Set Field value to approver


Badge +6

Good Morning. 

I am very much a workflow novice & am working on my first one - so bear with me if i seem to be a bit behind the curve!

I have a workflow with several "set field value" boxes. At present i have these set to my own email address (while building n testing) but what i want to do is to set this to the person that has approved the document.

(This individual MAY be part of a group of email address - not sure yet)

Not totally sure how to do this - so any tips?

198599_pastedImage_2.png

I also want to automatically update another part of my form/list with the date (& possibly time) when the approver actually approved the document. This is so that i can analyse the gap between the start date & approval dates for the various stages in my document & workflow. I have hunted hi & low for a solution for this but cannot find anything - again - any tips?

Finally my approvers are getting 2 emails. First one is a notification & the second is a response required task email with the hyperlink to the approval page. Is it possible to combine these two into one email?

I am certain the solutions are easy for those in the know but these little precious nuggets of info are hard to come by!

Any tips & pointers would be gratefully received!


14 replies

Badge +16

OK so from the top - firstly welcome to the community and hope you find what you are looking for on here

1.  set field value to approver:

You can do this with utilising the common property:Last Task Respondent -  where you have value change it to Workflow Context and choose "Last Task Respondent":

Note here - if you assigned to a SharePoint group and didn't tick the box "Create individual tasks for all group members" this will return the SharePoint group name only.

2.  update date and time of approval: 

I normally do this with the current date and time as the set field value will generally run as soon as the task is responded to:

3.  two notifications

OK so you have a send notification and then a flexi task.  I would remove the send notification and just configure the "Task Notification" tab on the assign flexi task action to ensure the email sent with the task has all the detail you need in it.

Let me know if any of that doesn't make sense.

Badge +6

Ta for help - i got the first one - easy really - like i said - little nuggets...

On part two i am not clear on where i am starting. At present i have no specific task assigned to updating the date/time field in my form from the workflow

where would i place this & i assume it is a flexi task?

This is how i look at present:

198600_pastedImage_1.png 198601_pastedImage_2.png198605_pastedImage_3.png

.......Or would i be able to configure the existing flexi task?

Working on step three......

Badge +16

Step 2 - what field are you updating with date and time?

I would have a set field value (or update item) action under the reject and approve branch as you have pictured which updates the approval date with the current date.

Badge +6

Right - i think i got it!

This is it right now:

198614_pastedImage_3.png

So the new "Field Value" is at the bottom - i presume this is where you meant? I have assumed that the Right hand branch are not the ones that set the date. The branch on the left set the date...

I have also removed the email notifications & configured the "MultiTask" to tell the approver/authoriser what the job is about etc - like this:

198607_pastedImage_2.png

Again - i presume this is what you meant?....

Userlevel 4
Badge +7

Peter Scott

Cassy Freeman‌ has asked me to help as she is unavailable for now. It would be better to move your second set field value from the end of the workflow to under your first set field value which is setting the last task respondent. Alternatively use update item to update both fields in one go as below: (ignore column names!)

198617_pastedImage_1.png

This will avoid additional version being created if you are have version history on

Step 3 looks right to me too now

Badge +6

thanks for your response - however i dont get it.

You have "configure action" - "update item" is this a totally new action on my workflow or am i adapting the one already in it?

If i am adapting how on earth do i get the stuff you have up on my screen?

198615_pastedImage_1.png

Userlevel 4
Badge +7

You can accomplish what you want to do by what you have already done. i would just move the second Set Field Value action directly under the first.

As is normal, there is more than one way to do everything!!!!

If you want to use the Update Item action, follow these instructions:

Yes this will be a new action, and you would need to remove the 2 set field value actions

Add the action as shown here:

198619_pastedImage_2.png

Then configure the action, select the field you wish to update and set this to Last Task Respondent, then select the date field you wish to update and check the box to use date when action is executed. You should see your action looking like my screenshot in the last post.

Any problems let me know

Badge +6

Gawd - i must come across like a right div!

This is all i can get when adding an new item - "Configure Action - Update item"

198616_pastedImage_1.png

How do i get this to have the line you have just above the date section? (the bit that starts with "manager"

Badge +6

Its OK - i found it - will it matter which way round they are? 

& to re-iterate - this replaces the two seperate field values?

Userlevel 4
Badge +7

Not at all, we all started at the beginning!

Now use the field dropdown to select your other field to update. That will add that field beneath Date of Transfer and allow you to configure it to workflow context of Last Task Respondent and it will start looking like my screenshots

Badge +6

this is how i am presently:

198620_pastedImage_1.png

198621_pastedImage_2.png

Does this look right!?

Userlevel 4
Badge +7

That looks spot on, let me know how it goes

Badge +6

TOP man!

I have much more i need to resolve but i will start a new post for that...

I did learn something new at least - the update item is something totally new for me.

Thanks again

Pete

Userlevel 4
Badge +7

No worries, we're here to help. Can you mark answer as correct as that is what started you on the right path. Will help others with the same question.

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