When defining the action of an approval rule, Use the Action tab to perform the following actions:
•Select the route that the approval rule follows when the qualifier conditions are met.
•Specify a Process Manager. The user group that you specify as Process Manager must contain at least one active user.
•Specify settings, either at the route level or stop level, for the rule as follows:
oWhether or not to allow the record to be sent for review.
oThe expiration action at the route level or for each individual stop, such as automatically approve, automatically reject, or send to Process Manager.
oHow to handle approvers who appear at multiple stops.
oWho may update the record while it is pending approval.
The settings available for the approval rule action depend on whether you want to set route-level parameters or stop-level parameters.
About Process Managers
Note: Although this documentation discusses Process Manager as if it were a single person, a Process Manager is always defined via a user group. You cannot assign an individual user to the Process Manager role. All members of the assigned group receive email related to workflow requests, and all have equal authority to perform Process Manager tasks. A task requires only one group member to complete it; whoever handles it first handles it for the entire group.
An approval rule always requires a Process Manager. The default value for Process Manager is the group "Workflow Process Manager." You may wish to change the default to some other user group when editing the rule. The Process Manager becomes responsible for monitoring approval processes triggered by that rule on the My Workflows screen. The Process Manager may perform the following actions:
•Reject the requested operation by returning it to the user who triggered it.
•Restart the approval process at the first stop of the route.
•Reassign any current approval requests to any TeamConnect user.
•Reassign the approval request to approvers in the current stop who rejected the requested operation.
About Route-level versus Stop-level Parameters
The main difference between Stop-level versus Route-level parameters is that for Stop-level parameters, you may set specific options, such as allowing approvers to create an impromptu reviewer list, allowing stop members to update records (pending approval), and setting the approval time limit and expiration action on a per stop basis. If you choose Route-level parameters, those options are available, but applied universally to all stops for that route.
1.Open the Action tab of the approval rule. 2.Select the route of approvers that you want this rule to follow from the drop-down list. For details about routes, see Creating Routes. 3.Type or select the rest of the settings as described in the Action Tab on Approval Rule Screens tables for Stop-level Parameters Selected or Route-level Parameters Selected. 4.Click Save to save the settings as part of the approval rule. For details about how approval rules function, see Approval Rules. For more details about routes, see Creating Routes.
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Action Tab for TeamConnect (TeamConnect 4.0.8+)
The following table describes the fields in the Action tab of approval rule screens when using stop-level parameters.
Field
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Description
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Approval route
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Select an existing route from the drop-down list to specify the users who must authorize the request. If this area displays (No Items to Select), then you must first create a route. For details, see Creating Routes.
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Process Manager
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Select a user group from the drop-down list. (You may first need to define a new group and/or add users to a group, as explained in "Account Administration" chapter of the TeamConnect Administration Guide.) The group must contain at least one active user. When you add a Process Manager, any user in that group may reassign processes, restart processes, or return requests to requestors for the following statuses:
Action on reject - Send to Process Manager (see below in this table)
Expiration action - Send to Process Manager (see below in this table)
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Action on reject
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Select one of the following:
•Return to requestor—This stops the approval process. The requestor will still have the option to resubmit the approval request. •Send to first stop—If an approver at the first stop rejects the operation, the approval process will end. If an approver at the second stop or later rejects the operation, the approval will be pending for the first stop's approver. No matter where in the route the rejection took place, the request is rejected. The Workflow block of the record indicates who rejected the operation and the date and time. •Send to Process Manager—Select to allow a Process Manager to reassign the request to a new user (non-approver), restart the approval process, or return the request to the requestor. |
Action on return to requestor
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This field is used when the previous field, Action on Reject, has the option "Return to Requestor" selected. If Action on Reject has a different option, the setting in this field is ignored.
