You can request approval on files from Hive and non-Hive users. External approvers are useful for clients, vendors, and anyone else outside your organization. They don't need a Hive account, only an email address. This saves email back-and-forth and gives you clear, tracked responses.
Add a proof
Open the action card and go to the Approvals section. Click Add proof to add the file you want approved (for example, a mockup or a presentation):
Upload the file from your computer or Google Drive. Select Add as internal version only if this version is for your team: external approvers can't see internal versions.
Note: You can only add external approvers to a round after the card has a proof. Until then, Add external approver is not available.
Add an external approver
In the approval round, use Add approver for people in Hive. For someone outside Hive, click Add external approver in the stage, enter their email address, and click Add:
Optional: turn on Include a custom email message to add a note for that approver, then click Save. The message is shown in the proof link email when you send or resend the request.
When you click Request approval, external approvers get an email that tells them their approval is requested. The email includes a link to the proof, where they can annotate, add comments, and approve, approve with changes, or request changes.
Adding an email as an external approver does not give that person access to the action card or to any of your projects. You can track the status of their approval on the card and see their comments when you open the proof.
Send reminder emails
To remind an approver about an outstanding request, hover over their name in the round and click the envelope icon (Send reminder). Hive sends the approval request email again.
Save an Approval Template with an External Approver
If the same external approver approves many proofs, save the round as a template. In the round, click More > Save as template:
Enter a template name, select the rounds to save, and click Save template:
Next time, click More > Apply template on a round, select the template, and click Apply template to fill the round with that external approver. Click Preview first to check the template's rounds and stages. For more, see Approval Templates.
What external approvers see
The link opens the proof in Hive's proofing viewer, where they can annotate, comment, and approve or request changes. If several files in the round are waiting for them, they can approve them all at once (see Approve multiple proof files at once). Versions added with Add as internal version are not shown to external approvers.
Turn off external approvers for your workspace
On workspaces with Enterprise security, workspace admins can select Disable External Approvers on Proofing Rounds in the workspace Security settings. When this setting is on, external approvers can't be added to rounds, and outstanding external approval requests can no longer be opened.