Power Automate Document Approval workflow for SharePoint

[@TheDistractionStudio]

Paused the video for a quick to say Thanks. Ok, back to watching.

[@RezaDorrani]

😊 thank you

[@PepperBabyandmore]

This is an exceptional tutorial and much appreciated! Excited to implement for our PO process! I am amazed at how generous some people can be with sharing their knowledge!

[@RezaDorrani]

You are most welcome! Welcome to the most generous channel 😊

[@DBuss-om8sh]

I'm new to Sharepoint and all the Power Platform tools. This is not your first video I watch and I have to say that they are very well explained and useful for a beginner. Thanks!

[@RezaDorrani]

Glad to hear that! Thanks for watching and liking the videos.

[@prashantarya880]

Thank you, sir! After watching your videos, I am trained in MS PowerApp, MS Sharepoint. Thanks a lot sir!

[@RezaDorrani]

Your most welcome!

[@sairamrao-h5z]

Clear video demonstrating the approval flow. very useful. Except I am getting a bad gateway error at set content approval status.

[@RezaDorrani]

I have not come across this issue and hence not sure what is the cause for your issue. I recommend posting your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com

[@JasonWalkerUSMC]

You are an excellent instructor. Concise and complete. Thank you for these videos.

[@RezaDorrani]

Glad you like them!

[@GavinScrimgeour]

This video was brilliant. Thank you very much for demonstrating the functions of the document library as well as linking it with a Flow. Well done mate 👍

[@RezaDorrani]

You're very welcome!

[@GarryFenimore]

Really great video, Reza! I'm now committed fully to the power platform with my job at Quisitive and have started the certification process. I miss you more here all the time!

[@RezaDorrani]

Awesome! Excited to know you are working fully on the power platform. I miss you’ll as well.

[@RobDinsmore]

Thank You for this. This was just the level I needed to make the transition from SPD to Flow for approvals.

[@RezaDorrani]

Glad to hear that

[@AndrewSmith-zm7vn]

Fantastic and what a coincidence, Gareth and myself were working this exact same situation this today, what our trigger method was to use a For Selected File and use a formatted column using JSON to act as the button to trigger our approval flow. :). For a Select File, it allows you to present a message box for the Requester and likewise can allow you to respond to the Requester who triggered the approval request (bit like last modified by). What we learnt was to just take advantage of the built-in capability for Content Approval in a document library/list.

[@RezaDorrani]

Great! Like minds think alike :)

[@gauravk1987]

@@RezaDorrani Great Video. What can be done if multiple users need to see the file which is in draft state before it is sent for approval? Can we implement the same workflow then?

[@RezaDorrani]

@@gauravk1987 Draft status can only be viewed by user who uploaded file and site collection admins. I don’t think this concept will work for multiple users.

[@gauravk1987]

@@RezaDorrani Thanks Reza I actually changed the draft security to everyone and seems like your work flow still works with it. Thank you. Is there any way to declare an item as record that could be added as a step in the end of this flow so that the document will get locked after its approved? I looked at Plumsail SP but couldn't figure it out. Any info would be appreciated.

[@RezaDorrani]

@@gauravk1987 Ideally draft security should only be visible to the user who created the item :) I believe there are APIs to declare item as a record in flow. You should use the new Labelling concept to set item as record. Check Joanne Klein's blog.

[@nicovancoller1304]

Reza you are legend ! We cannot thank you enough for all of your great work.

[@RezaDorrani]

Thank you for your kind words but I am no legend.

[@Markfx_w]

This is the best video out there on this topic. You are so clear and articulate and easy to follow. Appreciate your work.

[@RezaDorrani]

Wow, thank you!

[@rajaamohammed6965]

simple and neat combo of content approval with flow approval action. Thanks for sharing and appreciate including trigger condition to save flow API call !

[@RezaDorrani]

Thanks for the great feedback.

[@nel.caminantesolar]

Excellent! You helped me with a customer. Great explanation and very clear every step (something that is not usual on KZbin). Thanks!

[@RezaDorrani]

Glad to hear that! Thank You for the feedback and thanks watching the video.

[@JamesHarrison-l3v]

Seems no matter what I am looking for you have a video. Thank you for making this content and for making it available to everyone.

[@RezaDorrani]

My content is driven from subscriber requests. I listen to signals. Most requested topics are my favorite signals :)

[@aishwaryagorthi5288]

A simple solution for a modified file approval ! This worked for me like a charm 🙌

[@RezaDorrani]

Excellent!

[@perrysellers9198]

Excellent thorough explanation Reza. Thanks for taking the time to share your process. The only thing I would recommend is to check into the quality of the images. They are quite blurry and a bit hard to read. Thx

[@RezaDorrani]

Thanks Perry. I would like to know which images are you relating to? Video is loaded in full HD.

[@kyawthumin9767]

Thank for your step by step guide which is very easy to follow and understand. Appreciate your efforts in contribution to others.

