Workflows and approvals

Assign approvers to a workflow step with an IF formula

Use a nested IF formula in the step's assignee settings so each item goes to the right approver based on a form value.

Tip

Short answer: Assign a step with a formula instead of a fixed person. An IF formula picks the approver from a form value, so each item reaches the right manager without separate steps.

When to use this

Use this when the approver depends on what's in the form. For example, in an onboarding process the final review can go to a different person for each employment type:

  • Consultant: the reporting manager
  • Part time: the reviewing manager
  • Everyone else: the initiator's manager
IF(Employment_Type = "Consultant", Reporting_Manager, IF(Employment_Type = "Part Time", Reviewing_Manager, _created_by.Manager))

Set it up

  1. Add User fields to the form for each possible approver, such as Reporting Manager and Reviewing Manager.
  2. Open the process editor and click the step.
  3. In the Assignees section, select More assignment options > Formula.
  4. Enter the formula, using your own field IDs, and click Save. See Assign users to a step using a formula.
  5. Test the step with workflow simulation, then publish.

Tip

Both results of each IF must be user fields or user system fields, such as _created_by or _created_by.Manager. You can use the same IF pattern for step conditions, to decide whether a step happens at all. See IF function.

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