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Someone says yes. And who, when and to what stays on record.

The quote before it goes out, the procedure before publishing it, the minutes before archiving them: “Request approval” from a reviewer — or several, one after another. While waiting the file is frozen; the reviewer approves, or rejects writing what is missing; if nobody answers, the request expires on its own after seven days.

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To approve → Approved / Rejected

Approval works on its own, without state workflows: three permissions in the access level — who can send for approval choosing a reviewer; who can approve or reject in person without anyone asking, the “direct sign-off” typical of administrators and managers; who can unblock a file stuck “To approve” by cancelling the request, for instance with the reviewer on holiday, without deciding the outcome. The requester can withdraw their request; the reviewer can be reminded. Every request carries who, what, why, when it expires, and ends with an outcome: approved, denied, expired, cancelled. With Document workflows, a state of the workflow becomes the gate: entering it opens the request, and on decision the file moves on its own to Approved or Rejected.

How it works

  1. Request

    Right-click → Request approval: pick the reviewer, or several in order — if one rejects, it comes back to you. A note for the decider, if needed. The file freezes.

  2. The reviewer decides

    Notification and email; in the “Pending” queue they see the file, who asked and why. Approve, or reject writing what is missing — and whoever uploaded reads it.

  3. Outcome, and on you go

    Approved: the file carries the mark and, with a workflow, changes state. Rejected: it becomes editable again with the reason next to it. Expired after seven days: the requester knows.

“Approved” is not an email. It is a file state, with a signature underneath.

What you can do

  • Frozen while waiting

    Nobody edits the file while the reviewer decides: what they approve is what they saw.

  • Reviewers in sequence

    First the manager, then the board: they approve one after another. A rejection breaks the chain and returns the file to the requester.

  • Direct sign-off

    Whoever has the permission approves in person, without waiting for a request: “You are signing this document directly”.

  • Unblock without outcome

    Reviewer away? Whoever has the permission cancels the request and the file becomes editable again. The outcome, when there is one, stays with the reviewer.

  • Queue and reminders

    “Pending” for the reviewer, “My requests” for the requester, the count of folders with open requests, a reminder one click away.

  • With File requests and Workflows

    A file delivered on request can go through approval; a workflow state can open the request on its own.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a workspace?

No: approval on request works on any folder. The workspace adds the policies — download, upload and deletion with approval — that open requests on their own.

How is it different from a kSign signature?

Approval is an internal go-ahead, tracked in Files. A kSign signature is a legally valid electronic signature on the document. A contract goes through the first and ends with the second.

Must a rejection have a reason?

You can make it mandatory as a comment. In any case the reason, if written, reaches whoever uploaded, in the file’s thread.

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