[@RezaDorrani]

Glad it was helpful!

[@chrisproctor2854]

I can't wait to eventually implement approvals for SharePoint, once I get the basics of PowerApps down.

[@RezaDorrani]

I have a full playlist on approvals on my channel covering various scenarios.

[@akashsaini684]

Reza - This is an excellent tutorial on SharePoint Approval workflow. Thank you so much. I had a quick question on 'set content approval status' action under Yes condition. I have a use case where I need to update couple of SharePoint columns if the Approval status is "Approved". I have added that action 'update sharepoint field' just before 'set content approval status'. The Approval Status column is to 'Approved' and then it immediately changes to 'Draft', probably because a SharePoint column was updated. What's the best way to keep the workflow status as 'Approved' in this case ? I am using the exact same flow as you have described above with the only change where I am trying to update couple of SharePoint columns

[@RezaDorrani]

Thanks! For this you would probably be better off not using content approval or first updating the column values and then setting content approval to Approved.

[@akashsaini684]

@@RezaDorrani - Thank you Reza for the quick reply. I really appreciate it. I am actually updating the column values first and then setting the content approval to approved, even after that the status is changing from Approved to Draft. Would you instead recommend a custom approval workflow if content approval is not recommended in this case? Do you cover topics like this in your paid training for members ? I would love to subscribe if that's the case

[@RezaDorrani]

@akashsaini684 Not sure why that would be the case. You could try custom approval. Paid trainings has a set agenda and folks vote for topics there. Would definitely cover this in a future training program if there is interest from all.

[@akashsaini684]

@@RezaDorrani Thanks Reza. I will further investigate this at my end.

[@vazquecj]

Hi Reza, great job on your videos...thank you! I do have a follow-up question, if I may: I'm building a document approval triggered by uploading a document to a specific SharePoint folder. I'd like to prompt the uploader, at inception, for three users; they represent the second and third recipients of the approval workflow and the third just receives an email with a copy of the document that was uploaded.

[@RezaDorrani]

You can use the for a selected file trigger-based flow. In trigger action you can add input for 3-person selection. Something like kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHnTanaKmZ2th7c

[@MrDecarte]

Awesome Reza! Thanks a million for those great tutorials. I am a big fan -Thumbs up!!

[@RezaDorrani]

Thank Anthony. Appreciate the support and thanks for watching and liking the videos.

[@RezaDorrani]

@@MrDecarte I will have to look at your flow in action to provide guidance. I would recommend posting your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com

[@dilankamohotti3607]

excellent video, very help ful to show our users how the approval feature works in sharepoint!

[@RezaDorrani]

Thanks

[@akkaradechsrithongchai7766]

Yes Very good , This is a new concept about data security that we can do that not just a lock it as we do so far .

[@RezaDorrani]

Thanks

[@hilaryblank3725]

This is exactly what I needed!! Thanks Reza. Great video. So easy to follow along.

[@RezaDorrani]

Great to hear!

[@roylorenzo-c3h]

Both Comprehensive and Clear as always. Thanks Rezza Dorrani, you've been a huge help

[@RezaDorrani]

Thank you for the amazing feedback

[@ZasterWebHelp]

Really enjoy all your tutorials. Question related to this example. Is there a way I can call/invoke the "Submit for approval" from Power Apps? As is, I have to manually select a document and then select "Submit for approval" before the flow execute. Thank you :)

[@RezaDorrani]

Thanks! I dont think there is a direct option to do so from Power Apps. You would need to create a flow that triggers from Power Apps and then implement similar pattern for flow.

[@pratima_153]

Thanks Reza! We learn so much from you always!! Could you please explain how to notify users that a certain document is reaching its expiry and automatically unpublish the document or page using power automate

[@RezaDorrani]

Will add it to my backlog but this is the first request on this topic. I will need a lot more requests on this topic to give this a higher priority.

[@nicoleq146]

@@RezaDorrani I need this too please :)

[@RezaDorrani]

@@nicoleq146 Noted! I have topics with over 20 requests that is in my backlog. I will need a lot more folks requesting this.

[@brownlkt]

@@RezaDorrani I need this as well please 🙂

[@raywhite8591]

I'd also be interested in this topic

[@moxsc8562]

Great Tuto Reza. Now that you have an automated way to trigger your approval process. Do you know how I could remove the 'submit for approval' control in your top bar?

[@RezaDorrani]

I don't think we can hide that since it is a feature in SharePoint.

[@idontwantafrickinhandle]

Excellent video Reza. 10 out of 10... well spoken and a very good demo!

[@RezaDorrani]

Thank you!

[@fulcrum8653]

This is awesome Reza but in my power automate, I couldn't locate the Trigger Conditions which you show at 15:12.

[@RezaDorrani]

If you watch video from 15:00, I show how to get to it. It only works for the trigger action (first action in flow).

[@mohamedyusuf9446]

Exceptional tutorial with excellent detailed guidance. JAK for continuing to share your wealth of knowledge.

