SharePoint 2007: The Definitive Guide

Managing Document Library Workflow

A document workflow involves the process of an author creating a document and sending it to one or more approvers before it is published. Usually documents that are not yet approved are in a pending state and can be viewed only by the author and site members with View Lists rights. Once the document is approved, it is visible to any authenticated user or to anonymous users if that feature is enabled.

Tip

See Chapter 12 for more information on anonymous user access to SharePoint.

Figure 17-4. Under Columns, click "Add from existing site or list columns"

Before a Word document can enter an approval workflow, the document library must be enabled for this feature. Workflows operate differently depending on whether they are configured for a library, list, list content type, or site content type. This section focuses on adding workflows to document libraries.

Configuring Workflow in a Document Library

1. Open the desired document library, either by clicking its name in Quick Launch or by clicking View All Site Content and then clicking the library's name.

2. Click Settings, and then click Document Library Settings.

3. Under "Permissions and Management," click Workflow settings.

4. On the Change Workflow Settings page, click "Add a workflow."

5. On the "Add a Workflow" page, in the Workflow section, click the Approval workflow template.

6. On the "Add a Workflow" page, under Workflow ...