Select one of the following:
•No Action—The approval is marked as rejected and it is returned to the requestor with no other action taken. •Use template—The approval is marked as rejected and the template that is selected in the drop-down list is executed. The link Go to Templates allows you to view and manage templates, then return to this page and choose a template to be executed with this action. •Use automated action—The approval is marked as rejected and the automated action that is selected in the drop-down list is executed. The link Go to Automated Action Folder allows you to view and manage automated actions, then return to this page and choose an automated action to be executed with this rule action. |
If the same Approver is at multiple stops
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Select one of the following:
•Approver approves at each assigned stop—The assigned approver must approve at all assigned stops. This is the default option. •Approver approves once and is skipped in subsequent stops—Once the approver approves at the first stop, all subsequent stops where this user is an approver are marked "Approved" with comments populated. Workflow functions as if the user manually approved each of these stops. Notes: This option only applies to actual approver action and does not apply if stop members are auto-approved via an expiration date.
Also, if a stop member approves under this option, and later, a process manager assigns the same user to a stop, the stop member must manually approve the new assignment and approval automation will not overwrite the previously-automated approval.
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Use Stop-level parameters
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If you select the Use Stop-level parameters option, you may define workflow approval behavior per stop.
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Options available prior to approval
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You may select one or more of the following for each route stop:
•Send for review—(optional) Select this option to allow the approver the option to assign reviewers to the operation before he or she approves. •Send for additional approval—Select this option to allow the approver, before approving, to send the request to another user. If the new approver approves the request, the request continues to the original approver. If the new approver rejects the request, the specified Action on Reject occurs.
•Update records pending approval—If approval is pending for one or more approvers at a stop level, then any of the approvers at that level have edit rights for the tabs and fields in the record. This field is mutually exclusive with the "All users that are approvers can update" option present in the Options available upon approval section. •All users that are approvers can update—All users on the route will have edit rights for the tabs and fields in the record. This field is mutually exclusive with the "Update records pending approval" option present in the Options available prior to approval section. Note: This selection is only available if all users are required on the stop. |
Options available upon approval
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You may select the following for each route stop:
•Send for additional approval—Select this option to allow the approver, after approving, to send the request to another user. If the new approver approves the request, the request continues to the next stop. If the new approver rejects the request, the specified Action on Reject occurs.
If the rule uses a route with conditions, this settings does not appear on your rule.
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Approval time limit
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You may set the number of days approvers in each stop have to respond.
This number is converted into exact hours. For example, entering 5 gives the approvers five days, or 120 hours, to make a decision concerning the action. So if the rule is invoked on October 15, 2008 at 3:00 pm, the approvers have until October 20, 2008 3:00 pm to approve the action.
The countdown starts when the operation is first attempted by the user.
You must use a value other than zero when specifying the length of an approval process. Otherwise, the approval period expires almost immediately.
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Expiration action
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You may select one of the following for each route stop:
•Send to Process Manager—Select this radio button to allow the Process Manager to reassign or reject a request after the approval time limit has passed. •Auto-approve—Select this radio button to allow the operation to be performed after the approval time limit has passed. •Auto-reject—Select this radio button to prevent the operation from being performed after the approval time limit has passed. |
Email Actions
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The Allow approval/rejection via email field is a check-box you select if you want users who receive approval requests during the stop to receive an email from which they can approve or reject the request. This setting also allows them to enter internal comments and comments to the requestor after approving or rejecting through email.
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Email Template
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The drop-down contains all email templates you can select as the approval request email users receive during this stop. If you do not select a template, TeamConnect uses a default email template. You can design an approval request email from the Notifications page of Admin Settings. See Notification Settings for more information.
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Hold Conditions
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Hold conditions allow you to ensure approvals on a certain stop are contingent on meetin predetermined stipulations. Use the Hold Condition message entry field to provide users with detail on why the approval is blocked. For more details, see Hold Conditions. Note: Feature only available in TeamConnect 4.0.8+.
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 Action Tab (Route-level Parameters Selected) |
The following table describes the fields in approval rule screens when using route-level parameters.
