training.workfront.com [ 1 ]rev. February 5, 2020

Upload proofs in WorkfrontGet projects out the door faster with digital review and approval.

It’s time for key stakeholders to look at and give feedback on the team’s latest project. As the project manager or creative designer, it’s your job to make sure the right people are reviewing the work.

Workfront’s review and approval functionality is the perfect solution. Workfront keeps your project tracking and the resulting deliverables all in one digital solution.

Proofing is more efficient in Workfront. Simultaneous and collaborative review processes mean quicker review cycles, so your team gets completed work out the door faster.

To kick off the review and approval process, you’ll need to:

• Upload the digital proof in Workfront

• Assign stakeholders who need to review and/or approve the content

• Set a deadline for the review and approval

• Upload and manage versions of the work after revisions are complete

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Inside this guideProofing terminology ...........................................................................................3

Upload a proof .......................................................................................................4

Proof a website ...............................................................................................5

Which workflow to use? ...............................................................................6

Establish proof settings ............................................................................... 7

Proof roles .........................................................................................................8

Email alerts .......................................................................................................9

Automated workflows .................................................................................10

Assign a workflow template ...................................................................... 11

Edit proof details ................................................................................................. 12

Convert document to proof ............................................................................. 14

Upload a document ..................................................................................... 15

Generate a proof from an existing document ................................... 16

Assign a workflow .........................................................................................17

Monitor progress and status ........................................................................... 18

Upload proof versions ......................................................................................20

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DEFINITION

At Risk At Risk proofs are less than 24 hours from the deadline (by default) and still have at least one outstanding decision. Your system administrator can adjust the At Risk time to suit your organization’s process.

Comments Comments allow a reviewer to mark corrections, make suggestions, ask questions, etc., regarding the content of a proof. Comments often are linked to a specific markup on the proof.

Deadline The deadline requires that all comments and decision are made on the proof by a specified date and time.

Decision A decision is the approval or rejection of a proof by an assigned approver.

Proofing has four standard decisions. These can be customized by your system administrator to match your organization’s terminology and processes.

• Approved — You approve the proof. It is ready for publication, release to customers, etc.

• Approved with Changes — You have requested changes to the proof but don’t need to see another version before it’s released for publication.

• Changes Required — You have requested changes to the proof and want to see a new version once the changes are made.

• Not Relevant — You think a decision made by you on this proof is not relevant.

Email Alert Email alerts are sent to reviewers and approvers assigned to the proof when activity happens on the proof. Activity includes comments, replies to comments, decisions made, etc.

The options for email alerts are: All Activity, Daily Summary, Replies to My Comments, Hourly Summary, Decisions, Final Decision, and Disabled.

Email alerts should not be confused with notification emails, which are sent when a new proof is ready for review, a new version of the proof has been uploaded, or when the proof is late.

Guest A guest is someone who can review and approve proofs but does not have a proofing user license in Workfront. There is no limit to the number of guests that you can share proofs with.

Late Proofs are late when not all decisions have been made and the assigned deadline has passed.

Markup The markup tools in the proof viewer allow you to highlight text or draw lines, boxes, etc., on the proof to clearly illustrate what you are describing in your comments. Markups are often linked to specific comments on the proof.

Proof A proof is a digital asset — static file, audio file, video file, URL, etc. — that is available for review in the proof viewer.

Proof Role Proof roles define what actions a user can take in relation to that specific proof.

There are six proof roles: Read Only, Reviewer, Approver, Reviewer & Approver, Author, and Moderator.

Author and Moderator can be assigned only to proof users, not guest reviewers.

Proof User A proof user is someone who can review and approve proofs and has a proofing user license in Workfront. A proof license also allows the user to create, route, and manage proofs.

Sharing Give people — proofing users or guest reviewers — access to a proof so they can view it, make comments, or make decisions on the proof.

Version A revised copy of the proof document.

Workflow A workflow is the overall movement of a file through the review and approval process in order to produce a final version of the file. Within this overall workflow, there may be multiple proofing stages.