[@RezaDorrani]

Much appreciated!

[@mikeberg1830]

Thanks!

[@RezaDorrani]

Welcome

[@TreyJ34]

Thank you for this info! This was extremely helpful and I was able to complete this with ease because of your video. I do have a small question.... when you click submit for approval, it shows a box where you are able to type in comments about changes in the document. How do I include that in the Details section of my Start and Wait for an approval step? I want that included in the email to the approver.

[@RezaDorrani]

Those comments are office 365 comments and not readily available. I believe it requires a graph api call to get that info. Something that I have not explored.

[@dhawallseth5264]

Thank you Reza for sharing 'Approvals' in simple terms. Makes it easier to implement.

[@RezaDorrani]

Glad it was helpful!

[@hannahmay3078]

Excellent Video Reza, thanks for uploading. I have a couple of issues with my workflow that I hope you can help me with. The 'Submit for approval' button is missing in my document library. Also the approval workflow triggers as soon as I upload a 'draft' document or update the metadata, although I have added the trigger condition: '@equals(triggerOutputs()?['body/{ModerationStatus}'], 'Pending')' as explained in the video to trigger when the approval status is 'pending'.

[@RezaDorrani]

I will have to look at your flow & library setup in action to provide guidance. I would recommend posting your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com

[@hannahmay3078]

@@RezaDorrani Thanks for your quick response, Reza. I replicated the flow you created in the above video in Power Automate with no issues. The issues I have are in SharePoint. I will post the screenshots in SharePoint on the forum.

[@RezaDorrani]

@@hannahmay3078 Let me know what you find!

[@hannahmay3078]

@@RezaDorrani Hi Reza, the submit for approval button has reappeared. However, I seem to have an issue with the workflow in Power Automate. The approvers are getting notifications when the document is still in draft status although I have configured the approval to trigger only when the approval status is 'Pending'. Is this how the flow is supposed the work?

[@joelasselin]

Awesome video Reza thank you ! Works fine on my side but the time stamp in the response summary is wrong, it is 4 hours ahead. What would you recommend to fix this ? I assume it is because i'm in Eastern Canadian Timezone. Is there an easy fix for this ?

[@RezaDorrani]

Power Automate works with dates and times in UTC format. Check flow expressions that allow you to change the time zone.

[@georgeb6238]

Dear Reza, thank you for your clear video. Do you know how to make the approval/rejection comments show up in the versioning history of a file? This would be really helpful. Kind regards, George

[@RezaDorrani]

I have not tried that. One alternative would be to write those comments in a separate column so it shows in version history.

[@vinaydeep557]

you are best of the best. a refresher after 3 years .:)

[@RezaDorrani]

Glad to hear that

[@mmendezvq35]

A refresher would be nice, a lot has changed I would think in 3 years.

[@MountainStateAngler]

Great tutorial! Thank you. I love it. Quick question, particularly related different statuses. After it is uploaded and in draft and then selected for Submit for Approval and goes into Pending. Is there a way I can have it say "In Review" if it is in the approval process? Or would i just replace the "Pending" to "In-Review"?

[@RezaDorrani]

Most welcome! Oh its been a while that I have done this. Do not remember the video :) Approval Status is an inbuilt column. You can always add another column and show different statuses there.

[@kevinbriz17]

Great tutorial Reza, thanks. I can't get the comments out to the email and SharePoint library. I get the response summary only. But when i watch your video, the comments you enter at 25:43 don't appear in the email at 26:45 or your SharePoint at 27:17, so maybe you could look at this again?

[@RezaDorrani]

The comments don't appear in email because I did not add the comments to my send email action. Check 23:00 onwards I did mention in video that I missed showing the part to add comments. If you want to learn more about adding approval comments then check my full playlist on approvals (it contains various scenarios where I used it) - kzbin.info/aero/PLTyFh-qDKAiFUGTtwSwFT79Y7_jq_Aipe

[@richardpreston8309]

Your videos are great. Realistic use cases and very clear explanations. Thanks a lot.

[@RezaDorrani]

You are most welcome.

[@Obiwan-ik2tw]

I tried and it is working beautifully :) Reza is amazing :)

[@RezaDorrani]

Great to hear!

[@TastyChickenLegs]

Excellent tutorial. Thank you for taking the time to explain it so thoroughly.

[@RezaDorrani]

You're very welcome!

[@terrishkuda7085]

Thanks Reza, very clear instructions. I have two questions, 1. when the approver is viewing the document, is there a way to see what changes have been made? 2. what happens if you have multiple people modifying the document and submitting their changes for approval. Is there any lockout on a document that is in draft state by someone else to prevent issues with multiple people editing the document?

[@RezaDorrani]

1 - Approver can check the version history of the document in SharePoint. That will provide all the details. 2 - You have the option to check out a document as well. That prevents other users from making changes until checked in. Both of the above are SharePoint features.

