More Power to the ServiceDesk Plus Self-Service Portal – Approvals

Now this approval request is normally sent as a notification for approval and the default approval notification email template (Admin > Notifications > Notifying for Approval) contains by default a link for the approval response:

However, you might not want to send this link in an open email to the approver for the simple reason that you cannot verify that it is that individual who opens the email and authorises the approval request. 

So what do you do? A possible alternative is to use the power of the self-service portal. First off you would remove the default ‘$ApprovalLink’ from the ‘Notifying for Approval’ email notification template and simple use this as a notification to the selected approver that their input is needed.

Having received the notification the approver would simply need to logon to their self-service portal and there, on the right of their portal, should be a link to the approval for which their input is needed:

This link is, in-fact, the same link that they would have received from the default email notification. By clicking on the link in the their self-service portal they will see the details for the required approval action:

Neat huh? It also has the added benefit of being verified through the approvers network credentials in accessing the self-service portal. The same process will also work for Change Purchase Order approvals:

In addition this process also works if the approver is a technician in the system; they simply need look on their Home > My View tab for the relevant approval link(s).

Enjoy!