Field
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Description
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Approval route
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Select an existing route from the drop-down list to specify the users who must authorize the request. If this area displays (No Items to Select), then you must first create a route. For details, see Creating Routes.
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Process Manager
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Select a user group from the drop-down list. When you add a Process Manager, any user in that group may reassign processes, restart processes, or return requests to requestors for the following statuses:
Action on reject - Send to Process Manager (see below in this table)
Expiration action - Send to Process Manager (see below in this table)
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Action on reject
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Select one of the following:
•Return to requestor--Stops the approval process. The requestor will still have the option to resubmit the approval request. •Send to first stop—If an approver at the first stop rejects the operation, the approval process ends. If an approver at the second stop or later rejects the operation, the approval will be pending for the first stop's approver(s). •Send to Process Manager—Select to allow a Process Manager to reassign the request to a new user (non-approver), restart the approval process, or return the request to the requestor. |
If the same Approver is at multiple stops
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Select one of the following:
•Approver approves at each assigned stop—The assigned approver must approve at all assigned stops. This is the default option. •Approver approves once and is skipped in subsequent stops—Once the approver approves at the first stop, all future stops where this user is an approver are marked "Approved" with comments populated. Workflow will function as if the user has manually approved each of these stops. Notes: This option only applies to actual approver action and does not apply if stop members are auto-approved via an expiration date.
Also, if a stop member approves under this option, and later, a process manager assigns the same user to a stop, the stop member must manually approve the new assignment and approval automation will not overwrite the previously-automated approval.
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Use Route-level parameters
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This option applies a general set of workflow approval settings across all stops for the selected route. See more details below.
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Options available prior to approval
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You may select the following for the route:
•Send for review—(Optional) If you select Use Route-level parameters, you may select this option to allow the approver the option to assign reviewers to the operation before the approver approves. •Send for additional approval—Select this option to allow the approver, before approving, to send the request to another user. If the new approver approves the request, the request continues to the original approver. If the new approver rejects the request, the specified Action on Reject occurs.
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Options available upon approval
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You may select the following for the route:
•Send for additional approval—Select this option to allow the approver, after approving, to send the request to another user. If the new approver approves the request, the request continues to the next stop. If the new approver rejects the request, the specified Action on Reject occurs.
If the rule uses a route with conditions, this settings does not appear on your rule.
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Updates to records pending approval
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If you select Use Route-level parameters, you may select one of the following:
•Not allowed. While the request is pending approval, no contacts have edit rights for the tabs and fields related to that object. •Allowed to approvers of current stop. The approval request is sent to all members of the group. While the request is pending approval, any approver from the current stop has update rights for the tabs and fields in the record. Note: If the Route Stop has been set to require all members to approve, and this option is selected, the stop members will not be able to update the record.
•Allowed to anyone. While the request is pending approval, any approvers have update rights for the tabs and fields in the record. |
Approval time limit
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(Optional) Enter the number of days approvers have to respond.
This number is converted into exact hours. For example, entering 5 gives the approvers five days, or 120 hours, to make a decision concerning the action. So if the rule is invoked on October 15, 2001 at 3:00 pm, the approvers have until October 20, 2001 3:00 pm to approve the action.
The countdown starts when the operation is first attempted by the user. It does not reset each time a route stop is completed.
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Expiration action
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You may select one of the following:
•Send to Process Manager—Select to allow the Process Manager to reassign or reject a request after the approval time limit has passed. The Process Manager will have option to either restart the workflow approval process or return the request to the requestor •Auto-approve—Allow the operation to be performed after the approval time limit has passed. •Auto-reject—Prevent the operation from being performed after the approval time limit has passed. |
Internal auto-reject comment
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(Optional) If the Auto-reject option was selected above, then you may type a comment that will be displayed to the requestor, such as the reason for rejection. The maximum length is 250 characters.
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