Support articles

Update Update description
Apr '19
Improved filtering on the admin portal
Previously, you were only able to filter on the Overall Status which made it next to impossible to find older requests. Now, you can filter on the Overall Status, Request #, Requestor, and even enter a date range to narrow your search.
Mar '19
New Email Editor design
We have changed the design of the Email Editor to make it easier to navigate and we have moved all settings related to email notifications to the Email Editor (including the setting that allows you to hide form sections from email notifications).
Customize the From Name
Until now, the from name defaulted to "Form Approvals" for all users. Individual, Team and Enterprise plan users can now amend the from name from within the new Email Editor.
Admin portal authorized user
Until now, only one person could access the admin portal per form. Team and Enterprise plan users can now specify one additional person to access the admin portal per form. The admin portal is designed for the form administrator to track the status of recent requests, send reminders and amend recipients. Note, we are working on a recipient portal also that will allow recipients to track the status of requests they are party to, filter on those pending their approval, and approve / decline directly from our website - we hope to make it available in the coming months...stay tuned.
Jan '19
Addition of a Team plan
Previously, we had two paid plans: Pro and Enterprise. However, many users sought a plan that allowed multiple users to use their subscription, but did not allow everyone in their domain. As such, the Team plan has been added.
Change in plan name from Pro to Individual
The 'Pro' plan has been renamed to the 'Individual' plan to better describe the plan and how it compares to the Team and Enterprise plans.
Dec '18
Comments on email notifications now include the response status
From early on, the add-on has included comments of previous recipients on email notifications, however it has not included the status of the recipient's response (i.e whether it was approved, recommended, not recommended etc). This was particularly annoying when a recipient recommended a request to not be approved. Therefore, we have now updated the add-on as follows:
  • Recipients with role 'Needs to Recommend' must now leave a comment before selecting 'Not Recommend'
  • Email notifications will now include the status of their response so subsequent approvers know when it isn't recommended to be approved.
Nov '18
Dynamic group recipients
In addition to static group recipients, you can now add dynamic group recipients. Learn more about this feature by reviewing Option 3 on the adding recipients support article.
Sticky dynamic recipients
Prevously, when changes were made to your Google Form (specifically questions linked to dynamic recipients), users were required to re-configure their dynamic recipients within the add-on. We found a new method of doing things, and this is no longer required! Changes made to your form questions will now be automatically reflected within the add-on without you having to do anything.
Sep '18
Role based workflows
In addition to approvers, you will be able to add other role tyes. For example, you may want to set an Editor as level 1 (who can add information to the form submission), Endorser as level 2 (who can recommend whether it should be approved or not), Approver as level 3 (who has the authority to approve or decline), and someone at level 4 who simply needs to be notified of the outcome. Due to this change, you will notice our documentation now refers to 'approvers' as 'recipients'. Learn more about recipient role types.
Greater control over your data
Approval records and most application settings will now be stored in your linked spreadsheet, giving you greater control over your data. Note: the add-on will rely on this information to operate so do not sort, edit, or modify this data in any way. To track recent requests, use the admin portal. To perform more detailed analysis, simply duplicate the sheet.
Reduced permissions
The add-on has removed the requirement for access to a users Calendar and Documents. These were originally required for functionality that has since been deprecated. In addition, the add-on will no longer require edit access to your Google Form and linked spreadsheet. Unlike other add-ons, approvers will also not be required to be an editor of your Google Form or linked spreadsheet. To achieve this, it required significant changes to the way the add-on operates and we are proud to be the first in market to offer this capability. Learn more about permissions on our security page.
Improved application performance
Overhauled backend infrastructure supporting the application and the ability to select the region closest to you has significantly improved the application's performance. The average wait time on 1-click response links has reduced by approx 80%, giving your approvers more time to spend on work that matters.
Customized notifications
Change the title, subject and body of all notification types. Plus, the ability to include a private message on individual recipient notifications. Learn more about customizing notifications.
Admin portal
As the add-on administrator, you will be able to view a list of recent requests, search or filter on those pending, approved or declined and perform various actions like send reminders, resend notifications and amend recipients.
Support for Team Drive
The add-on now supports forms and spreadsheets that are stored in Team Drive.
Support of 'grid' question types
The add-on now supports 'grid' question types and will include the responses to these questions types appropriately in the form response table of email notifications.
A fresh new look
Green is out, blue and yellow tones are in. Color aside, the new version of the add-on has been designed mobile-first. As such, all functionality will be available across all screen sizes.
How to install the add-on
Open your existing Google Form, or create a new Google Form. From within your Form, click 'More' (three vertical dots located in the top right corner) then click 'Add-ons'.

Type 'formapprovals.com' in the search bar. Once located, install the add-on.

