Approval workflow notification message template
Notification messages are based on a message template that determines the format and contents of an email notification message, including the message subject and body. You can access the template from the page where you select an event together with notification recipients. When you change the template, your changes only take effect on the messages specific to the notification you are configuring.
In the previous example, you could configure the approval activity so that the approver would receive an email notification whenever a user creation operation is requested that requires their approval. Open the Properties page for that activity and go to the Notification step. Then, click Add, verify that the Task created event is selected, and select the appropriate recipient(s) under Notification recipients.
For step-by-step instructions, see Configuring a Notification activity.
Email-based approval
In addition to the Web Interface pages for performing approval tasks, Active Roles provides the facility to approve or reject a pending request by replying to a notification message that informs of the request. An approval workflow can be configured to behave as follows:
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Upon the receipt of a change request that requires approval, Active Roles sends a notification message to the designated approvers, with the message body containing the option to approve or reject the request.
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The approver replies to the notification message, choosing the desired option—approve or reject. In the reply message the approver is expected to provide a comment explaining the reason for that choice.
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Active Roles receives the reply massage from the approver, checks to see if the approver elected to approve or reject the request, and then allows or denies the requested changes accordingly.
This way, the capabilities to work with approval requests are integrated into the e-mail client. The approvers do not need a web browser to view, and respond to, their approval requests. This, for instance, enables Microsoft Office Outlook users to manage approvals even when they are offline. One more opportunity is to manage approvals using an e-mail client on a mobile device.
IMPORTANT: To manage approval requests by replying to notification emails, you must be logged on to the approver’s mailbox as the owner of the mailbox or as an identity that has full access to the mailbox (including the Send As permission). The Send on Behalf permission will not suffice. Active Roles detects the situation where the reply is sent on behalf of the mailbox owner, and disregards the reply message in that case.
Integration with Microsoft Outlook
For organizations that have deployed a version of Microsoft Exchange Server supported by Active Roles, and use a Microsoft-supported version of Outlook as their standard email client, Active Roles provides an approvals management facility integrated in Outlook. This allows Microsoft Office end-users to manage approvals in Active Roles through the email application they use on a day-to-day basis.
The Add-in for Outlook component that is included with Active Roles offers the basic functionality for processing and submitting approvals. Active Roles Add-in for Outlook allows Microsoft Outlook users to approve or reject requests that are sent to them for approval. Requests are delivered through notification email messages, and can be approved or rejected directly from the notification email message, without having to use the Active Roles Web Interface. In every email message from Active Roles that notifies of an approval request, Active Roles Add-in for Outlook adds the Approve and Reject buttons along with Approve and Reject menu commands allowing the approver to respond by selecting the appropriate button or command.
For more information on the Microsoft Exchange Server versions supported by Active Roles, see System requirements in the Active Roles Release Notes.
Software and configuration requirements for Microsoft Outlook integration
Integration with Microsoft Office Outlook requires the following software and configuration prerequisites:
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A supported Microsoft Exchange Server version: Integration with Outlook requires at least one server running an Exchange Server version supported by Active Roles. The Exchange server must hold the Client Access server role and the Mailbox server role, to be deployed in your Exchange organization. For more information on the Microsoft Exchange Server versions supported by Active Roles, see System requirements in the Active Roles Release Notes.
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A supported Microsoft Office Outlook version: The approvers must use a Microsoft Outlook version that is still supported by Microsoft as their email client application.
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Active Roles Add-in for Outlook (32-bit): The Add-in for Outlook component of Active Roles is installed on the computer running Microsoft Office Outlook. The software requirements specific to Active Roles Add-in for Outlook are listed in the Active Roles Installation Guide.
NOTE: The Active Roles Add-in for Outlook does not support the 64-bit version of Microsoft Office Outlook.
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(Optional) Approver mailboxes: The mailboxes by which requests can be approved or rejected must be located on a mailbox server running an Exchange server version supported by Active Roles.
TIP: Although setting up approver mailboxes are not mandatory, One Identity highly recommends configuring them.
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Active Roles mailbox: A mailbox reserved for the exclusive use of Active Roles. This mailbox must be on a mailbox server running an Exchange server version supported by Active Roles.
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Exchange Web Services: The approval workflow has the approval rule notification settings configured so that Active Roles uses Exchange Web Services to communicate with Exchange. These settings include the address (URL) of the Exchange Web Services endpoint on an Exchange server that holds the Client Access server role, along with the credentials that identify the Active Roles mailbox.