Proofing terminologyEnsure workflows are set up correctly by understanding the language of proofing.

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Upload a proofAs designers or project managers create proofs, they can assign reviewers/approvers and set deadlines using a basic workflow.

1. Open the project or task and click the Documents tab.

2. Click the Add New button and select Proof.

3. Drag and drop files into the blue area of the window, or use the browse option.

• Multiple files can be uploaded at the same time if they all need to be assigned to the same reviewers/approvers.

4. Files queue up at the bottom left. Hover over a file to click the edit (pencil) icon to change the file’s name before uploading.

5. In the Workflow section, select the Basic option.

6. Enter the name(s) of the person who needs to review and/or approve the proof.

7. Select a proof role for the reviewer(s), if the default setting is not correct.

8. Select an email alert option for the reviewer(s), if the default setting is not correct.

9. Check the Set proof deadline box. Click into the field and select a date from the pop-up calendar. Don’t forget to set a deadline time.

10. Click Create Proof to complete the upload.

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Proof a websiteUse Workfront to get feedback and approval on your website and its interactive elements, such as videos or animations.

1. Open the project or task and click the Documents tab.

2. Click the Add New button and select Proof.

3. Enter the URL of the website in the green area. Hit Return to add the URL to the queued files list.

4. Hover over a file in the queue to click the edit (pencil) icon. Enter a name for the proof, if using the URL as the name wouldn’t be clear to users.

5. Select if the proof should be a static screenshot or an interactive proof. Select a screenshot resolution, if using that option.

• Only secure websites can be interactive proofs.

6. Indicate if the proof should include subpages, then select them from the list.

7. Fill out the remaining proof information, including the reviewers/approvers.

8. Click Create Proof to finish the upload. SCREENSHOT PROOF [ A ] A set of screenshots of the website or other web content that

includes click-through to existing links and buttons. Learn more in the

Generate a static proof for a website or other content article.

INTER ACTIVE PROOF [B] Allows reviewers to navigate and interact as they normally would

with the website or web content. Learn more in the Generate an

interactive proof for a website or other content article.

[ A ] [B]

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Which workflow to use?Proofing needs vary across organizations. Below are two commonly used workflow examples, which provide a good starting point for you to create your own proofing processes.

BASIC WORKFLOW

A basic workflow is ideal when all you need is for one or two people to look at the content, give their comments, and approve it at the same time. The review is a key part of the creation process, but just a few people are involved. A basic workflow also is used on an “ad hoc” basis, allowing for reviews whenever they’re needed.

In the example below, the designer creates a new sign to be displayed in retail stores. At this point in the workflow, the item only needs to be reviewed by a manager. So a basic workflow is the perfect solution.

AUTOMATED WORKFLOW

Automated workflows are used when proofing is a regular, repeatable multi-stage part of the content creation process. This type of workflow is ideal when you have multiple stakeholders who need to review the content, but in a specific order or with different deadlines. You can even set up an automated workflow to move the proof from one stage of review to the next without manual intervention.

To make assigning reviews easier — especially when you have a high volume of proofs moving through the process — most organizations save commonly used automated workflows as reusable templates.

In the example below, the operations team creates a new services package description and statement of work. It first goes to the operations director, then the professional services vice president and the customer success executive look at it at the same time. After it goes through those stakeholders, it’s ready for review by the legal team.

Designer Manager

Ops Team Ops Director

Services VP

Executive

Legal Team

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Establish proof settingsSINGLE PROOF [ A ]

Combine multiple files into a single proof. This is useful when several people worked on different parts of a project, but reviewers need to see the work as a whole.

WORKFLOW

The review is complete after the person selected in Transfer primary decision rights [B] makes their approval decision. (optional)

Check Require only one decision for this stage [C] for the review to be completed after just one person makes a decision. (optional)

EMAIL NOTIFICATION [D]

The Notify recipients about this proof box is checked by default. This ensures everyone assigned to the proof receives the new proof email.

The email contains standard language, but add a message by clicking Add custom message.