[@nikitananaware8211]

Hello Reza, Great video, very helpful. Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you! but I have one question - How to identify who approved a SharePoint document?

[@RezaDorrani]

Most welcome! Flow action of approval has details of who approved the document. You can use that to store the information. I have done several approval videos showcasing that. Check my approval playlist.

[@sumitkohli5550]

Great Video Reza showcasing Approval Workflows in Power Automate. I want to ask if there is a video for the Power App development, that would be great as the app looks really awesome.

[@RezaDorrani]

There is no Power App in this video. It's all SharePoint & flow. You may be relating to my video on leave request application. I am working on a video on that as well.

[@sumitkohli5550]

@@RezaDorrani Yes I am sorry, I was about to delete the comment as I had commented on the wrong video. And yes I was referring to the Leave Request video which has a Power App for requestor and approver. Thanks for the update, eagerly waiting for that video.

[@RezaDorrani]

@@sumitkohli5550 No worries. I will have that video out by next week. I have never had so many requests for a follow up video :)

[@sumitkohli5550]

@@RezaDorrani Yes I can see that in the comments sections of the video and this would be really awesome as I can present the idea to my customers of a single power app for request creation and approval. You are really great. Thanks for all these videos with in depth details.

[@mohamedyusuf9446]

AAWW Reza, JAK for continuing to share your wealth of knowledge. I know you refer to Dynamic approvers, hence my use case scenario is, I may have up to 10 approvers, thus what are the options to design an approval WF and assign it all 10 [either serial or parallel] using the most efficient method. Back in the day, SP had an out of the Box WK where document owners were able assign all approves and email the approval task to assignees, is there anything similar using the Power Automate? Appreciate your guidance.

[@RezaDorrani]

Thanks! There are options but not as straightforward as old school SP workflows. I will recommend checking my playlist on approvals (covers various scenarios)

[@travishill4613]

Thank you for sharing Reza this is a fantastic video demonstration. I have been using the exact set-up for content approvals for a while now and it has been flawless. However, 24 hours ago the Submit for approval button that appears when selecting a draft item no longer appears. The only way I can move the document from draft to pending is by right-clicking on the item and going to More then Publish. Have you ever seen this before? Any idea how this could happen or beter still do you know how I can fix it. Any knowledge you have would be greatly appreciated.

[@RezaDorrani]

Draft is only accessible to current user. The owner of the flow will not be able to access draft items of other users. Not sure if this is something related to a change that was done recently (but never know, may be a change with SharePoint). I will recommend checking on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/ in case someone has run into something similar.

[@pcostarg]

I have the same exact question. My Submit for approval button disappeared from the libraries. I lost a tons of time, trying to figure out if it was some setting I messed up. Guess Microsoft changed stuff for the worst again...

[@RezaDorrani]

@@pcostarg I did not see any communication on this on any forum either. Its strange that a change was made by MSFT!

[@travishill4613]

About 3 hours ago my submit for approval button returned. The only thing I did between it being missing and returning was go to manage my flows open it and hit turn off. I have since turned it back on and it is still there. I have no idea if it was my actions that caused the submit for approval button to return or just coincidence but it's worth a shot. Let me know how you go.

[@pcostarg]

@@travishill4613 I still don't have the button. Tried to turn off and turn on. My flow is a bit different from Reza's one, but the trigger is the same (with the same trigger condition and all). Either way, I thought this button was SPO library Approval setting bounded and not flow related.

[@broodled]

one of the best videos on approval flow. I have 1 Q. Suppose I do not activate content approval via versioning setting instead add a col for "Approval Status" with choices of Pending, Approved and Rejected. Default selection is Pending. If the file is approved, the Approval status col should change to "Approved", if rejected, it should change to "Rejected". What condition do I need to follow to ensure the flow works. If you have any video which caters this point with reference to a document library, pls. share the link. Thank you in advance!

[@RezaDorrani]

Thank You. I may not have an exact use case match video, but I do have a full series of videos on approvals that would help. Check kzbin.info/aero/PLTyFh-qDKAiFUGTtwSwFT79Y7_jq_Aipe

[@asankalk]

Thank You for this awesome video. If the document approver on Annual Leave, can the requestor pick a different person to approve?

[@RezaDorrani]

Most welcome! Once approval process begins, only the approver can pick a different person. I have done many videos on approvals (all in a playlist on my channel) - where I have shown scenarios like approval timeouts, reminders, check if approver is out of office etc.

[@asankalk]

@@RezaDorrani Thank you, I'll check them.

[@littlewires8715]

Thank you Reza for sharing. This is an excellent tutorial! One question: Is there a way to request the user to input the approver after the 'submit' button is pressed?

[@RezaDorrani]

Look at for a selected item trigger in flow. Check approvals playlist on my channel. I have done 18 videos on approvals with various scenarios.

[@abhijeetjaitapkar1687]

Hi Reza...this is superb...thanks..is it possible to have digital signature over a document itself as and when the workflow is approved by any individual...?

