Approve or Deny Template

The Approve or Deny template routes an entry to a manager’s folder for approval. It defines different courses of action based on if the manager processes the entry by a specific deadline. It also provides different courses of action based on if the entry is approved or denied.

How it works

  1. The Deadline activity runs its primary branch first. The Route Entry to Folder routes the entry to the manager’s folder and waits for the field named, “Workflow Templates: Manager Approval” to be set to “Approved” or “Denied.”
  2. If the “Workflow Templates: Manager Approval” field is not set by the time specified in the deadline branch, the primary branch is canceled and the deadline branch runs. If the deadline branch runs, the Route Entry to Urgent Folder activity will move the entry to the Urgent folder and wait for the “Workflow Templates: Urgent Approval” field to be set to “Approved” or “Denied.”
  3. After the Deadline activity, the Conditional Decision runs the first branch whose condition is met– evaluating from left to right. a. The first branch will run if the fields “Workflow Templates: Manager Approval” or “Workflow Templates: Urgent Approval” are set to “Approved.” In this branch, a Move Entry activity moves the entry to the Storage\Approved Plans folder.
    1. The second branch will run if the fields “Workflow Templates: Manager Approval” or “Workflow Templates: Urgent Approval” are set to Denied. In this branch, a Move Entry activity sends a shortcut to the Employee folder of the person who submitted the entry for approval and a Move Entry activity moves the entry to the Storage\Denied Plans folder.
    2. The last branch is an exception branch that does not have any conditions on it. If the conditions are not met on the first two branches, this branch will run and the Email activity will send an email to an administrator alerting them that the activity did not run as expected.

Note: It is a best practice to include an exception branch (a right-most branch with no conditions) when configuring a Routing Decision activity. If the activity does not have an exception branch, and none of the branch conditions are met, the activity is skipped without warning.

To run this workflow template in the provided test environment

  1. Ensure the workflow’s starting rule is enabled in the Workflow Rule Manager.
  2. In Workflow, configure the Email activity.
    1. Right-click the activity and select Enable.
    2. Type one or more email addresses in the To field, and edit the email message as desired.
    3. Click Advanced Settings in the Properties Pane, and click Manage e-mail servers to configure an email server for Workflow to use.
  3. Republish the workflow. Publishing a Workflow or Business Process.
  4. In the Laserfiche Windows or web client, select an entry in the Workflow Templates - Test Entries folder (e.g., an Office Supply Request document).
  5. Right-click the entry and select Start Business Process.
  6. Choose Template - Approve or Deny, and review the description so you understand how the workflow will run. Click Start.
  7. Check the \Workflow Templates - Test Entries\Employee Folders\Manager folder for the entry, and set the “Workflow Templates: Manager Approval” field. (If you waited longer than 5 minutes before this step, the entry will be in the \Workflow Templates - Test Entries\Documents to Process\URGENT folder. Set the “Workflow Templates: Urgent Approval” field instead.)
    1. If you approve the entry, it will move to the \Workflow Templates - Test Entries\Storage\Approved Plans folder.
    2. If you deny the entry, it will move to the \Workflow Templates - Test Entries\Storage\Denied Plans folder. Additionally, a shortcut to the entry will be created in an Employee Folder named after the user you are signed into the Laserfiche Windows or web client.

Alternatively, you can test the workflow (bypassing the starting rule) with the Run Current Workflow option in the Workflow Designer. You can test this workflow on an Office Supply Request in the Workflow Templates - Test Entries folder.

Ideas to expand this workflow

Replace the Route Entry Folder activity with a Route Entry to User activity to use default folders and your managerial structure. Add a Find Manager activity to the top of the workflow to create a token for the manager of the person who started the workflow. Use this token in the Route Entry to User activity to route to the manager.

Give the deadline branch a reasonable time frame. By default, the branch is set to five minutes since short deadlines are ideal for testing the workflow.

Remember to rename and republish the workflow once you made all desired changes.