PROOF SETTINGS [E]

These settings control access to the proof — such as requiring a login — and what reviewers/approvers can do with the proof, such as downloading the original file.

Details about each option are available in the Configure a Proof support article.

[ A ]

[D]

[B][C]

[E]

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Proof rolesRoles establish what the assigned person can do with the proof.

Some people just need to look over the proof, so they’re a Reviewer. Others need to leave comments and give a final approval, so they’re a Review & Approver.

READ ONLY REVIEWER APPROVERREVIEWER & APPROVER

AUTHOR* MODERATOR*

View a proof X X X X X X

Add markups X X X X

Add comments X X X X

Edit your own comments (if there are no replies)

X X X X

Make a decision X X X X

Edit or delete comments (made by others)

X

Edit the proof X X

Add proof recipients X X

* Author and moderator proof roles can be assigned only to proof users, not guest reviewers.

WHICH ROLE?

Don’t know which proof role to assign? Workfront

suggests using Reviewer & Approver, as this allows the

stakeholder to make comments and give their approval

on the proof. However, by assigning this role to only the

necessary stakeholders, it reduces the “noise” of emails

and notifications. It also helps reduce the volume of

comments.

Once your exact proofing workflow needs are established,

modify the proof role assignment as needed.

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Email alertsThe alert settings determine when the assignee receives email notifications about activity on a proof.

Email alerts are separate from the notifications someone receives when there’s a new proof to review or when a proof is late. Even if email alerts are set to Disabled, reviewers are still notified of a new proof or version.

DESCRIPTION

All Activity Email is sent any time there is activity on the proof (comments, replies, or decisions). A good option if you need to keep an eye on an urgent project.

Replies to My Comments Email is sent when someone replies to a comment you made.

Decisions Email is sent when a reviewer/approver makes a decision on the proof (approve, reject, etc.). A good call-to-action for people managing the review, signaling that one of the reviewers is done leaving comments.

Final Decision Email is sent when the last reviewer/approver in the last stage of the review makes a decision on the proof (approve, reject, etc.).

Hourly Summary Email is sent with a summary of all comments, replies, or decisions, only if a change occurred in the last hour. Sent at the top of the hour, only if there is new activity on the proof within the past hour.

Daily Summary Email is sent with a summary of all comments, replies, or decisions, only if there was activity in the last day. Sent once a day at midnight.

Disabled No alert emails are sent regarding proof activity. However, users still receive the new proof and new version emails.

CUT BACK ON EMAIL

To keep email at a minimum and targeted at the right

people, proof owners and proof managers should be set

to “Decisions” for proofs using an automated workflow

and “Final Decision” for proofs using a basic (ad hoc)

workflow. Set all other reviewers to “Disabled,” so they

don’t receive unnecessary alerts. (This works perfectly

99.99% of the time!)

Don’t set the alert to “All Activity” unless you want to

receive emails about every action on the proof. This

results in multiple emails, multiple times a day.

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Automated workflowsIf multiple review deadlines are needed, or users must review the proof in a specific order, use an automated workflow.

1. Open the project or task and click the Documents tab.

2. Click the Add New button and select Proof.

3. Drag and drop files into the blue area of the window.

• Upload multiple files at the same time if they need the same reviewers/approvers.

4. In the Workflow section, select the Advanced option.

5. Fill in the Recipients information and Stage Settings for the first stage of the workflow. Be sure to set a deadline.

6. Click the Add Stage button to add the next set of reviewers/approvers and set their deadline.

7. Click Create Proof to finish the upload. SAVE AS TEMPL ATES

Because automated workflows involve multiple stages of review with several

deadlines, they can be tricky and time consuming to set up from scratch.

Workfront recommends saving commonly used proofing workflows as templates,

to help speed up the review and approval process.

AUTOMATED WORKFLOW INFORMATION

For more details about setting up multiple proofing stages, which can happen

concurrently or consecutively, see the Workflow section of Configure a proof on

the support website.

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Assign a workflow templateTemplates are ideal when approval processes always include the same people or are too complex to set up every time.

