SharePoint Online Approval status not sync

Question

Hi Microsoft,

Recently created a document library and uploaded few documents in it. Then i enabled content approval features and set only author and owner can able to view the draft and pending files. Then i created Power Automate flow to provide 2 level approvals and it will automatically set the Approval status to Approved. But, unfortunately, when I ask my team mate to view the file, he able to see all the files in the document library and also all the files is in Approved state. But from my view, some of it is in pending, and draft as what i expected to be. Could you please explain what could gone wrong here ?

Answer 1

Dear Sajeev,

Thanks for your confirmation and I can reproduce the issue in our environment.

As you set the uploaded file as draft and the file status is pending, I'm afraid that the reviewer (The Visitor group) can't see the file and can't approve it. This is forced by the Require content approval for submitted items feature.

I'm afraid that there is no way changing this. The feature is also configured with an internal flow which is also conflicted with the custom approval flow you created. The custom approval flow's result will change the values of the column deployed by the Require content approval for submitted items feature.

To avoid the issues between the custom approval flow and the flow triggered by the Require content approval for submitted items feature, I suggest you turn off the Require content approval for submitted items feature and only use the custom approval to achieve all your requirements.

You can create a library to set the files' status and save the approved files and create another library for reviewers to access to review the pending files.

The flow example is like the following.

Thanks for your understanding and have a nice day!

Cliff

Answer 2

Hi Sajeev,

Thanks for posting the thread on our forum.

As per your description, please don’t worry we can work together to narrow down and resolve the situation.

We did a test on our end and we’re sorry to tell you that we can’t reproduce the issue as yours.

1. We suggest you change a different browser or use InPrivate window to check the result.
2. Verify you internet connection is ok. You can change the internet connection temporarily, such as use the hotspot to see the behavior.

We appreciate your understanding that sometimes the initial suggestions may not resolve the problem very soon. However, we can work together to narrow down and resolve the situation. So, Please kindly provide more information below to let us work further.

May I know how do you enable the approval features in your end? Can you tell us the steps to help us narrow down the issue ?

Appreciate your patience and understanding.

Regards,

Stacey

Answer 3

Hi Stacey,

For the different Approval status and the permissions, I removed all the unique permissions for the document library and only allow member, visitor and owner group to provide the access. It sorted out the issue.

But, I created a Power automate flow, which will send a request for a selected file in SharePoint online to a reviewer, with link to item in it. When the reviewer (visitor access in SharePoint online) click the link from the approval request, it says he/she don't have any permission to view the file and there will be a button to request for permission. So, as a owner, i need to accept the permission request and he will be able to view the document for review. But this step will create unique permission for the reviewer. How can I provide the link to the file in the approval request, without having to permit the unique permission for the reviewer ?

Answer 4

Dear Sajeev,

Thanks for your updates and I'm glad to hear that you have solved the first issue in your environment.

Please allow me some time to do a test in our environment and I'll update here as soon as possible.

Thanks for your patience.

Cliff

Answer 5

Dear Sajeev,

Thanks for your updates and I'm glad to hear that you have solved the first issue in your environment.

Please allow me some time to do a test in our environment and I'll update here as soon as possible.

Thanks for your patience.

Cliff

Hi,

Just to clarify the issue.

1. The document library have 3 groups - Owner(Full), Member(Edit), Visitor(Read).
2. Content Approval enabled.
3. Only Author and the Reviewer can see the document they going to approve.
4. The Power Automate flow.
5. Get the file properties.
6. Set the file to Pending status
7. Send Approval request with link to item (dynamic parameter from Get File Properties) stage.
8. If Approved, it goes to final approval stage.
9. If not approved it will send an email to the requester and set the Approval Status to Rejected.

The final approval process is similar with step 3. The problem now is, when the Reviewer or Approver who already in Visitor group received the Approval request, when they click the link provided in the request, it says that they dont have permission to view the file and there is a button to request for access. Once they click it, I as owner will receive the permission request and must approve it in the SharePoint. Then the reviewer and Approver can view the files. This creating a unique permission or STS i believe for each of the file instead using the Group permissions.

The goal is :

I want the reviewer and approver to view the file via the link provided without the permission block to prevent me to manually give them unique permission and utilize the group permission for better access control to the content in the document library.

I hope this clarify the situation and helps you with the testing. Thanks.

Regards,

Sajeev Raj.