For further details on how to install and open add-ons, refer to Google's support page.

Once installed, open your Google Form > click the puzzle piece (at the top) > click Form Approvals.

Note, if you are using a small screen device and cannot locate the puzzle piece > click More > click Add-ons > then click Form Approvals.

What's next:

Click the 'Add static recipient' icon and enter the recipient's email address.

Steps to add a dynamic recipient:
  1. Add a question to your form that captures the recipient's email address. This could be a short answer, multiple choice or dropdown question.
  2. Click the 'Add dynamic recipient' icon and select the question that asks for the recipient's email address. If you made amendments to your form while the add-on was open and the question does not show as available, click the refresh icon. Note, only short answer, multiple choice, or drop down questions will be available to select.

Steps to add a dynamic recipient:
  1. Add a Dropdown or Multiple choice question to your form.
  2. Add options that include the email addresses between < and > symbols. For example, if you need the approval to go to a particular department, enter the department name followed by the recipient's email address between < and > symbols. Similarly, you could replace the department name with a person's name. The add-on will detect the < and > symbols and use the email address in between.
  3. Once the question has been added to your Form, within the add-on click the 'Add dynamic recipient' icon and select the question that asks for the recipient's email address.

Steps to add a dynamic recipient look-up table:
  1. Add a question to your form that influences the recipient required. For example, if it is the requestor's Department, add a Drop down or Multiple choice question of all possible Departments.
  2. Create or open an existing spreadsheet and enter all potential response values (e.g Department names) in column A and associated recipient email addresses in column B. Note, we recommend using a new tab in the same spreadsheet that form responses are stored, so all information relating to your form is stored together.
  3. Within the add-on sidebar, add a 'dynamic recipient'.
  4. Select the question title that captures the information you entered in column A.
  5. Click the 'More' icon
  6. Click 'add recipient look-up table'
  7. Select the spreadsheet you created in step 2
  8. Select the sheet that contains the look-up data
  9. Select the column that contains the recipient's email addresses
  10. Close the 'Recipient look-up table' window by clicking the small cross in the top right corner, then click Save in the main screen.


Tip: If you want multiple recipients using the same look-up table you can add additional recipient email addresses in columns C, D, etc. For example, if you want two recipients, repeat steps 2 to 10 (above) but instead of entering the recipient email address in column B, enter it into column C. Refer to the images below:


The add-on will send the approval request to each person in the group. Once a response has been received from one member of the group, the add-on will move to subsequent recipients (if applicable). Should another member of the group attempt to respond, they will be advised that a response has already been received.

Steps to add a static group recipient:
  1. Within Google Contacts, create a contact group and then add contacts to your group. Refer to this article for instructions.
  2. Click the 'Add static recipient' icon and enter the group name. When you type the group name, it will autocomplete between { and } symbols. If you only recently created the group and the name does not autocomplete, click the refresh icon.


Steps to add a dynamic group recipient:
  1. Within Google Contacts, create a contact group and then add contacts to your group. Refer to this article for instructions.
  2. Add a dynamic recipient look-up table (refer to Option 2C above). Instead of entering the recipient email address in column B, enter the group name between { and } symbols.
What's next:
How to set the receiving order
This feature allows the request to be sent to recipients in a particular order. To set the receiving order:
  1. Click the 'Set receiving order' icon
  2. Input fields will appear on the left side
  3. Enter a number in the input fields

For parallel approvals, enter 1, 1, 1, etc. For sequential approvals, enter 1, 2, 3, etc.
Tip: You may enter a combination of parallel and sequential approvals. For example 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, etc.
The add-on will default to parallel approvals if no receiving order is set.
What's next:
How to add recipient logic
Use recipient logic when you want the workflow to go to a recipient only if specific conditions are met.
  1. Click the 'More' icon
  2. Click 'Add recipient logic'
  3. Select a question title
  4. Select a comparison operator
  5. Enter a value
  6. You can add multiple conditions by clicking '+ add conditions'
  7. When adding multiple conditions, you can define the relationship between the conditions. If 'all' is selected, the add-on will only send notifications to the recipient if all conditions are met. When 'one' is selected, the add-on will send approval notifications to the recipient if any one condition is met. For example, if 'all' is selected it will only route to the recipient if condition 1 is met AND condition 2 is met. If 'one' is selected, it will route to the recipient if condition 1 is met OR condition 2 is met.



