/
External User Guide for Approval Path

External User Guide for Approval Path

Overview

External users are people who take part in an approval without a Confluence or Atlassian account. They participate entirely by email. An external user doesn't set anything up themselves. They are added to a workflow by the person who builds the approval.

To include an external user, the creator of an approval definition adds an Email Step with the external user's email address. Once the definition exists and someone starts the approval on the relevant Confluence page, the external user is notified by email and can review and respond.

Reviewing and Responding to an Approval

The screen below is where external users act on a request. It looks like the Confluence page under review, but it's a dedicated view that Approval Path provides for external reviewers.

Frame 157.png

External users reach this screen by clicking the link in the Email notification. The first time, they'll be asked to register and confirm an Approval Path account before they can act.

External users can:

  • Review detailed information about the Confluence page

  • Choose an action: Approve, Reject, or Abstain

  • Optionally, add a comment to explain the decision

 

How to Create Approval Path Account

The first time an approval is started for a Confluence page, an external user who doesn't yet have an Approval Path account receives two emails:

image-20260622-122945.png

 

  • Approval notification email - shows who started the approval and includes a link to the content.

image-20260622-122558.png

 

  • Account Activation email - contains a link used to confirm the account and set a password.

image-20260622-123010.png

Confirming the account is required. Open the activation link, then set a password and name. Only after the account is confirmed can the external user review and respond to approvals.

image-20260622-123105.png
Crete Approval Path user account

The activation link is valid for 15 minutes. If it expires before you confirm your account, you can request a new one at any time by registering again with the same email address on the registration page. A fresh Account Activation email with a new 15-minute link will be sent.

Until your account is confirmed, no further approval notifications are sent to you. This prevents repeated emails (spam) while the account remains unconfirmed. As soon as you confirm the account, notifications resume normally. On later approvals, an already-confirmed account receives only the approval notification email, not a second activation email.

External User Dashboard

Main Dashboard

For external users with a confirmed account, the dashboard organizes work into three sections:

image-20260622-122748.png

  • Awaiting – Displays Confluence pages and also Jira tickets currently waiting for the user’s approval.

  • History – Shows completed approvals. Once an approval decision is made, it cannot be changed.

  • Queued – Displays and pages where approval is needed later in the sequence, after other approvers have taken action.

Settings

  • Personal Information: Users can update their First Name and Last Name. The registered email address is displayed as read-only.

  • Atlassian Account Linking: Existing users can link their Atlassian account here. Linking lets you act on approvals faster: when you open an action link for a step that does not require a comment, your decision is applied instantly, without an extra confirmation page. Steps that require a comment always show a form first. If your organization sends you secure action links, you need a linked Atlassian account to use them.

If you are also a Confluence user in the space, linking connects this account to the same Atlassian identity you use in Confluence. See the Internal User Guide for how internal users act on approvals.

  • Change password: Users can securely change their login password.

  • Delete account: Users can permanently delete their external approver account.

 

To end a session, click the Logout icon in the top-right corner of the dashboard.

Comments