---
title: "Draft and approved approval states"
canonical: "https://support.appfire.com/space/CDACL/690094361/Draft%20and%20approved%20approval%20states"
format: markdown
---
> Macro (aura-html)
## Overview
When applied to a page, Comala Document Approval creates a distinction between** **the document in a** draft** workflow approval state (**Review **and **Rejected** states) and the document in the **Approved** workflow approval state.
- the **Approved** state is defined as the **approved** (or **final**) state for the document
- a document in other states is considered as **draft**
## Draft states and the approved state
When the **Comala Document Approval** app is added and applied to the content, the initial approval state is **Review**. The document is considered to be in a **draft** state.
There are two **draft** states in the approval workflow.
| Draft States |
| --- |
|  | The **Review** state
- this is the initial state in the approval workflow and is the state set by default when adding the approval |
|  | The **Rejected** state
- a document in the **Rejected** state has undergone an approval process and has been rejected |
| Both the **Review** and the **Rejected** state contain a [content review](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CDACL/pages/689701094). When the document is in one of these states, a user can choose to **approve** or **reject** the content. |
When a document is approved, the applied workflow transitions it to a third approval workflow state - the **Approved** state, which is the** final** state.
| Final State |
| --- |
|  | - the **Approved **state is defined as the approved published (**final**) state for the approval workflow
- a document in the **Approved** state has undergone an approval process, and one or more users have approved the content
- when the **Approved** document is edited and published (updated), a new version is automatically created in the **Review** state |
Your document can only be in one of the approval workflow states at any one time. However, both the last **approved** version and the current draft** **version in either the **rejected** or **Reviewed** state can be viewed.
> ℹ️ Adding or removing a label or attachment does not cause a transition, as there is no version change for the content. The approval workflow sees only editing and publishing the document as an update, which causes an approval workflow transition.
## Page sub-title status links
If the content has previously been **published** but is currently in a **draft** state, you will see the** View approved** link on the page.
The second link **View approved** takes you to the last approved version of the page.
The content state byline link with the state name and state indicator circle denotes the current **draft** version approval state.
Similar breadcrumb links are displayed if you view the current **Rejected** state and there is a previously approved version.
> ⚠️ A user with **view-only** permission is able to access the byline links on the draft document version in either the **Review** or **Rejected** state to view the latest approved version (if present).
In the **Approved** state, the content state byline includes a link to any draft state that is pending approval.
If a user is viewing a version that is different from the currently approved version, a link allows you to compare the approved versions.
> ℹ️ If you want users with **view-only** permission to view only the latest approved version of your content, you can use Comala Document Approval together with [Comala Publishing Cloud](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/pages/createpage.action?spaceKey=CPCL&title=Welcome%20to%20Comala%20Publishing%20for%20Cloud) to publish your pages (but not blog posts) in a different space on your cloud site.
> Macro (excerpt-include)