Content Approval

Owned by Support Desk
Last updated: Jun 10, 2024 by Lisa Barnett
5 min read

Overview

Content Approval columns can be setup for any list or library. It is often used for things like time-off requests by staff. With the content approval list columns, new items are pending until they are approved or rejected. Items that are pending are only able to be edited by users in the GRP HR, GRP Managers and GRP Site Administrators security groups that are included with ShareVision.

Content Approval can be set up:

  • by creating columns with very specific names to invoke the feature

  • through Versioning Settings on the list.

Requirements/Dependencies

Before enabling Content Approval on your ShareVision site, you will need to

  • Login with ShareVision Administrator permissions

  • Have an idea of which lists require Content Approval

Instructions

Method 1: Content Approval through Named Columns

Column names (titles) must be “Approval Status“ and “Approval Comments” for the system to activate the feature.

  1. Add a new choice, drop-down column with the name “Approval Status”, with values Pending, Approved, Denied. Set the default value to Pending. Also add a multi-line text column with the name “Approval Comments”.

     

  2. Create a page part where user can fill in the form for the approval request. To not display item which are still pending to the staff member, in the page-part ‘Additional Filter Fields’ settings, filter out any items which have an [Approval Status] = “Pending”.

     

  3. Create an email alert in the Email Alert Manager Add-on for ‘GRP HR' and 'GRP Managers’ to view and update the status of the column.

  4. Create a separate page part with the same data source which is only visible to the GRP Site Administrators, GRP HR and GRP Managers where they can view all the items which are pending approval status. This is where the Approval Status will be updated. In the page-part ‘Additional Filter Fields’ settings, filter only for items which have an [Approval Status] = “Pending”.

  5. Once a manager is has approved the item, due to the filter setup in step 2 the user will be able to view the item once the approving user has updated the status.

Only users in the permission group GRP Site Administrators, GRP HR and GRP Managers will have the ability to edit the “Approval Status” and “Approval Comments” fields. They will be blocked for all other users

 

Method 2: Enabling Feature in Versioning Settings

  1. Login to ShareVision with a user account that has Site Administrator permissions. 

  2. Select the gear in the upper right hand corner and then select Site Administration:

  1. When prompted, enter your ShareVision Administrator username and password and select Sign In.

  2. In Site Administration, select View All Lists and Libraries in the List and Libraries section:

  3. Use the search bar to locate the list you’d like to enable Content Approval on

  4. Click List Settings

  5. Once is the List Settings, select Version Settings under the General Settings section

  6. In Versioning Settings, select Yes for Content Approval

  7. Turning on Content Approval will also unlock the Draft Item Security section as the item is considered a draft until it has been approved. Here you can select if you’d like any user who has read access to be able to view all the items, only users that have edit access, or only users who can approve items and the author of each item.

Only users in a permission group with Full Control or Content Approval on the list have access will have the ability to edit the “Approval Status” and “Approval Comments” fields. They will be blocked for all other users.

Content Approval Permissions can also be added to any existing security group on your site. Please review the Editing Permission Levels for Existing Security Groups in the Security Groups article.

  1. Once you have made a selection, click OK

  2. Create a list PagePart using the list with content approval as a data source

Using Content Approval

Method 1: Set Up through Column Names

Once Content Approval has been set up on the list and the PageParts have been made, it’s time to use Content Approval.

  1. Staff will navigate to the PagePart and fill in the form as normal. Note there will be two locked columns (Approval Status and Approval Comments)

  2. The second PagePart which is only visible to the GRP Site Administrators, GRP HR and GRP Managers is where requests will be Approved or Denied. To approve or deny a request, edit the entry - the Approval Status and Approval Comments fields will be unlocked.

  3. Select a status from the Approval Status and enter any Approval Comments, press save

  4. Once a status have been updated, it will be visible on the PagePart

  5. The staff will be able to see if their request has been approved or denied and any comments that were left.

 

Method 2: Enabled through Versioning Settings

  1. On the PagePart, users will fill out the form as normal

  2. Once staff have saved the entry, there are two places a user in the groups listed above can approve or deny an item: 1) from the PagePart 2) from the Display Form

    1. On PagePart you will see a checkmark button beside each entry. Clicking the button will bring up a pop up where the entry can be Approved, Rejected, or left Pending. Comments can also be given.

      b. Click on an entry to access the Display Form, once on the display form the Approve/Reject button will be visible. Clicking the button will bring up the same popup as seen in 2-a

  3. Once Approved or Rejected, the Approval Status will be updated and any comments left will appear. Approved entries will be visible to all users unless otherwise filtered on the PagePart, Rejected items will only be visible to the creator and those who can see drafts

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