User Manual

Creating an Approval Project

Updated on

In this article, you will learn

  • where an Approval Project can be created from, and
  • how to create an Approval Project.

1. Introduction

The Approval Project provides a central area for managing print data approvals. Within an Approval Project, all print data intended for approval is clearly displayed in a list. In addition, the current status of each Approval Project is shown. Besides enabling the download of reports, the Approval Project supports the structured execution and management of the entire approval process.

The Dashboard > Approval Projects menu displays an overview of all Approval Projects. The current status of each Approval Project is immediately visible. This allows you to identify at any time which steps are still required – for example, sending an Approval Report to the customer or adjusting a print file – and to keep track of the progress of all approval processes.  

2. Access to Approval Projects

Creating an Approval Project is available in various areas of the $PRODUCT_NAME_WORKFLOW application. The procedure for creating an Approval Project is the same in all areas. Once an Approval Project has been created, it can be found in the Approval Projects dashboard, where it can be centrally managed.

If the Online Approval Portal is used, the Approval Project is uploaded to the Approval Portal after creation. If required, an E-mail is automatically sent to the customer informing them that the print data is ready for approval.

2.1. Tab "Print Data"

The Print Data tab [1] is available in the Articles, Orders, and Production Jobs menu items. Click the title of a Print Item or Article in the respective list to open the corresponding detail view. The Reports command [2] is available there. Select the Create Approval Report [3] menu item to create an Approval Project with an Approval Report for the selected Article or Print Item.

Only for the selected Article/Print Item

Please note that at this level, an Approval Project can only be created for the currently selected Article or Print Item. Creating an Approval Project for multiple Articles or Print Items is not possible in this context. However, additional Articles or Print Items can be added to an existing Approval Project at a later stage.

Figure 1: The Print Data tab of an Article

2.2. Using the Toolbar

If one or more Articles or Print Items are selected in the overview list, an Approval Project can be created for these Print Items via the toolbar.

To do this, select the Articles or Print Items in the list that you want to group in an Approval Project, and select the Create Approval Project [5] option from the Reports [4] command.

Figure 2: The overview list in the Articles menu showing the Create Approval Project option

2.3. For Collections

If multiple Articles are grouped into a Collection, an Approval Project can be created for the Collection. To do this, navigate to Articles > Collections and select the desired Collection. Then, select the Create Approval Project [7] option from the Reports [6] command in the toolbar. Please note that an Approval Project can only be created for one Collection at a time.

Figure 3: The Collections menu item showing the Create Approval Project option

2.4. For Orders

Approval Projects can be created for both Orders and Print Items. To do this, open the detail view of an Order by clicking its title. At the top level, you will find all options that apply to the entire Order. To create an Approval Project for the entire Order, click the Reports [8] command and select the Create Approval Report option.

If you want to create Approval Projects for selected Print Items in the currently selected order line, first select the desired Print Items. Then, on the same level, click the Reports [9] command and select the Create Approval Project [10] option.

Figure 4: The detail view of an Order

3. Creating an Approval Project

Once the print data has been normalized, it should be approved by the customer so that subsequent steps – such as creating an Imposition – can be performed. This example describes how to create an Approval Project containing multiple Articles. Proceed as follows:

  1. Navigate to the Articles menu item. From the Article list, select the print data that you want to combine in an Approval Project.
  2. Click the Reports [11] command in the toolbar and select the Create Approval Project [12] option from the selection menu. The "Add Approval Project" dialog opens.

Figure 5: The selected Articles for which an Approval Project will be created

Detailed Configuration Options

A detailed description of all configuration options available in the Add Approval Project dialog can be found in the article Preliminary Settings.

  1. The Add Approval Project dialog is divided into three steps – General Settings | Report Parameters | Share Options.
  2. In the General Settings step, you define the basic settings for the Approval Project as well as the content and layout of the corresponding Approval Report.
    • The Print Item selection [13] displays all selected Print Items. If required, individual Print Items can be excluded from the Approval Project by disabling the corresponding checkbox.
    • Under Print Item Preview and Additional Pages [14], you define the content of the Approval Report. Enable the corresponding checkboxes to select the required options.
    • Assign the Project Name [15] either by entering it manually or by using Placeholder [16]. The placeholders are automatically replaced with the corresponding information.
    • Enter the name for the Approval Report Name [17]. Here, the name can also be entered manually or defined using Placeholder [18].
    • Finally, define the Expiry Date [21] and the Expiration Time. Optionally, you can enter a Comment [19] and an Ext. ID [20].
  3. After entering all required information, click Next to proceed to the next step.

Figure 6: The General Settings step in the Add Approval Project dialog

  1. In the Report Parameters step, you define all settings related to report generation. Select the desired Layout [22]. The application includes four standard layouts by default. Custom layouts can be created and made available for selection. Optionally, you can also enter customer-specific information for the report.
    • Customer [23] – select a customer that has already been created in the application.
    • Contact Person [24] – if the customer is a company, you can also select a contact person.
    • E-mail [27] – when a contact person is selected, the stored E-mail address is automatically entered. For an individual customer, the E-mail field can be completed manually. Please note that the entered E-mail address is automatically used to send the notification E-mail informing the customer that an Approval Project is available in the Approval Portal.
    • Length Unit [25] – select the length unit to be displayed in the Approval Portal. Available options are Millimeter (mm), Points (pt), Centimeter (cm) and Inch (in).
    • Comment [26] – enter any additional information that should be displayed by default in the header of the Approval Report.
  2. Click Next to proceed to the final step.

Figure 7: The Add Approval Project dialog in the second step

  1. In the Share Options step, you define whether the Approval Project should be published in the Online Approval Portal and whether the recipient should be notified by E-mail. If no Approval Portal is used, the creation of the Approval Project can be completed by clicking Save. Otherwise, the following settings can be configured in this step:
    • Publish to Approval Portal [28] – enable this option to additionally publish the Approval Project in the Online Approval Portal.
    • E-Mail Settings [29] – select whether and how a recipient should be notified about an approval. The following options are available:
      • No E-mail notification – select this option if you do not want to send an E-mail notification to the customer.
      • Use the Integrated E-mail Service – select this option if you want to send an automatic E-mail using the E-mail service integrated into the application. The files are first uploaded to the online server, and an E-mail is then sent to the stored customer. Please note that this option is only available if E-mail sending from within the application has been configured.
      • Use a local E-mail application – enable this option if you want to use your local E-mail application to send the E-mail. The E-Mail Account (Sender) [32] option is hidden when this option is selected. Please note that in this case, the E-mail is not sent automatically.
    • Select the required E-Mail Template [30] and the corresponding E-Mail Recipients [31].
    • Finally, select the required E-Mail Account (Sender) [32] that should be used to send the E-mail. This option is only available if you use the integrated E-mail service.
  2. Click Save to create the Approval Project, publish it in the Online Approval Portal, and automatically send the E-mail to the customer.

Figure 8: The Share Options step in the Add Approval Project dialog

Article Update: $PRODUCT_NAME_WORKFLOW 2.1.0 – 06/2026

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