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Template. You can change anything about this app by describing it in its build chat. See App templates.
Share design options with a client and let them compare them side by side. The client comments, approves one or more designs, or asks for changes. Each new version goes out as a numbered round, so you keep a record of what was shown, what was picked, and why. Category: Approvals · Used by: your team and your clients · Works with: CRM

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Features

  • Approval sets, each holding one design decision for one client, such as “Logo concepts” or “Homepage hero”
  • Up to 10 designs per round, uploaded as images, videos, PDFs, or other files, each with its own label and optional note
  • Numbered rounds: when the client asks for changes, you start a revised round, and earlier rounds stay under Previous rounds
  • Clients can approve one design or several, or request changes with a note
  • Comments on a single design or on the whole round, from both your team and the client
  • A list of every approval set with tabs for All, Awaiting client, Changes requested, Draft, and Completed, plus search and a client filter
  • Notifications when a round is shared, when a client decides, and when someone comments

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How to use it

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For your team

  1. Open the app and click New approval set.
  2. Enter a Title. It’s required.
  3. Under Client, pick the client this is for. It’s required. A client who belongs to more than one company is listed once per company, so pick the company the work is for.
  4. Optionally add Round of approval notes with context for the client.
  5. Under Design options, drop in up to 10 files, up to 100 MB each. Rename each design’s label and add an optional note.
  6. Click Publish to client to share it now, or Save draft to finish it later. Clients don’t see drafts.
The list shows every approval set with its client and status. Use the tabs to see what’s Awaiting client, what has Changes requested, what’s still a Draft, and what’s Completed. Search by title or client, or filter to one client.
Open the set to add, rename, or remove designs and edit the round’s notes. You can still add or remove designs while a round is waiting on the client, but you can’t remove the last design in it. Once the client decides, the round is locked. To change anything after that, start a revised round.
When a client requests changes, the set moves to Changes requested and you’re notified with what they asked for.
  1. Open the set and click Create revised round.
  2. Upload the revised designs. The new round starts empty.
  3. Click Publish round. The client is notified that updated designs are ready.
You can also start a revised round after a client approves, if more work is needed. Earlier rounds, with their designs, comments, and decisions, are under Previous rounds.
Open a design to see its comments and add one. You can also comment on the round as a whole. The client sees your comments.
Click the title to rename the set, or the pencil next to the client’s name to reassign it. The previous client loses access, and anything they already decided or commented stays on the record. From the actions menu, choose Discard round to remove an unshared revised round, or Delete draft or Delete approval to remove the whole set. Deleting a shared set also removes it for the client, with its designs, comments, and decisions. It can’t be undone.

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For your clients

Clients see their approval sets with tabs for All, Needs action, and Completed. Each set shows its status, such as Your decision needed or Waiting on your team. Opening a set shows the current round’s designs side by side. Clients can open any design full size, play videos, and view PDFs, and they can comment on a design or on the round.
  1. Open a design and click Select this design. Clients can select more than one.
  2. Click Approve design, or Approve 2 designs if they picked several.
  1. If none of the designs work, click Request changes.
  2. Describe what should change. A note is required.
  3. Click Send request.
Once a client decides, the round is final. Earlier rounds stay under Previous rounds, showing which designs they approved and their notes. Clients only see sets assigned to them, and only in the company the set was sent to. Other clients in the same company don’t see them.

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Notifications

  • When you publish a round, the client gets an email and an in-product notification listing the designs and your notes. A revised round says updated designs are ready.
  • When a client approves or requests changes, your teammates who have access to that client get an email and an in-product notification, with the designs they picked or the changes they asked for.
  • When someone comments, the other side is notified. Comments posted within about a minute of each other are grouped into one notification. Clients get comment notifications by email only.
To change who’s notified or what the messages say, see Configuring notifications.

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Set it up

1

Add the template

Click Add App in the Dashboard sidebar. Find Design proofing tool under Start from a template, or scroll down to Browse all apps and pick the Approvals filter.
2

Try it as your team

The app lands in your sidebar as a draft. Create a test approval set with a few designs and assign it to your test client.
3

Check the client side

In the builder’s Client view, pick your test client, comment on a design, and approve it or request changes.
4

Publish it

Publish the app with visibility set to Hidden from all people, or on plans with custom visibility, limited to your test client. Sign in as your test client to try it in the real client experience, then make it visible to the clients who should use it. See Launching apps.

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Change it with the app builder

This app is a template, so you can change anything about it by describing what you want.
1

Open the build chat

Open Design proofing tool from your Dashboard sidebar, click its name at the top, then click Switch to builder.
2

Describe the change

Write what you want the way you’d ask a teammate. Say who it’s for and where it shows up, such as your team’s list or the client’s review page.
3

Check the preview

The app builder makes the change and updates the preview. Switch between Team view and Client view to check both sides, and pick a client to see it as them.
4

Publish

Click Publish when you’re happy. Until you do, your clients keep seeing the last published version.
Changes people often make to this template:
  • “Let clients add a note when they approve a design”
  • “Copy the previous round’s designs into a revised round so I only replace the ones that changed”
  • “Add a due date to each round and remind the client two days before it”
  • “Let me send an approval set to every client in a company”
  • “Allow up to 20 designs per round”
  • “Add a Project field to each approval set and filter the list by it”
See Iterating on apps for how to describe changes well and how to go back to an earlier version. To rename the app, or change who can see it and how it notifies people, click its name at the top and choose Rename app or Manage app.

Content approval workflow

Send posts and campaigns for sign-off with a status history

Markup and comments

Comment directly on files
View this template on assembly.com