Tip: If you find yourself using recipient logic often and need more than 10 recipients, consider adding dynamic recipients to reduce the number of recipients required to be entered within the add-on. Refer to options 2A, 2B and 2C (Adding a dynamic recipient) of support article how to add recipients.
What's next:
How to select a role for your recipients:
To select a role type:
  1. Click the 'More' icon
  2. Select 'other recipient settings'
  3. Select the role that you require. The table below outlines the role types.
The application will default to 'Needs to Approve' if no other role type is selected.
Recipients with this role type... ...can do the following
Needs to Approve Approve, decline, or request more info* from the requestor. Approve will move the workflow to the next level (if applicable). Decline and Request more info will send the workflow back to the requestor for re-submission.
Needs to Recommend Recommend, not recommend, or request more info* from the requestor. Recommend and not recommend will both move the workflow to the next level. Request more info will send the workflow back to the requestor for re-submission.
Needs to Acknowledge Acknowledge receipt of the request.
Needs to Edit** Edit the original form submission, or request more info* from the requestor. Editing the form submission will move the workflow to the next level (if applicable). Request more info will send the workflow back to the requestor for re-submission.
Receives a Copy Receives a copy of the request only. No action is required.
* Request more information will only be available when 'Collect email addresses' is enabled in your Google Form settings.
** The `Needs to Edit` role must have a unique position in the receiving order (e.g a workflow with two recipients cannot be sent in parallel order if one recipient is an Editor). Learn how to change the receiving order. Note also, Google Forms doesn't provide the ability to authenticate a user when they make an edit to the original form submission. As such, the add-on will check to see whose turn it is in the workflow, and then proceed accordingly. For example:
  • If the workflow is currently awaiting the response from a recipient with role "Needs to Edit", it will assume it is him / her editing the form, accept the edit and proceed to the next recipient.
  • If the workflow is currently awaiting the response from any another recipient type, it will assume the edit has been made by the Requestor and it will restart the workflow from the beginning.
Add a private message for your recipients:
To add a private message:
  1. Click the 'More' icon
  2. Select 'other recipient settings'
  3. Enter a private message for the recipient
The private message will only be sent to this recipient.
What's next:
How to customize email notifications
To customize notifications:
  1. From your Google Form, open the add-on.
  2. Open the 'Settings' tab.
  3. Within the 'General' settings tab, click 'Email editor'.
  4. A separate window will open and give you the ability to customize the different notification types.
Tip: You can add the request number to the subject by including Request #<<Request Number>>. You can also include other form response data in the subject or email body by including the question title between << and >> symbols.
Here is a summary of what can and cannot be changed:
  • The subject of each notification type may be amended through the Email Editor.
  • The header (request # | # of recipients | request date) is not able to be customized.
  • The title included on all email notifictions is taken from the title of your form. Note, you must re-save your settings within the add-on after the title is changed for it to take effect.
  • A private message may be included on individual recipient notifications. Go to the 'Recipients' tab > click 'More' > 'Other recipient settings'.
  • The body of each notification type may be amended through the Email Editor. The Form Response Table will include all questions that have been responded to unless you have specified sections to be hidden. See below for instructions on how to hide sections of a form response.
  • The response links (Approve, Decline, Comment) will be different based on the role type you select for your recipient, but are not able to be further customized.
  • The footer (this is an automated email sent by formapprovals.com...) is a requirement of Gmail and other mail providers when sending transactional emails and is therefore not able to be customized.
  • The from name may be amended through the Email Editor.
  • The email address used will be the email account that you used to set up the add-on. To change the email account, refer to the question 'How do I change the add-on administrator?' our FAQ page. When subscribing to a paid plan, you will also have the ability to pay additional for a feature that sends all emails from the formapprovals.com domain.
Change the From Name:
  1. Within the Email Editor, click 'Other'.
  2. Change the from name as required.
Hide sections of the form response in notifications:
  1. Within the Email Editor, click 'Other'
  2. You will see an option to select which 'sections to display in notifications'. Note, you will only see this option if you have multiple sections in your form.
  3. Uncheck the box for each section that you want omitted from email notifications (i.e the add-on will only display sections that are checked).
This is particularly useful if your form respondent is entering information that recipients don't need to see.
What's next:
How to track requests
The status of requests can be tracked at any time, using the following methods:
  1. Requestors have the ability to track the status of requests via email notifications they receive. The request number at the top of email notifications is hyperlinked allowing requestors to track the status of their request at any time during the workflow process.
  2. Recipients also have the ability to track the status of requests via email notifications they receive using the hyperlinked request number at the top of email notifications.
  3. Add-on administrators have the ability to track the status of all recent requests via and admin portal. To access the Admin portal, open the add-on > click 'Settings' > then click 'Admin portal'. The admin portal gives you the ability to send reminders, amend recipients, and resend notifications across all recent requests.
  4. Add-on administrators (and anyone with access to the spreadsheet linked to the Google Form) also have the ability to:
