New Workflow Experience on the Document Screen

⚠️

This feature is being rolled out gradually. The new workflow experience is being made available gradually to existing customers on workflow 2 (nextgen). If you do not have access yet, please contact your Account Manager.

🎯 Objective

This article presents the new interaction interface with the workflow on the document screen. The update was created to provide greater awareness and action for all users: quickly understanding the process status, current pending tasks, and what can or needs to be done, including when the activity involves sending the document to external parties using review and signature tools.

Este artigo contém as seções:

What changed?
Assignee Actions Widget
Review Stage
Signature Stage
Process Status Widget
Team Assignment Widget
Signatures Widget
Rejection Widget
Stages Widget
History Widget
Completed or canceled workflow
Guided tour
Frequently asked questions

✨ What changed?

The right sidebar of the document screen, where users track and execute workflow, review, and signature actions, has been completely redesigned.

The new experience is organized into widgets, displayed according to each user's role and the current stage of the process. They guide you on:

What the process status is for that document;
Which stage it is currently in and what the current pending tasks are;
What the user needs or can do to complete their activity.

Widgets are displayed in the following order, when applicable:

Assignee actions (for stage assignees);
Process status (for non-assignees);
Team assignment;
Signatures;
Rejection;
Stages;
History.

This is always the first widget and appears only for those responsible for the ongoing stage. It shows what the assignee can or needs to do and provides instructions for completing the activity.

Primary actions

View questionnaire: if the stage requires completing a questionnaire, you must access it before approving or rejecting. The approve and reject options are displayed only after the assignee accesses the questionnaire.
Approve: this is the main action, which completes the assignee's activity and allows the flow to proceed. Depending on the stage configuration, the button may be labeled Approve, Send, Complete, Advance, or Continue.
Reject: returns the document to a previous stage, with an indicated reason. Depending on the configuration, it may be labeled Reject, Return, or Go Back. This action is not always available: some stages cannot be rejected as configured.

Displayed information

Other assignees: if the stage has other assignees, a +N button appears next to the current assignee's name. Clicking it allows you to see who they are.
Deadline: if the stage has a deadline, it is always visible. Users with access permission can click directly on the date to change it.
Stage repetition: if the stage is occurring for the second time (or more), the widget indicates the current repetition count. This lets the assignee know that the document has passed through this stage before, for example in flows with rejection.

Options menu (⋮)

In the top right corner of the widget, the assignee can access:

Transfer responsibility: the current assignee leaves the stage and another user or team takes their place.
Add responsibles: the current assignee remains and includes other users to complete the activity together. Any of the assignees can approve or reject, and the action applies to all.
Change deadline: available if the stage has a deadline and the user has access permission.
Undo obtaining: available when the user became an assignee by claiming responsibility as a manager.

It is also in this widget that the document is sent for external review or for signature, along with the management of these processes. These behaviors are detailed in the Review Stage and Signature Stage sections below.

Parallel stages

Depending on the workflow configuration, more than one stage can be in progress at the same time.

If the same user is responsible for more than one stage, the widget highlights each stage individually: actions to approve, reject, transfer, add assignees, and change deadlines are performed separately for each one.

Each parallel stage can activate different questionnaire pages. Clicking View questionnaire opens the questionnaire in the context of the stage corresponding to the clicked button.

If there are multiple stages in progress, but the user is responsible for only one, they will see actions only for their stage. Other stages remain visible in the Stages widget.

✈️ Review Stage

Review is a specific stage type with special behavior: in it, counterparty review and internal approvals are expected to happen. To understand the complete dynamics of the review stage, refer to the article Review Stage.

In the new experience:

The negotiator (responsible for the review) sends the document to the counterparty via the Send to counterparty button in the Assignee Actions widget, where they also configure the dispatch.
Through the same widget, they track and manage the review: switching turns, editing reviewers, reminding reviewers, or completing the review, using specific buttons for each situation.
Review history is recorded in the document history, available in the History widget or expanded via the full history link.

Workflows with and without a review stage

Workflows with a review stage: this is the expected time to negotiate the document with the counterparty. Sending the document for external review is only possible during this stage.

Workflows without a review stage: sending to the counterparty can be done in any approval stage, provided that:

It is performed by the stage assignee;
There are no parallel stages in progress; that is, only one stage can be open at that moment.

In this case, sending is done using the button with the paper plane icon ✈ in the Actions widget. Clicking it allows the assignee to contextually set up sending the document to the counterparty.

Sending also depends on stage permissions (such as whether or not the editor can be used) and the user's own permissions: it is not possible to send the document at an editing level higher than the user's assigned access level.

To learn how to use external review, refer to the article Document Review.

🖊️ Signature Stage

Signature is also a specific stage type. When a workflow uses a stage of this type, the document can only be sent for signature within it.

Upon entering the signature stage:

The Assignee Actions widget automatically suggests and enables sending for signature.
During dispatch, the signature provider, signers, fields, and other process details are configured.

With signature process in progress

The signature process is contained within the stage: it is not possible to advance or go back the stage while a signature process is in progress.

