Title
Add Approver Comments to Approval Workflow Cancellation Emails
Summary
When an approver cancels a job in the Approval Workflow, any comment they enter can now be included in the cancellation email sent to the customer, using a new placeholder. This article explains how to enable approval comments and add the placeholder to your 'Approval Workflow Cancelled' email template.
Problem
When an approver cancelled a job and entered a comment, the customer's cancellation email did not include that comment, so customers received a cancellation notice with no explanation. Comments were already shown for rejected jobs, but not for cancellations. The cancellation record was also attributed to the customer rather than the approver who performed the cancellation.
Environment
- Storefronts using the Approval Workflow.
- Admin access to Approval Workflow Settings and Email Message Templates.
Cause
The cancellation notification did not pass the approver's comment through to the email, and the cancellation template had no placeholder to display it.
Configuration
Step 1: Enable the Approval Workflow
Open Approval Workflow Settings and make sure the workflow engine is switched on. This is the prerequisite for every approval feature, including approver comments on cancellation.
Step 2: Turn on Enable approval comments
On the same Approval Workflow Settings page, turn on 'Enable approval comments'. This adds the comments box to the approve, reject and cancel actions in the approval form, so an approver can explain why a job was cancelled.
Step 3: Open the Email Message Templates list
Go to the Email Message Templates list and open the template named 'Approval Workflow Cancelled'. Confirm it is set to Active. This is the email sent to the customer when an approver cancels one of their jobs.
Step 4: Add the approver comment placeholder to the template body
In the body of the 'Approval Workflow Cancelled' template, add the placeholder %Workflow.CancellationNotes% where you want the approver's comment to appear, then save. The refreshed default template also shows job details via %Workflow.JobId%, %Workflow.JobName%, %Workflow.OrderId% and %Workflow.RejectingApprover%. New installations already include this placeholder, so no action is needed there; existing storefronts add it once.
Verification
- Place a test order that requires approval, cancel it as an approver with a distinctive comment, and confirm the cancellation email contains that comment.
- Confirm the order's status history shows the cancellation attributed to the approver, not the customer.
- Cancel another job with an empty comment and confirm the email still sends correctly.
Search Terms
approval workflow cancellation email, approver comments in email, Workflow.CancellationNotes placeholder, Approval Workflow Cancelled template, enable approval comments, cancelled job notification context