[@RezaDorrani]

Possible but I believe that will require premium connectors. You could generate HTML and generate a PDF file with signature embedded. Check this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3KmnGigobaSoLc

[@eloizeteixeira1570]

@Reza you are the best, I learn a lot with your videos. I am facing a demand: Client wants approve in batch and it would be the best approach (current I set buttons for each row to either accept or reject), however, the problem I notice is: #1 We are limited to accept this 3 status only (Approved; Rejected; Pending); #2 After 'Approved' or 'Rejected', the command for it is still available, so the approver can modify their response at any time, and it has an issue, because sometimes people wait for some approval so they can maintain a data, for example, and in this case would not be useful. Having said that, do you recommend anything in order to avoid these issues above ?

[@RezaDorrani]

#1 Approved, Rejected is related to the SharePoint "Approval Status column". In flow approval action, you can use custom approvals and add your own buttons. #2 Depends on the approval flow pattern you define. I will have to get a complete picture of your entire scenario to provide any guidance. I have an approval flows playlist which includes many use cases. It might help - 7_jq_Aipe

[@sreeyeshmc60]

Great and informative content, Thank you for your time and effort. I have small query, How Can i Add external 365 user into Approval loop?

[@RezaDorrani]

I do not have a specific video on that. Check powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/General-Power-Automate/Approval-with-external-users/td-p/327840

[@Cleo23Blue]

❤❤ Amazing tutorial Will this still work if minor versioning is disabled in the library settings?

[@RezaDorrani]

Most welcome! Try turning off minor versions and check

[@oduwrestler]

This video is fantastic! Does this follow a similar flow process if you're using a MS Teams library? Do you have a video on integrating that? Thank you again!

[@RezaDorrani]

MS Teams libraries are also SharePoint Libraries. Process should be the same. I do not have a specific video on that.

[@oduwrestler]

@@RezaDorrani Indeed, should have checked before coming straight to ask. I really appreciate the video again, very easy to follow!

[@RezaDorrani]

@@oduwrestler 👍

[@Rolly_De_Castro]

Thank you Reza for this tutorial i really appreciate it. I would like to ask why the time in your computer did not match in the time of the response that the requestor received. Thank you again.

[@RezaDorrani]

Sorry I did not understand the question. Can you point to times in video when this was shown.

[@Rolly_De_Castro]

@@RezaDorrani time is 26:53. The date and time in your email does not match the one approved by the approver. Is that a UTC time or your country time?

[@RezaDorrani]

@@Rolly_De_Castro Where is my system time shown in video? 26:53 simply shows date and time based on the time zone I calculated it for (if I remember)

[@Rolly_De_Castro]

@@RezaDorrani If you can see the date & time that you received the email is Saturday May 8, 2021 2:14PM. But in the body of the email it show that request date is Saturday May 8, 2021 9:12PM and response date is Saturday May 8, 2021 9:14PM.

[@RezaDorrani]

@@Rolly_De_Castro Email shows UTC + many times I may record video in parts and join.

[@capstonepm111]

Excellent work Reza. Can you please elaborate if instead of sending each invoice separately what if we need to make a recurring flow (say weekly) that gets all items in "Pending" status and send one email to Approvers with data in tabular format in email body. How this can be done alongwith Approve / Reject updates? Would appreciate if you can make a video on this pls....

[@RezaDorrani]

Approvals work on single items. You could run flow on recurrence and send 1 approval action, but response will be for all together. I do not have any reference videos on your scenario though. I will recommend checking on forums in case someone has done something similar powerusers.microsoft.com

[@capstonepm111]

@@RezaDorrani thanks for your prompt reply. Can you pls make a video on this scenario? I guess it would benefit your community including myself🙂

[@RezaDorrani]

@@capstonepm111 I only make videos when I receive multiple requests on a topic. Every quarter I ask subscribers for topic suggestions on Community tab of my channel. Most voted ideas get added to my backlog. Make sure to post this idea there once the next topic suggestion post comes.

[@bairikrishna0808]

As always, this is a great video Reza around the document approval. Why is that Etag required in the flow? Without which the document status will not set to be approved?

[@RezaDorrani]

ETag is part of the file properties which are stored together with the file and is required for tracking content approvals in documents & pages.

[@walkmethroughyourlogic]

thank you Reza, beautifully explained. What if I want the document to be sent to an external email (eg. supplier) once it's been approved?

[@RezaDorrani]

You could use flow to send the file as an attachment to the external user by using the email connector.

[@EasyProj]

Awesome. Is it possible to select multiple files and submit for approval? I can't find the button after selecting more than 1 file.

[@RezaDorrani]

Only allows single file selection.

[@Kris-gc2gy]

Thanks for a great tutorial. Do you have video where approver does approval in sharepoint list instead of from outlook email ?

[@RezaDorrani]

Most welcome! I do not remember to be honest. Check my Playlist on approvals.

