Exercise 4: Creating an approval workflow

Duration: 30 minutes

Within this exercise, we will be creating an approval workflow. Let's describe what we will be designing in a sentence: Whenever a new travel request is raised, we will route the request to the requestor's manager for approval. Once approved, we will mark the status of the request as complete

1. Navigate back to the App Home tab

2. Click Add under Logic and automation

3. Click Flow

4. Click Build from scratch

5. For Name, enter Travel request approval

6. For Description, enter Route travel request approval to requestor's manager

7. Expand Show advanced options

8. Change Run as to System user

9. Click Continue

10. Click Edit this flow

11. Close the Getting started pop-up box

12. Click Add a trigger

13. Under RECORD, click Created

14. Under Table, search and select Travel request

15. Click Done

16. Click Add an Action, Flow Logic, or Subflow

17. Click Action

18. Search and select Ask for approval

19. In the Ask for Approval action box, drag and drop the Travel request Record from the Data pill picker on the right sidebar, into the Record box

20. Under Rules, change Approve to Approve or Reject

21. Change -Choose approval rule to Anyone approves or rejects

info

We want the approval to be routed to the requestor's manager, so we will perform what is known as dot-walking to find the related user's manager.

22. From the right sidebar (Data pill picker), expand the Travel request Record by clicking the expand arrow

23. Look for the Opened by data pill, and expand it

24. Under the Opened by section, look for the Manager data pill

25. Click Done

26. Here is a full video walkthrough in case you had difficulties at any step

What we have achieved here is that we are looking for the user who opened the record's manager to be the approver for this record.

27. Click Add an Action, Flow Logic, or Subflow

28. Click Flow Logic

29. Click If

30. For Condition Label, enter Manager approved

31. Drag and drop the Approval State data pill from the right sidebar onto Condition 1

32. Change the choice to Approved

33. Click Done

34. Click Save on the top right of the screen

35. Click on the + icon next to then

36. Click Action

37. Search and select Update Record

38. Drag and drop the Travel request Record onto the Record field

39. Under Fields, select the State field and change the choice to Closed Complete

40. Click Done

41. Click Save on the top right of the screen
    (Optional) Now we will complete the flow by creating the logic of a rejected approval. As a challenge, can you complete the rest of the flow yourself? The end result should look like this:

tip

Hint: You can always toggle the flow diagramming view by clicking on this icon

42. Click Activate on the top right of the screen