1. Open the project or task and click the Documents tab.

2. Click the Add New button and select Proof.

3. Drag and drop files into the blue area of the window. Or use the browse option.

• Multiple files can be uploaded at the same time if they all need to be assigned to the same reviewers/approvers.

4. Files queue up at the bottom left. Hover over a file to click the edit (pencil) icon to change the file’s name before uploading.

5. In the Workflow section, select the Advanced option.

6. Select a proofing workflow template from the dropdown.

• The workflow information — recipients, proof roles, etc. — and other proof settings are automatically filled in.

7. Make changes to the settings, if needed.

8. Click Create Proof to finish the upload.

ABOUT TEMPL ATES

Not all organizations set up or use workflow templates. You’ll

see the Workflow Template option only if templates have been

created in your Workfront system. Templates are created by an

administrator as part of your Workfront system configurations.

See Create and manage automated workflow templates on the

Workfront support website for details.

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Edit proof detailsOnce a proof is uploaded and is active, you can change the deadline, add a reviewer, or track the proof’s progress.

1. Go to the Documents tab on the selected item. Select the document from the list.

2. Click the Proof Details link.

• Or click the Details tab in the right panel. From the Proofing section, click the Details link.

3. Make changes, which might include:

• Use the Convert to Automated Workflow button to allow a workflow template to be applied to the proof.

• Update the deadline date/time. Click out of the deadline field to ensure the change saves.

• Adjust other settings, as needed.

4. Click Done to save the changes

PROOF PROGRESS AND STATUS

Track the overall progress of the proof, as well as the

status of individual reviewers/approvers, through the

proofing details window. Find details about the progress

bar and status starting on page 18.

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Proofing process already started? Don’t worry. It’s not too late to add reviewers/approvers or update settings for assignees.

1. Open the Proofing Details window for the proof.

2. Adjust the proof roles or email alerts for existing reviewers/approvers.

• To remove an assignee, click the 3-dot menu next to their name and pick Remove.

3. To add reviewers/approvers, select Share from the 3-dots menu.

4. Enter the names or email addresses of people to add to the proof. Select their proof role and email alert settings. And don’t forget to set a deadline!

5. Click Share when you’re done.

PROOF STAGES

When a proof is assigned a basic workflow and you add an assignee

to the proof and give them a different deadline (or no deadline), they

appear in a different stage than your original reviewers. This is just

Workfront’s way of organizing your reviewers by deadline date/time.

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Convert document to proofAt some organizations, the person who uploads the document isn’t the one responsible for assigning the proofing review. That is done by a project manager or other member of the team.

UPLOAD DOCUMENT

On some teams, once the asset is created, the designer uploads the document, but they’re not responsible for deciding who reviews it, what the deadline is, etc. This is left to a campaign manager, project manager, or other member of the team.

This workflow also is used because it’s possible not everyone in Workfront will have system permissions to create proofs. If this is the case, the designer can upload the document but creating the proof is assigned to someone else.

GENERATE PROOF AND ASSIGN REVIEWERS/APPROVERS

Once the design team uploads a document, a proof must be generated before reviewers/approvers can be assigned. In some proofing workflows, these steps are left to a campaign manager, project manager, asset manager, etc.

DesignerProject

Manager

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Upload a documentUploading documents stores them in Workfront, but it doesn’t allow for the digital markup that is sometimes necessary.

1. Go to the Documents tab on your work item.

2. Click Add New and select Document.

3. In the window that opens, browse to the desired files on your computer, server, or other location. Select the files.

4. Click Open to complete the upload.

DR AG AND DROP

If you’re uploading just an asset or two,

you might find it more convenient to drag

and drop the files into the white area of

the Documents tab. This method can be a

bit tricky and takes some practice.

DOCUMENTS ONLY

Although most Workfront users are set

up so a proof generates any time they

upload a file, some users may have the

ability to only upload documents. This is

determined by your system administrator.

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Generate a proof from an existing documentIf only a document was uploaded, a digital proof must be generated before you can assign reviewers/approvers.