[@GabrielDunn-y4w]

Thanks! What if multiple people need to approve the document? And allow them each to approve at their convenience, not in a specific order ?

[@RezaDorrani]

Check my playlist on approvals. I have shown various approval patterns.

[@olegguriev892]

Great tutorial. This was exactly what I was looking for! Thanks Reza!

[@RezaDorrani]

Most welcome!

[@olegguriev892]

@@RezaDorrani One question I got just now is how to modify the process so it would also deal with folders? It's just now, if I copy folder with files I'm able to submit files for an approval, but not the folder. As a result, files change status to Approved and folder shows as Pending.

[@RezaDorrani]

@@olegguriev892 I have not done much work with folders. I will recommend checking on the forums powerusers.microsoft.com/ in case someone has done something similar.

[@olegguriev892]

@@RezaDorrani Thanks Reza!

[@asadmughal6431]

Hello Reza, Excellent work can you please guide flow for file deletion. I mean if any one delete a file it must go for approval. Thanks.

[@RezaDorrani]

I do not have a video reference on file deletion scenario and would have to try it out to provide guidance. I will recommend checking on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/ in case someone has done something similar.

[@asadmughal6431]

@@RezaDorrani I went through your recommended link but no luck if you get chance please create it will be very thankful. Much appreciate for your excellent work Man keep it up.

[@RezaDorrani]

@@asadmughal6431 You can post your question on the forum. I make videos on topics when I receive many requests on it. This is the first request on this topic. Chances of video being made on this are very low.

[@lynadams1470]

Hello @reza dorrani Great video!!! When using out of the box content approval, is there a way to append multiple approvers comments in Set Content Approval Status - Comments field?

[@RezaDorrani]

Thanks Lyn. Interesting question. I would have to try it out myself to know if it’s possible. My guess would be Yes. I would recommend to check on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com in case someone has done something similar

[@werrieswork4272]

Great video thanks Reza, just a few questions: 1. After approval status has been completed, what prevents anyone from editing an item and upload/remove attachment on an item? Can only owners edit/delete items? 2. From audit compliance perspective, any additional settings needed for compliancy?

[@RezaDorrani]

1 - If requirement is not prevent further updates, then you could either set item level permissions (make item read only) or move it to a different list (read only data) 2 - You can track entire approval process via flow + versioning of item will provide full details.

[@shanellcopeland6431]

@@RezaDorrani How can you make the item with attachment read only once the content approval has been set to approved? How do you set the workflow to go through 2 additional set of approvals without modifying the document?

[@RezaDorrani]

@@shanellcopeland6431 Explore rest api options in SharePoint to set item permissions. I do not have a specific video on it.

[@yehunlavolontededieu322]

Great. Thanks Reza for the step-by-step guide.

[@RezaDorrani]

My pleasure!

[@sathiishsonaawane2656]

Thanks Reza...Your expression tricks was super helpful...👍 Keep posting such wonderful videos...🙏

[@sathiishsonaawane2656]

Also can we stop Contributors from editing metadata or reupload approved files?...to stop them editing approved data, I created flow to 1st remove all access to approved files and then provide fresh read only access to those files. Is it correct method ?

[@RezaDorrani]

My pleasure 😊

[@RezaDorrani]

That is correct. You would have to play with permissions.

[@nununu8]

Hi Reza. Thank you for this video. I am currently using a basic approval workflow (start approval + wait for approval) for our organisational document control. Basically issuing documents to users to confirm they have read and understood internall process documents. My organisational requirement is to be able to log each approvers response as they come in. At the moment i am unable to track the responses until after 'wait until approval' function is completed. Is there anyway to track individual responses in real time? Ive created a seperate list for these responses but i cant seem to get it working. Thank you so much for your work Reza

[@RezaDorrani]

To log each response whil approval is ongoing - you would need to query Approval tables in dataverse (premium feature). I did show one query to approvals in dataverse to find out which user(s) have not responded so they get reminder emails. kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKbTgmN3l6mfZqs

[@VinodKumar-vu7sd]

Hi Reza... can u please Give one example for :- Can the override label be blank ? If so we can combine 2 parameters under a single label.

[@Cherry_Pavan]

👍

[@RezaDorrani]

Sorry I did not understand the request. Override which label?

[@VinodKumar-vu7sd]

For example : notify a team when a new form response is submitted.

[@RezaDorrani]

@@VinodKumar-vu7sd Absolutely can be done. There are flow templates available for that.

[@vitonderka]

thank you for this easy to follow and great tutoial!

[@RezaDorrani]

You are most welcome

[@GEORGE93095]

Hello Reza, an excellent video tutorial like all the others you have. How can I define my approvers based on a sharepoint list?. I know you have another video where you define your approvers based on a sharepoint list, but I would like to know how I can merge that with this video tutorial, because that's what I really need.

