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Route Your First Document Review

Workflows review route

This walkthrough takes you from uploading a document to completing a full review workflow and signing off the record. Follow it end-to-end the first time, then adapt each step to your project's numbering scheme and template structure.

Before you start​

  • You need at least one active workflow template. See Create Your First Workflow Template.
  • You need Document Controller permissions (or Project Admin).
  • Reviewers must already be members of the project.

Step 1 — Upload the document​

  1. Go to Documents in the left sidebar.
  2. Click Upload Document.
  3. Drag the file onto the upload zone or click to browse. Accepted formats are configured in project settings (typically PDF, DWG, DOCX).
  4. Fill in the document metadata:
    • Document Number — auto-populated from the numbering scheme, or enter manually if not configured.
    • Title — descriptive name for the document.
    • Discipline — select from the project discipline list (e.g., Civil, Structural, Mechanical).
    • Document Type — e.g., Drawing, Specification, Report, Method Statement.
    • Revision — enter the revision identifier (e.g., A, B, 1, 2).
    • Change Description — brief note on what this revision changes (required for Rev B onwards).
    • Zone / Package — optional, used for review matrix matching.
  5. Toggle Start Workflow After Upload to on (recommended for first reviews).
  6. Click Upload. The document is added to the register with status Draft.

Step 2 — Select a workflow template​

If you toggled Start Workflow After Upload, the template selector opens immediately. Otherwise:

  1. In the document register, find your document.
  2. Click the ⋮ Actions menu → Start Workflow.
  3. The template selector shows all active templates. Select the appropriate template (e.g., Standard Drawing Review).
  4. Review the template steps in the preview panel — confirm the routing mode and step types are correct for this document.

Step 3 — Confirm step assignees​

  1. For each step, the template pre-fills the assignee from the template definition. Check each one:
    • If the step uses Review Matrix assignment, the matrix auto-selects the reviewer based on the document's discipline, type, and zone.
    • If the step uses a role, confirm the correct user is mapped to that role.
    • You can manually override any assignee at start time if needed.
  2. Review the due dates — shown as number of business days from when each step becomes active. Adjust any step due date if the project schedule requires it.
  3. Add start instructions in the Instructions field — a message shown to all assignees explaining the purpose of this review.

Step 4 — Submit the workflow​

  1. Click Start Workflow.
  2. The document status changes from Draft to Under Review.
  3. All Step 1 assignees receive an email notification with a link to their assigned step.
  4. The workflow instance appears in the Workflows area with status Active and the current step highlighted.

Step 5 — Monitor progress​

From the Workflows area or the Dashboard:

  • The Dashboard → Pending Actions panel shows all steps currently waiting for a response.
  • The workflow instance detail shows a horizontal step progress bar — completed steps have a green check, the active step is highlighted, pending steps are grey.
  • Overdue items are flagged in red on the Dashboard and in the Overdue report.
  • You can open any step to see: assignee, due date, status, and any comments already submitted.

Step 6 — Reviewer responds to their step​

From the reviewer's perspective:

  1. Reviewer receives an email notification with a link to the step.
  2. They open the step in Workflows (or via the email link).
  3. They see the document viewer, step instructions, and response options.
  4. They review the document and submit one of the available actions:
    • Approve — document meets requirements, step complete.
    • Approve with Comments — approved but comments must be addressed.
    • Reject — document does not meet requirements, workflow may return to controller.
    • Return for Revision — sends the document back for rework before the step continues.
  5. They can attach a marked-up file or add a comment before submitting.

Step 7 — Resolve a rejection or revision request​

If a step returns Reject or Return for Revision:

  1. The controller receives a notification.
  2. Upload a new revision of the document (increment the revision: A → B).
  3. Decide whether to reset the entire workflow from Step 1 or resume from the returning step (configured in project settings via the Reset Review on Supersede toggle).
  4. Restart or continue the workflow as appropriate.

Step 8 — External reviewer step (if applicable)​

If a step is assigned to an external reviewer (a guest):

  1. When the step becomes active, the system does not send a standard notification — you must create a Guest Share.
  2. Go to the document, click Share with Guest, set the expiry and scope.
  3. The guest receives a link. They access the guest portal, review the document, and submit their decision.
  4. Their response is recorded in the workflow instance exactly like an internal step.

See Guest Reviewers for full details.

Step 9 — Complete and close the workflow​

When all steps are completed with Approve or Acknowledge decisions:

  1. The workflow status changes to Completed.
  2. The document status updates to Approved (or the status configured in the final step).
  3. The audit trail records the full review history — every step, actor, action, timestamp, and comment.

If the final step is an Acknowledge step for the document controller:

  1. Open the final step.
  2. Review the full decision chain.
  3. Click Acknowledge to formally close the workflow.

Step 10 — Post-review actions​

After a successful review:

  • Issue a transmittal — if the approved document needs to be formally distributed to external parties, see Issue a Transmittal.
  • Export the audit trail — if the client or certifier requires review evidence, export the audit log from the document's Activity panel.
  • Supersede old revisions — if this review closed a revision cycle, mark previous revisions as Superseded from the document register.

Quality check before closeout​

Before archiving or transmitting an approved document, confirm:

  • All required reviewers submitted a response (no steps marked No Response unless auto-close was intentional)
  • All Approve with Comments decisions have associated comment threads
  • Any revision requests resulted in a new uploaded revision
  • The document status in the register reflects the final decision
  • The audit trail shows a clean record with no unexplained gaps