Workflow Automation for Document Approvals

LogicalDOC's workflow engine routes documents through review and approval steps that you design yourself: who reviews, what happens when a document is rejected, when reviewers get reminded, and where the approved document ends up. Every event is recorded in the workflow history.

Workflow is available in LogicalDOC Enterprise and LogicalDOC Cloud.

Try the interactive demoWatch the videoBook a workflow demo

How an approval workflow runs in LogicalDOC

Below is a typical contract approval process, built in the web-based workflow designer. The same pattern applies to invoices, purchase orders, quality procedures, technical drawings and HR documents.

 

Automation example: what happens when a contract is approved

 

When the workflow reaches the Approved end status, LogicalDOC runs the script attached to it. Scripts are written in Apache Velocity and can use tools such as DocTool and MailTool. For every document in the workflow, this one:

1. writes the approval in the application log;
2. moves the contract to the /Contracts/Approved folder;
3. emails the approved contract to the Contracts team.

As written, the script sends one email per document. A small change to the loop sends all the documents in a single message.

The script

## Contract Approval Workflow
## Automation executed when a contract is approved.
##
## Actions:
## 1. Log the approval.
## 2. Move the contract to the Approved folder.
## 3. Email the approved contract to the Contracts team.

#set($recipient = "contracts@example.com")
#set($subject = "Contract Approved - LogicalDOC")
#set($message = "Hello,<br/><br/>A contract has been approved through the LogicalDOC workflow.<br/><br/>Please find the approved document attached.<br/><br/>Best regards,<br/>LogicalDOC Workflow Automation")

#foreach($doc in $documents)

  ## Log the approved contract
  $log.info("Contract approved - Document: $doc.title (ID: $doc.id)")

  ## Move the contract to the Approved folder
  $DocTool.move($doc, '/Default/Contracts/Approved', '_system')

  ## Send the approved contract by email
  $MailTool.sendDocument($doc, null, $recipient, $subject, $message)

#end

Try the interactive demo: workflow approvals and annotations

Click through a complete approval in LogicalDOC at your own pace, with no sign-up required: from choosing the workflow to approving the document and annotating it for future readers.

Watch the video walkthrough

Prefer to watch? The same approval in a 4-minute video, with a chapter for each stage.

See it in action

 

Workflow designer. The contract approval process described above, as it looks in the designer: tasks, named transitions and the loop that sends rejected contracts back through Revision.

 

Starting a workflow. Select one or more documents, click Start workflow and choose the process. You can also give the instance a tag and a colour.

 

Task candidates. The Reviewer assignment task is offered to the whole Legal group: every member is notified, and the first one to take ownership does the review.

 

Required note. The Rejection task goes back to the initiator, and Require note at completion makes sure the reasons are written down before the process moves on.

 

Due date and reminders. One day to complete the review, then a reminder every two hours. An optional script can run as soon as the task is overdue.

 

Workflow history. Every event of the instance is recorded with task, date, time and user, and the list can be exported or printed.

Workflow features

Why teams use workflow for approvals

Frequently asked questions

• Can a workflow start automatically when a document is added?
   

  Yes. A workflow trigger in a folder links a document template to a workflow: when the specified event occurs in that folder, the workflow starts for the matching documents. Triggers can be applied to all subfolders too.

• Can I assign a task to a group instead of a single person?
   

  Yes. All members of the group are notified, and the first one to take ownership works on the task. Reviewers can also be taken from a User attribute of the document itself.

• Can several people approve the same document in parallel?
   

  Yes. A Fork starts parallel approval tasks and a Join waits until they are all complete. The Multi Approval sample shows a process in which a single rejection ends the workflow.

• What happens when a document is rejected?
   

  The workflow follows the transition you designed for rejection, usually back to the author with a revision task. You can require reviewers to write a note before completing the task, and the revised file is stored as a new version.

• Do I need to write code to create a workflow?
   

  No. Workflows are drawn in the graphical designer. Automation and validation scripts are optional, for steps such as moving documents or checking a condition before a task can be completed.

• Is workflow available in the Community Edition?
   

  No. Workflow is part of LogicalDOC Enterprise and LogicalDOC Cloud.