[@RezaDorrani]

Thank You. I have done multiple videos on those. Check kzbin.info/aero/PLTyFh-qDKAiFUGTtwSwFT79Y7_jq_Aipe You would have to mix the logic in both the videos.

[@flightmode7655]

Great Tutorial Reza! i made a mistake i guess. it creates always the apply to each loop when i add responses comments afterwards.

[@RezaDorrani]

I have not come across the mentioned issue and hence not sure what the reason for your issue is. I recommend posting your issue with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com

[@jodieang8944]

Thanks for step by step guide and sharing, this is very useful for beginner. However would like to check how can we auto populate "approver name" under "Approver Name Column". I believe "Approver Name Column" was hidden in All Document view in your video above. Thanks in advance!

[@RezaDorrani]

You can populate hidden columns via flow.

[@jodieang8944]

@@RezaDorrani It would be good if you could also list down the guide in chat. Appreciate it :) thanks!

[@RezaDorrani]

@@jodieang8944 I would have to try it out to list it out in chat. Best to post queries on forums at powerusers.microsoft.com

[@mikew-bl6zi]

Hi Reza, great video!! I have a question regarding editing a document DURING (not before) the approval flow. In our scenario, a user submits a document for approval. The approver needs to be able to review the document from the email and make changes to the document where needed before the request will be approved. Once the changes are made, the approver will approve the request from within the email. As changes to the document are made during the approval flow, the “Approval Status” of the document is set from “Pending” to “Draft” and not “Approved” Is there a workaround to enable approves to make changes in documents and approve the submitted request? Many thanks in advance 👍

[@RezaDorrani]

There is no workaround with this approach. You would need to avoid using "Approval Status" and create your own status column and track through that.

[@rikhilpatel2613]

Hello Reza thank you! excellent tutorial. My flow works perfectly but my trigger/flow keeps running after it has been approved. How can I set the Power Automate flow to run only once after Sharepoint column has a value? Please assist, thank you.

[@RezaDorrani]

Check trigger conditions in flow. I would also recommend posting your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com

[@NicoleRowley-o7s]

This was so helpful. If the manager requires corrections on the document before approving, can those comments be made directly onto the document so that when the request is rejected, the employee can go into the document to see the comments the manager made within the actual document?

[@RezaDorrani]

Any changes in document will re-triegger the flow.

[@sayantanchatterjee9015]

Thanks for the video. But my recent experience with this was the version history is not well maintained, meaning you will not know who has approved the document and will have to depend completely on the Approval comments. Handled it with a manually triggered flow.

[@RezaDorrani]

True! We can always add additional columns to track that information.

[@aditiverma5161]

Thank you so much, your videos are awesome, contains every minute detail

[@RezaDorrani]

Thanks so much for watching and liking the videos

[@rebuseg]

This is awesome Reza! I've spent hours plodding around other training and couldn't get it 😂 I have a question tho.... Is it possible to stamp sharepoint documents with meta data from sharepoint? For ISO9001 compliance. I would appreciate your help

[@RezaDorrani]

Thanks. Stamp docs with metadata I am not sure about it. I will recommend checking on forums at techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/sharepoint/ct-p/SharePoint

[@Ohiomaprime]

Awesome video Reza. Thanks so much for this - timely and apt. Can this be cascaded to multiple levels of approvals ?

[@RezaDorrani]

Yes, absolutely. You can design any approval pattern of your choice.

[@harshitbajaj364]

Hello Reza, Thank you so much for this video, it helped me to achieve wat I was trying but I have one question or query. When I'm trying to request for submission for multiple documents or items the 'Submit for Approval' option greyed out, I have to select each document one by one to submit this for approval. Is there any way we can submit multiple documents at same time?

[@RezaDorrani]

Currently, submit for approval is supported for single document only.

[@RamonRodriguez-fk2oo]

Thank you so much this was so helpful. Do you know if an email notification can be sent to a different person depending on the payee account? I created a column to show the account it should be paid from (Payee Account) as we have multiple accounts/locations, each location has a different approver?

[@RezaDorrani]

You could use a shared mailbox to send the emails.

[@shathike4079]

HI Reza, Very Good Explanation, when a file deleted from sharepoint, document owner notify approve or reject using power automate. Please make a demo for this

[@RezaDorrani]

I make videos when I receive multiple requests on a topic. Every 6 months I ask subscribers for topic suggestions on Community Tab of my channel. Most voted idea gets added to my backlog. Make sure to post this idea whenever I post the next topic suggestion post.

[@Tolunia]

Thank you so much for this tutorial. It's exceptional.

[@RezaDorrani]

You’re most welcome

[@eduhazard]

EXCELLENT video! One question, is there a way to add a step for digital signature to get the order approved? I mean the approver sign the doc, then got approved. Thanks!

[@RezaDorrani]

You would need to integrate adobe sign into your flow to get digital signatures.

[@YAS-dn6xn]

Reza, you are the man!

[@RezaDorrani]

Thanks

[@lyntons]

Fantastic tutorial. Love your approach.

