Media approval

Approval is the review of a media asset before it is used, for example by the marketing department, brand manager or catalogue manager. In openlane, approval is managed through workflows: a series of steps that the asset passes through, with people assigned to approve or reject it.

When a media asset is approved

A media asset can follow one or more workflows. It is approved when all its workflows have reached a step with a positive outcome.

A media asset that has never followed a workflow, such as one uploaded before workflows were introduced, is considered approved.

Effects of approval

Approval changes which actions are allowed on a media asset. Editing and deletion permissions can be restricted to unapproved assets: if you upload images, you can correct them while they are under review, but cannot edit or delete them after approval.

Approval can also be a requirement for an asset to enter a workspace, as described in Workspaces that require approval.

Who approves

Each workflow step specifies which user groups can approve. If you belong to one of these groups, you will see To approve in the library sidebar, listing the media assets awaiting your decision. This entry is only shown if you are an approver in at least one workflow.

Approval or rejection may require a note. All decisions remain in the workflow history, even when the workflow restarts from the beginning.

Restarting a review

A workflow can restart from the first step, for example after an asset was approved by mistake or when the file has changed. All previous decisions remain in the history, and the asset remains assigned to its workspaces during the new review.