    • review the status of all requests in the Detailed Approval Records sheet. The add-on will record detailed information related to each request like the recipient email address, issue date, status of their response, response date, and any comment left by the recipient. See below for more information on the Detailed Approval Records and Settings sheets.
    • review the status of all requests in the Form Responses sheet. By default, the add-on will record the Request # and Overall Status on the right hand side of form response data.
Approval records and application settings
Approval records and application settings will be automatically stored in your linked spreadsheet. This gives you total control over your data and allows you to report, analyse or even perform more advanced functions like connect with other systems or processes.
A sheet named Form Responses 1 will be automatically created by Google Forms in your linked spreadsheet. This sheet will store all form responses received on your form.
A sheet named Settings [Form:XYZ] will be automatically created by the add-on in your linked spreadsheet. This sheet will store most settings you save within the application.
A sheet named Detailed Approval Records [Form:XYZ] will be automatically created by the add-on in your linked spreadsheet. This sheet will store all approval records relating to the application. Note, this sheet contains privileged information that should not be shared with requestors or recipients.
XYZ represents the ID of the Form the sheet relates to.
The add-on will read and write to these sheets each time you or your recipients use the application, so be careful not to modify the data. To perform analysis we recommend always duplicating the sheet(s).
How to approve requests
Each time a Google Form submission is made by a user, recipients will receive an email notification with links to respond to the request. Emails notifications contain unique links for recipients to respond. Do not reply or forward them to other users. The links recipients receive will depend on the role they have been assigned. Learn more about role types and their respective actions.
Troubleshooting
The add-on will only send a notification to the requestor when 'Collect email addresses' is enabled in your Google Form settings.
The add-on may not send notifications to your recipients for a variety of reasons. The below guide will help you identify the problem. When a form submission is made:
  1. If a new record is not created in the 'Detailed Approval Records' sheet:
    1. Open the add-on, then click Settings, then click Account.
      1. If the add-on is ON, toggle the add-on OFF and then toggle it back ON. Sometimes Google triggers become stale - this process resets the trigger that allows the add-on to run on your account.
      2. If the add-on is OFF, toggle it back ON. If you reached your monthly quota and the add-on was automatically disabled, you will need to reactivate the add-on on each form that uses the add-on.
        Note, this process is only required when you reach your quota and the add-on is automatically disabled. If a subscription is purchased when the add-on is still active, this process is not required.
  2. If a new record is created in the 'Detailed Approval Records' sheet but a recipient is skipped or the Overall Status is marked as 'Conditions not met', one of the following is likely to have occurred:
    1. if you use recipient logic, check to ensure the logic set up against the recipient looks correct and the logic value entered exactly matches the option selected by the requestor. For more information, refer how to add recipient logic;
    2. if you use a recipient look-up table, check to ensure the option selected by the requestor exactly matches the value entered in Column A of your spreadsheet. For more information, refer how to add a recipient look-up table;
    3. if you use dynamic recipients, check to ensure the dynamic recipient question was completed by the form respondent - questions linked to a dynamic recipient should always be mandatory questions; or
    4. check to ensure the recipient's email address is a valid email address (i.e check for typos).
  3. If a new record is created in the 'Detailed Approval Records' sheet and the Overall Status is marked 'In progress', check the sent items of the add-on administrator's Google account. If the sent items contains the email, but it was never received by the recipient it may have been blocked by their mail filters. Note, email will only be included in your Sent items if you are using a Google account that has Google Mail enabled and you are not subscribed to have emails sent from the formapprovals.com domain.
Once you have completed the above steps and identified the problem, run a test form submission and see whether notifications are now sent.
To build email notifications, the add-on draws information from the Form Responses sheet and therefore requires the structure of the sheet to remain largely intact. If some of your notifications are missing form response information, check to ensure:
  • The column headings are positioned in Row 1.
  • The Timestamp column is positioned in Column A.
  • The Request # and Overall Status columns are on the right hand side of form response data. The add-on ignore any information on the right hand side of these columns.
  • The question name in your Google Form is not blank. The add-on ignores any questions without a name. The add-on also ignores any questions that were not responded to.
To authorize the add-on, open your Google Form > open the add-on > click Settings > click Admin page. By accessing the Admin page, the add-on will capture the authorization it requires to run. The add-on will require authorization:
  • The first time you use the add-on
  • When your email password is changed
  • If we make changes to the permissions required - we will notify you in advance
  • If you remove the application's authorization from Google's third party application permissions page
  • If your G Suite administrator removes the application's authorization on your behalf either manually or through a specific policy they set
A change made by Google is affecting users that are logged in to multiple Google accounts. This is a known error impacting all add-ons. To avoid this error, sign out of your Google accounts and sign back in with one account only (the account used to set up the add-on initially).