

Prepare for the move

Share the Get started with unified review and approval article with your end users.
Review your existing Workfront Fusion scenarios. If you use legacy document approvals with proofing, see Update Workfront Fusion scenarios for unified review and approval before you bring teams onto Adobe cloud storage.
Set up a review and approval dashboard in Canvas Dashboards to replace any legacy approval reports. See Create a review and approval dashboard for details.

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