[@RezaDorrani]

Thank you

[@ericjabari3536]

Excellent Video. but quick question how to make this flow run with manual trigger

[@RezaDorrani]

You can run flow for a selected item from sharepoint. Check my approvals playlist. I have done some videos on them. Approvals playlist kzbin.info/aero/PLTyFh-qDKAiFUGTtwSwFT79Y7_jq_Aipe

[@anshhuln]

great video. The only error I face is the Approver Email is sent from My Name and ID whoever modifies it. It doesn't come from flow.

[@RezaDorrani]

Flow actions run under context of its connections. This is an automated flow, so the action would run under creator name. You could build the flow with a service account so the approval goes from that accounts name.

[@superj2009guru]

Thank you Reza. Your videos have really helped me in my 365 journey. Quick question, after a document has been approved, is there a way to lock down the document so no amendments can be made?

[@RezaDorrani]

You would need to break item permissions and set it to view only after document is approved. Or you could just move the file to a different library using flow (library that has permission set to read only for users).

[@superj2009guru]

Thank you. Very much appreciated. 🙏🏾

[@pauldegroot6648]

Thank you Reza for sharing. I have one urgent question. Is it possible for example in another column to display different text for the Approval, Pending, Draft text ?. Using a calculated column don't work according to docs.mcirosft.....Do you have a solution ?

[@RezaDorrani]

You can always maintain a different status column, the value for which you can populate from the Approval flow. Another option: May be you can add column formatting to the Approval Status column.

[@talentgarden7329]

Thank you for your sharing your experience. Whether you could update HD video or not?

[@RezaDorrani]

Thank you for watching. The video is uploaded in HD (1080p). It may be your network bandwidth that is causing it to run at lower quality. Go to video settings and change quality to 1080p.

[@talentgarden7329]

@@RezaDorrani thank you, I got it

[@FabLz]

Great tutorial, thanks Reza! So thats a really nice out of the box feature, but how would you update metadata (e.g. approval date) AFTER it's approved? Cause then the status goes back to "Draft", is there a way to solve this?

[@RezaDorrani]

When an update is made it does go back to Draft. However, the users (who have read access) will see the last published version until the new draft version is Approved. That is the default behavior of the Content Approval feature.

[@hereicomepink87]

Hi there! This was my very first flow and it’s working wonderfully now. Thank you so much for this video. Question, do you have a solution for adding in the approver name and approved date once the content approval status has been set? When I add the update file properties step after content approval status to set these 2 fields, it sends the status back to draft. And I can’t add update file properties before because at that point we don’t have the approval name and date yet. Do you know if send http request to sharepoint to script this two fields at the end would work?

[@RezaDorrani]

Not sure if that would work. If any property is changed then approval status does change. May be there is some option via http to SharePoint and not forcing this to happen. Il recommend checking on forums in case someone has done something similar powerusers.microsoft.com

[@RezaDorrani]

I think http also has a system update approach where in it does not change content approval status. Explore those options.

[@hereicomepink87]

@@RezaDorrani thank you will do. I’m curious if I should just add a secondary pending and approval set status actions after updating the approver and approval date or if that would cause the whole flow to retrigger…

[@RezaDorrani]

@@hereicomepink87 System update should not retrigger.

[@hereicomepink87]

@@RezaDorrani gonna try this thank you!!

[@danielbishop4862]

Thank you so very much! This was very easy to follow and helpful!

[@RezaDorrani]

You're very welcome!

[@blink182joel]

Hi Reza, you legend! Love your videos!

[@RezaDorrani]

Thanks Joel

[@patriciapinpin5221]

Thank you for creating this video! few questions - there are 5 approvers in my scenario, but of those 5, 3 out of 5 are in 1 group and anyone of the 3 can approve (hope this makes sense). How will i set it up so that anyone of the 3 people in the group can approve?

[@RezaDorrani]

You can use the first to approval approval type. I have done several videos on approval patterns. Check kzbin.info/aero/PLTyFh-qDKAiFUGTtwSwFT79Y7_jq_Aipe

[@sunnygoyal9051]

@@RezaDorrani I watched this video. Really good insight. Thanks for the detailed video. Having said said we have also the document approval process requirement. But use case is bit different. We have SPOC list and email goes to SPOC to assigns the available reviewer. Currently SPOC assigns reviewer over email and we cannot track when SPOC assigns, whom he assigned etc. We want to know if SPOC can write the email id (via people finder filed) as the actual reviewer name in the notification which he receives. In your example, approver can Approve or Reject the request wherein our case we need the name of the actual Approver instead of Approve and Reject and can store the data. Also, is there anyway to change the default notification mechanism (Microsoft Flows notification) with shared mail box notification ? Looking for the support. Thank you Sunny

[@RezaDorrani]

@@sunnygoyal9051 Default notif mechanism cannot be changes as of now. I do not have a specific video on your use case and would have to try it out to provide guidance. I will recommend checking on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/