View approvals reads the approval state of selected SharePoint files and makes one compatible bulk action available. Requests use the current library's predefined approvers and approval behavior.
Before you begin
Make sure that:
- You are in a SharePoint document library where approvals are configured.
- Default approvers are defined in the library's approval settings before sending a request.
- Every selected row is a file in the current library.
- The signed-in user is allowed to respond to each selected active approval when approving or rejecting.
Protect doesn't provide an approver picker in this dialog. It uses the library's predefined approval settings, including whether all configured approvers must respond.
Open approval details
- Open the document library in SharePoint.
- Select one or more files.
- Select View approvals on the command bar.
- Wait for Loading approval states to complete.
- Review the File and State columns.
Protect reports one of four states:
| State | Available action |
|---|---|
| Not submitted | Request, when default approvers are available |
| Requested | Approve or Reject, when the signed-in user can respond to every selected request |
| Approved | No further bulk action |
| Rejected | No further bulk action |
Request approval
- Select files that all show Not submitted.
- Open View approvals.
- Confirm the displayed predefined approvers.
- Confirm that Request is enabled.
- Select Request.
- Wait while Protect updates each selected file.
- Review the result count and any file-specific failures.
The request uses the library's configured approvers and require-all behavior. Protect submits each selected file and marks the document as final as part of the request.
Approve requested files
- Select files that all show Requested.
- Open View approvals.
- Confirm that each active approval record loaded and Approve is enabled.
- Select Approve.
- Wait for processing to finish.
- Review how many files were approved and investigate any named failure.
Approve remains disabled if the signed-in user can't respond to every selected approval.
Reject requested files
- Select files that all show Requested.
- Open View approvals.
- Confirm that Reject is enabled.
- Select Reject.
- Wait for processing to finish.
- Review how many files were rejected and investigate any named failure.
The current bulk dialog sends the action without an entered comment. Use the standard approval experience when your process requires a response comment.
Use compatible selections
All selected files must have the same state:
- A mixed-state selection disables Request, Approve, and Reject.
- Completed Approved or Rejected selections have no further bulk action.
- A requested selection is actionable only when every active approval ID loads and every record allows the signed-in user to respond.
Use smaller selections to separate states or isolate a file whose approval record can't be loaded.
Resolve common blockers
| Message or symptom | Resolution |
|---|---|
| View approvals isn't visible | Select one or more files and remove folders from the selection. |
| Default approvers must be configured | Configure approvers in the library's approval settings, then reopen the dialog. |
| Selected files have different states | Close the dialog and select files with one common state. |
| Active approval records couldn't be loaded | Retry the affected file separately and collect its complete error or support code. |
| Approve and Reject are disabled | Confirm the signed-in user is an approver and can respond to every selected request. |
| Some files failed | Review each file-specific result, correct the underlying approval or access issue, and retry only failed files. |