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Version: Current

Troubleshooting: Cannot Approve/Reject a Document

Problem​

You have received an approval request (via notification or in the Requests submodule), but when you open the document, you cannot action it because:

  1. The Approve and Reject buttons are disabled (greyed out).
  2. The Approve and Reject buttons are missing entirely.

Common Causes​

  1. Not Your Turn / Step Not Active: The approval flow has multiple steps or milestones, and the step assigned to you is not yet the ACTIVE one. You can only action the currently active step in the active milestone.
  2. Already Actioned: You (or someone else in your group, or a delegate/escalation recipient) have already approved or rejected this specific step. The buttons disable after an action is taken.
  3. Delegated/Escalated: The approval step assigned to you has been automatically delegated to another user or escalated due to inactivity. Your status for the step might show DELEGATED or ESCALATED.
  4. Submitter Exclusion: You submitted the document yourself, and the specific approval step is configured with "Include Submitter" set to FALSE, preventing self-approval. Your status for the step might show SUBMITTER. See Configure Self-Approval Prevention.
  5. Insufficient Permissions/Visibility: Although you were assigned the approval, you lack the underlying permissions (#VIEW) or Data Permissions required to actually view the document's details, which prevents the action buttons from enabling.
  6. Document Status Changed: The document's overall status was manually changed or changed by another process, moving it out of the APPROVAL status type required for the buttons to be active.
  7. Validation Errors (Blocking Approval): The document has Error level validation issues, and the system is configured to block approvals in this state (this is common). See Handling Blocked Submissions.
  8. UI Glitch/Display Issue: A temporary front-end issue might prevent the buttons from rendering correctly.

Troubleshooting Steps​

  1. Check Approval Flow Status:
    • Open the document and carefully examine the approval flow display at the top.
    • Is the milestone containing your step currently ACTIVE (usually indicated by colour or text)?
    • Is your specific step within that milestone currently ACTIVE?
    • What is your response status shown for that step (PENDING, APPROVED, REJECTED, DELEGATED, ESCALATED, SUBMITTER, CHANGED)? You can only action if it's PENDING.
  2. Check for Validation Errors: Look for any red error banners or icons on the document. Resolve any blocking errors first. See Review Validation Issues.
  3. Verify Permissions: Confirm with your administrator that you have the necessary #VIEW permission for the document's Module/Submodule and the correct Data Permissions to access this specific document.
  4. Check Delegation Settings: Check your Profile > Delegation settings. Have you delegated your approvals to someone else?
  5. Refresh Page: Perform a hard refresh of your browser (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R) to rule out temporary display issues.
  6. Check Document Status: Verify the document's overall status (next to the document number). Is it still in an APPROVAL type status? If not, the approval process may have been bypassed or completed. Check the Audit History.

Need Help?​

If you are the correct, pending approver for an active step, have the necessary permissions, there are no blocking errors, and you still cannot approve or reject, contact Zudello support. Provide:

  • The Document UUID.
  • A screenshot of the approval flow display on the document.
  • Confirmation of your user email address.