The External Review Portal gives external approvers, such as clients and vendors, one place to see and act on every proof that's waiting on them, from every company that works with them in Hive. External approvers sign in with an emailed link or code, or with Google or Microsoft, so they don't need a password to review proofs. They can also use the portal to send their own files for review.
Open the portal at proofing.hive.com/portal.
The review email
When someone requests your approval, you get an email with two links:
View proof opens that proof.
See all your reviews opens the External Review Portal.
Sign in
From a review email: the links in the email sign you in. Choose Continue to go straight to the proof. Each sign-in link works once and expires after 60 minutes.
With Google or Microsoft: go to proofing.hive.com/portal and select Continue with Google or Continue with Microsoft. Use the account for the email your proofs were sent to.
With a code: go to proofing.hive.com/portal, enter the email your proofs were sent to under Sign in to your reviews, and select Continue. Check your email for a 6-digit code. The code expires after 10 minutes.
With SSO: if your company requires single sign-on (SSO) for Hive, enter your email and select Continue. Hive shows Sign in with SSO. Select Continue with SSO to sign in with your company account. If more than one of your workspaces requires SSO, choose the workspace to use. Emailed links and codes don't work for SSO accounts.
The first time you sign in, Hive asks What's your name? Your name is shown next to your comments and decisions.
Find your reviews
Proofs that others send you are under Shared with me at the top of the portal. It has three tabs:
To review: proofs Awaiting your decision, plus proofs Shared with you without an approval request.
Waiting: proofs where your approval stage hasn't started yet, or where you've decided and others still need to respond.
Completed: proofs with a final decision.
Use the search box to find a proof by name, file, or person. To change the order, select Due soonest or Most recent. If you review for more than one company, select a company to filter the list. Select Review to open a proof, add comments, and approve or request changes.
When nothing is waiting on you, To review shows You're all caught up. From there, you can select Upload your own file or View completed reviews.
Send your own file for review
My reviews is for files you upload yourself to get them approved.
Open My reviews and select Upload file. You can also drop a file onto your list of files, or select Upload your own file under Shared with me when it shows.
In Add proof, choose a source. On File upload, select Choose files, drop a file, or select Google Drive or OneDrive. You can add one file for each request. On Link, enter the URL, choose how to show it under Display as, and select Add proof.
If you don't have a Hive workspace yet, see Your free trial first. The Request approval page opens. Optional: select Choose a template to fill in stages, reviewers, and due dates from an approval template in your workspace. You can change them before you send.
Under Who reviews, and when, select Add reviewer to add teammates from your workspace, other people by email, or Buzz for an AI review. Buzz is off until you add it.
Optional: set Decisions due for the stage.
Optional: select Add stage (up to 3) to add more stages. Each stage starts when the stage before it is approved. Under Each stage is approved when, select Everyone approves or First decision counts. This rule applies to all stages.
Optional: in Message to reviewers, tell reviewers what to look at. Hive shows your message in the invitation and reminder emails.
Select Send for review.
When you send the request, the reviewers in the first stage get an email. Reviewers in a later stage get their email when the stage before it is approved.
Your upload goes into your own Hive workspace, not the workspace of the company that sent you proofs. It gives you no extra access to that company's projects.
In My reviews, you can narrow your list:
Mine shows the files you sent. Team shows everything your team sent, and you can filter it by Owner.
Active, Archived, and Trash show where a file is. Reviewers can still open archived files. Files in Trash stay there for 30 days, and you can restore them in that time.
In Mine, filter by All, Changes requested, Overdue, Awaiting approval, Approved, or Drafts.
Sort by Newest or Due date.
To manage a file, open the ⋯ menu on its card. Depending on the file and your permissions, you can select Rename, Duplicate with reviewers, Archive, or Move to trash.
Your free trial
If you don't have a Hive workspace yet, your first file starts a 14-day free trial. You don't need a card. Hive creates a workspace named My reviews for you.
If you start from Upload file in My reviews, choose your file and select Start trial and upload. To stop without starting a trial, select Cancel.
If you start from Upload your own file, the trial starts when you select Send for review.
Reviewers you invite by email are always free, and so are reviews that others share with you. The trial screen and Team and billing show the price after the trial.
A banner in My reviews shows the days left. After the trial ends, you can't send new files or versions until you upgrade. Your files and feedback stay saved, and Shared with me keeps working.
Follow up on a request
Open the request in My reviews to see the current stage, its due date, and how many reviewers decided.
Remind pending reviewers sends one email to each reviewer in the current stage who has not decided. You can send it once every 12 hours.
Change due date sets a new due date for the current stage.
When a due date passes, the stage stays open, and reviewers can still decide. The request shows Overdue next to its title, and the stage shows Was due.
Your team and plan
If you are an admin of your workspace, open the account menu at the top right and select Team and billing to see your plan and members.
To add someone who can send files for review, select Invite teammate. Each member adds a seat.
To upgrade, select Upgrade.
You don't need to invite people who only review files. Add them as reviewers by email on the Request approval page.
Manage your account
Open Account to update your name and profile picture and see the companies you review for.
To delete your account, select Delete Account on the same page. This option shows only if you don't belong to a Hive workspace. If you do, manage your account in Hive instead. Starting a free trial creates a workspace, so Delete Account no longer shows after that.
Good to know
"Verify your email before creating reviews"? Hive needs to verify your email before you can send your own file. Go to app.hive.com, enter your email, and select Continue. Open the email from Hive and select Reset password to set a password. This verifies your email. Then sign in to the portal again and send your file.
Link expired? Sign in with a code instead. Links expire after 60 minutes or once they're used.
"This proof was shared with someone else"? You're signed in with a different email than the one the proof was sent to. Select Sign out and email … a code to sign in with the right email.
"You need access to this proof"? The proof isn't shared with the email you're signed in with. Select Sign in with a different email, or ask the person who shared it to send you the current link or add your email.
Older shared proofs: Shared with you shows your 100 most recent shared proofs. Older ones still open from their original email link (you may be asked for a code).
Hive team members can sign in to the portal too, with Google, Microsoft, a code, or SSO. It lists the proofs you're asked to approve. Proofs shared in your own workspace without an approval request stay in Hive.