---
title: "Managing Electronic Approval Groups, Participants & Attachments"
slug: "managing-electronic-approval-groups-participants-attachments"
updated: 2026-10-29T17:03:07Z
published: 2026-10-29T17:03:07Z
canonical: "wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/managing-electronic-approval-groups-participants-attachments"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Managing Electronic Approval Groups, Participants & Attachments

**COBBLESTONE SOFTWARE**

Contract Insight — User Guide

**Managing Electronic Approval Groups, Participants & Attachments**

*Document Templates: Generation/Merging › Manage Electronic Approval Process › Managing Electronic Approval Groups, Participants & Attachments*

**Note:** Each procedure in this guide begins at the Contract Insight homepage, so any section can be followed on its own. Custom fields are configurable, so the exact field list on a contract category record may vary between environments.

# 1. Overview

An approval process's **console** brings its groups, participants, and attachments together in one place. The summary bar at the top shows the process **Status** and counts for **Groups** (how many are finalized), **Participants**, and **Files**. The **Groups and participants** section lists each approval group in order with its people, and is where you add, replace, re-notify, or remove participants. The **Files in this process** grid lists the documents attached to the process. The header holds **Pause**, **End process**, and **Finalize** for managing the process as a whole.

# 2. Key Elements

- **Groups and participants** lists each group in sequence, marks the **current group**, and shows when each group was notified or **finalized**.
- Each group offers **Add participant** and **Resend**. Only the current group can be re-notified.
- Each participant row shows a status (**Pending**, **Expired**, **Approved**, …) and offers **Re-send this invitation**, **Replace this participant**, and delete icons.
- The **FILES** counter in the summary bar and the **Files in this process** grid track the documents attached to the process.
- **Pause**, **End process**, and **Finalize** manage the process as a whole.

# 3. Opening an Approval Process Console

1. From the Contract Insight homepage, click the **Approvals & Signatures** icon in the left navigation bar.
2. Select **Negotiation Processes**.

![Approvals and Signatures menu with Negotiation Processes highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/eap-01-approvals-menu.jpg)

1. Set the type filter to **Approvals only** and use the status filter or **Search** to find the process.
2. Click **Open console** on the process's row.

![Negotiation Processes list with filters and Open console button](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/eap-02-negotiation-processes.jpg)

# 4. Reviewing Groups, Participants, and Files at a Glance

The summary bar shows how far the process has progressed. **Groups** shows how many groups are finalized (for example, 0 of 2 finalized), **Participants** shows the total number of people across all groups, and **Files** shows how many documents are attached.

1. Check the **Groups**, **Participants**, and **Files** counters in the summary bar.
2. Scroll to **Groups and participants** to see each group's people. The icons on the right of each participant row are **Re-send this invitation** (bell), **Replace this participant** (people), and delete (trash).

![Console summary counters and participant row actions](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/mea-02-console-groups-counters.jpg)

**Note:** Participants copied from the template show a **FROM TEMPLATE** tag and cannot be deleted from the console. Replace them instead (see Section 6). Re-send is unavailable for a participant whose group has not been notified yet.

# 5. Managing Groups

Groups are notified one at a time, in order. Within a group, participants act in parallel.

1. Find the group marked **current group**. Its notified timestamp shows when its participants were invited, while later groups read **not notified**.
2. To re-notify everyone in the current group, click **Resend** on the group's header.
3. To add someone to a group, click **Add participant** on that group's header (see Section 6a).

![Process console header with status banner, summary, and process controls](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/eap-03-process-console-header.jpg)

# 6. Managing Participants

## 6a. Adding a Participant

1. Click **Add participant** on the group's header. The **Add a participant to [group]** panel opens.
2. Choose the participant type: **External participant**, **Employee participant**, or **Company contact participant**.
3. Enter the **Full name** and **E-mail address** (or select the employee or contact), and optionally explain **Why are they being added?**
4. Click **Add**, or **Cancel** to close the panel.

![Add a participant panel with participant types](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/mea-03-add-participant-types.jpg)

**Note:** Participants added to a group that is already running are invited as soon as they are added.

## 6b. Replacing a Participant

1. Click the **Replace this participant** (people) icon on the participant's row.
2. In the **Replace “[name]” in this group** panel, select the replacement and enter **Why are you replacing them?**
3. Click **Replace**, or **Cancel** to close the panel.

![Replace participant panel](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/eap-06-replace-participant.jpg)

**Note:** The replacement keeps the group's placed fields. If the invitation already went out, the new person is invited automatically and the previous participant is told.

## 6c. Re-sending or Removing a Participant

- Click the **Re-send this invitation** (bell) icon to re-notify one participant.
- Click the delete (trash) icon to remove a participant who was added in the console. Participants added through the template cannot be deleted.

# 7. Reviewing Process Attachments

The **FILES** counter shows how many documents are attached to the process. The **Files in this process** grid lists each one with its **#**, **File**, **Type**, **Description**, **Versions**, **Checked out to**, and **Flags**.

1. Scroll to **Files in this process**.
2. Use the **Search** box or the column filter icons to find a file.
3. Check **Versions** to see how many versions exist, and **Checked out to** to see whether someone is editing the file.

![Files counter and Files in this process grid](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/mea-05-process-attachments.jpg)

# 8. Completing the Process

As each group finishes, its header shows **finalized** with the date, and each participant shows their outcome (for example **Approved**) with the date they acted. When every group is finalized, the status banner reads **This process is completed/finalized**.

- **Finalize** completes the process once every group is finalized (for example, 2 of 2).
- **Pause** temporarily stops a running process.
- **End process** cancels a running process.

![Completed approval process with finalized groups and approved participants](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/mea-06-completed-process.jpg)

# 9. Quick Reference Summary

| Task | How to Complete It |
| --- | --- |
| Open an approval process | Approvals & Signatures → Negotiation Processes → **Open console**. |
| See progress at a glance | Summary bar → Groups, Participants, and Files counters. |
| Re-notify the current group | **Resend** on the group header. |
| Add a participant | **Add participant** → choose type → enter details → **Add**. |
| Replace a participant | **Replace this participant** icon → select replacement → **Replace**. |
| Re-notify one participant | **Re-send this invitation** (bell) icon. |
| Remove a participant | Delete (trash) icon. Not available for participants from the template. |
| Review attached files | **Files in this process** grid. |
| Pause, end, or finalize | Console header → **Pause**, **End process**, or **Finalize**. |