1. Open the project or task and click the Documents tab.

2. Select the document from the list.

3. Click the Generate Proof link.

4. An icon to the right of the entry indicates the proof is generating. Once it’s done, you’ll see clickable links for Document Details, Proof Details, Print Summary, and Open Proof, as well as the progress bar.

WORKFLOWS VARY

At some organizations, the person

who uploads the document is

different than the person who

generates the proof and assigns

the reviewers/approvers.

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Assign a workflowOnce the proof is generated, kick off the review process by assigning reviewers/approvers and setting a deadline.

1. Open the project or task and click the Documents tab.

2. Select the document from the list and click the Proof Details link.

3. Choose Share from the 3-dots menu.

4. Enter the names or email addresses of people to add to the proof. Select their proof role and email alert settings.

5. Set a deadline date/time. Click into the white space around the field to ensure the change saves.

6. Click Share when you’re done, then click Done to close the proofing details window.

AUTOMATED WORKFLOW

If you want to create an automated workflow with multiple stages of review,

click the Convert to Automated Workflow button in the upper-right corner of

the proofing details window. From this window, you also can select an existing

proofing workflow template.

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Monitor progress and statusTrack the review progress of your proof using the progress bar, instead of digging through your inbox for updates.

PROGRESS BAR [ A ] [B]

The progress bar represents the overall progress of the file through the review and approval workflow.

Each box on the bar stands for a step in the proofing process:

• S — Sent (proof has been sent to reviewers)

• O — Opened (proof details page has been opened or proof itself has been opened in the proof viewer)

• C — Comments made (someone has made comments on the proof)

• D — Decision made (someone has made a decision on the proof

If the C or D is missing from the progress bar, that step is not applicable for the proof.

The colors used in the progress bar relate to the deadline on the proof.

• White — Step not complete

• Orange — Step not complete and deadline is in less than 24 hours (or your system’s At Risk setting)

• Red — Step not complete and deadline has passed

• Green — Step is complete

NOTE

The overall progress of the proof is driven by the “worst case”

participant. For example, four people have been assigned to

approve the proof. If three of them have reviewed and made

a decision but the fourth person hasn’t, the overall progress

indicates a decision has not been made because the proof is

waiting for that last person to make their decision.

[ A ]

[B]

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No need for spreadsheets to track who has reviewed a proof. The proof status shows the decision of each approver or the overall status based on all approver’s decisions.

PROOF STATUS [C]

The standard status options are: Pending, Approved, Approved with Changes, Changes Required, and Not Relevant.

The status of the proof is driven by the “worst case” participant. For example, there are three approvers on the proof. Two have the status of Approved and one has the status of Changes Required. The Changes Required status overrules the other decisions and serves as the overall status.

See View the progress and status of a proof for more details.

REVIEWER/APPROVER STATUS [D]

You can see the progress and status of each individual reviewer/approver assigned to the proof in the details window.

The progress bar indicates what step of the workflow they’re at, with the status indicating if they’ve made a decision.

The comment bubble displays the total number of comments made by the reviewer and the number of replies.

[D]

[C]

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Upload proof versionsAfter corrections are made, a new version can be uploaded for another round of review.

1. Go to the Documents tab on the project or task.

2. Select the document from the list.

3. From the More dropdown, select New Version. Then choose Proof.

4. Drag and drop (or browse to) the new file to upload as the new version into the window.

5. Click Create Proof.

See Create a new version of a proof for details about versions.

CONSIDER ATION

You may find that you can create a new

version by dragging and dropping a new file

on top of an existing file in the Documents tab

(not every Workfront user will have this ability).

Although quick and easy to do, this may not be

the preferred option for creating versions.

It’s important to note that this method applies

any existing proofing workflow information

to the new proof version — reviewers,

approvers, deadline, etc. You can edit the

information after the upload. But be aware

that notifications have already gone out.

If different people are to review/approve

the file than were assigned to the previous

version, use the instructions at left to upload

the new version.