Approval forms

Approval forms determine which form fields are available for use within an approval workflow, by using a hard-coded form schema. The schema defines field types, field labels, dropdown menu choices, and conditional dependencies between fields. The schema can optionally specify how fields are laid out on the application print preview screen.

Each approval form is an instance of an installed approvalform plugin, which defines the schema as part of its code. An approval form in Totara keeps a snapshot of the plugin’s schema at the time it was created, and it will not change as the plugin is updated unless it is manually refreshed.

To create a new approval form, follow these steps:

1. Go to Quick-access menu > Approval workflows > Manage approval forms.
2. Click Add form.
3. Give the new form a Form title.
4. Select the Form plugin to use from the list of installed and enabled approvalform plugins. 
5. Click Add. 

You will then be taken back to the Manage approval forms page, where you can view and manage your approval forms. You can also edit an approval form's title by clicking the pencil icon ().

To manually refresh an approval form’s schema from a newer version in the plugin, click the refresh icon. 

Removing a field is best accomplished by leaving it in the approvalform schema, cloning any workflows which use the form, and publishing them with the field hidden from all form views.

If you need to rename a field (i.e. change its field_key value to something else), please contact your Totara Partner for assistance.