Introduction

In Approval Manager 2012, two proof types are now available: individual and group. The individual proof is used when you want to review files one at a time (the default proof type for past editions of Approval Manager). Group proofs, which is a new feature for the 2012 edition, gives the user the ability to review, proof, and route a group of files together. Users can now focus on multiple proofs within a group all at one time rather than individual proofs.

Create a Group Proof

1. Select the Proofs tab in Approval Manager 2012. Then, underneath the Proof tab, select New Proof in the upper-right corner to open a New Proof Edit form.

2. Select Group from the Type section of the form and fill out the rest of the form according to your customer information and how your workflow will operate.

3. When finished, click on Add in the upper-right corner.

The File Management window will now appear. From this window you can upload multiple files to include in your group proof.

4. To select the files you want to upload, click on the Add Files button in the upper left corner of the window.

This will open either an Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) window.

5. Using the Explorer or Finder window, navigate to the folder where your files are located. Select multiple files by holding the Ctrl key and left-clicking on your mouse (Windows) or the Command key and left-clicking on your mouse (Mac). Select open when finished.

Each file will now upload in the File Management window. New files are marked in green. You can clear individual files by selecting the trash can icon or clear all files by selecting Discard in the lower-right corner of the window.

Note: if you check the Complete production for uploaded files option in the lower-left corner of the window, your group proof will automatically be routed to the next stage after the production stage.

6. Select Save when you are finished. You will be taken back to the Proof Workflow Page where you can see all the information tied to your new group proof.

You should now see all your proofs displayed as thumbnails under the Workflow Information section.

Add New Files Versions to a Group Proof:

1. Select Manage Files under the Workflow Information section.

Note: If your proof is in a review stage, the files cannot be edited. The Manage Files option will appear grayed-out. The group proof must be in the production stage to be edited.

The File Management window will appear. Files will now be gray. This indicates that they are files that have already been uploaded. From here you can clear files by clicking on the trash can icon. To clear all the files from the upload window select Discard.

2. Select Add Files button.

3. In the Explorer or Finder window that appears, navigate to the file(s) you want to upload. Click open when all your files are selected.

This will return you to the File Management window. You will see that there are now two versions of the files, one in white and one in green. A file that is colored in white indicates that it is a previous version of a file while the green file below it indicates that it is the newest version of that file.

Approval Manager checks the names of the new files against the names of old files and replaces the old files with new files that have equal or even similar names. For example, if you recently uploaded a file called my_file.pdf and upload a new file called my_file_ver_2.pdf, Approval Manager will recognize this as a new version of the old file and replace it. This smart file management and upload makes it easy for you to replace and track multiple versions of your files.

If you don't want the newly added file to automatically replace a file with the same name, you can drag it either to the bottom of the list so it's a completely new file or drag it on top of another file to replace it as a newer version of that file.

Note: This hierarchical view is only present in the current upload window to indicate what files are about to be replaced with newer files. The hierarchy won't show after you click Save.

4. Select Save when finished and you will be returned to the Proof Workflow Page.