To complete the stage, you must wait for signatures to be completed or, if necessary, cancel the process.

While the document is in signature, the questionnaire is locked for the entire document, as the document cannot be modified during this period.

Signature outside netLex

If the document is not signed using netLex's tool (for example, when signed using the counterparty's tool), you can upload the signed document and complete the stage normally without starting a signature process in netLex.

Workflows without a signature stage

When the workflow does not use a signature stage, the flow does not prescribe when signature should happen. In this case:

A button with a pen icon ✎ is displayed in the Assignee Actions widget. Only the assignee of the ongoing stage can send the document for signature.
When clicked, the assignee has the same configuration options as a signature-type stage, according to their access profile for signature integrations.

💡

Tip: the experience is best when the workflow uses a signature stage: the flow can predict the right moment and guide the assignee more accurately.

⚠️

Review and signature do not happen at the same time. It is not possible to send a document for review with the counterparty and for signature simultaneously: one process blocks the other.

Displayed for users who are not responsible for the current stage. It helps users with document access understand:

What the workflow status is;
Which stage the document is in;
What the current pending tasks are.

It contextualizes the process, but does not include assignee actions.

Displayed when a team is assigned to the stage, no individual user has been set as the direct assignee, and the viewing user is a member of that team.

Claim responsibility: assigns stage responsibility to the viewing user. From then on, they see the Assignee Actions widget.
Assign responsible person: assigns responsibility to a colleague who is also a team member. In this case, the user remains a viewer.

Appears when there is an active or completed signature process on the document. It contains all information regarding recipients and signatures:

With process in progress: displays each recipient's status (pending, completed, or declined signatures) and allows actions like resending or editing recipient email addresses, depending on the signature integration used.
With process completed: the widget remains displayed with all completed signature data, even after the workflow is completed.

Management options depend on each user's access profile and the signature integration used.

Appears for assignees of the ongoing stage when that stage was initiated by a rejection from a subsequent stage.

Example: if during the signature stage the assignee decides to return the document to the review stage because a clause needs editing or re-negotiating, they record the reason. The review stage assignee will see the Rejection widget highlighting this reason.

The widget displays key rejection data and allows viewing details.

It is informational: it serves as a highlight for those who need to act based on the rejection, without additional actions.

Rejection is also always logged in the document history, visible to all users with document access.

Provides a view of workflow steps, focusing on active stages, though completed steps can also be viewed.

If only one step is in progress, the widget displays assignees, deadline, and details to understand what is happening right now.

If multiple steps are in progress, all are displayed with their respective information.

Active steps also appear highlighted in the horizontal timeline at the top of the screen, with completed steps marked in blue before the active ones.

Per-steps actions

Some actions are specific to individual steps, rather than the entire workflow. Therefore, they are executed directly on the corresponding stage row via the options menu (⋮).

The menu displays up to six options, depending on user permissions and steps status:

Claim responsibility: users with this permission can become assignees for an ongoing steps.
Undo obtaining: displayed when the user has already claimed steps responsibility. Allows undoing the claim.
Change deadline: each step has its own deadline, which can be changed via this option or by clicking directly on the date. Requires access permission.
Transfer responsibility: displayed only for steps where the user is currently the assignee. This is the same action available in the Assignee Actions widget: the current assignee leaves the stage and another user or team takes their place.
Add responsibles: also displayed only for stages where the user is currently the assignee. This is the same action available in the Assignee Actions widget: the current assignee remains and includes other users to complete the activity together.
Set assignee: displayed only for administrators when a stage starts without an assignee. Allows assigning stage responsibility to a user.

Completed steps

By switching the widget filter, you can view completed stages like a history log: each stage, who the assignees were, and who approved it.

Multiple assignees in the same step

A stage can have multiple assignees, and not all need to approve for it to be completed. This depends on the completion rule set in the stage configuration.

Because of this, a stage may have approvals already completed while continuing in progress awaiting other approvals. Individual approval statuses are displayed.

Lists the most recent items in the document history directly and concisely.

To view full details or complete history, expand the widget by clicking View full history.

✅ Completed or canceled workflow

When the workflow is completed, no stage is in progress. In this state:

The (completed) Stages and History widgets remain visible showing details of what occurred in the document.
The Process Status widget is displayed for users with access permission: anyone with permission to reopen the workflow can do so via this widget or via the button on the far right of the horizontal timeline.
If the document has a completed signature process, the Signatures widget remains displayed with all completed signature data.

When the workflow is canceled, only the History widget is displayed.

Users with access permission to reopen the workflow can do so using the button on the far right of the horizontal timeline.

🔍 Guided tour

See in practice how the sidebar adapts to your role in the process. The new experience changes depending on whether or not you are responsible for the ongoing stage:

Experiência quando você é responsável pela etapa ⬇️

Experience when you are not responsible for the stage ⬇️

❓ Frequently asked questions

Is the new workflow experience already available to me?
The new workflow experience is being released gradually to existing customers on workflow 2 (nextgen). If you do not see it yet, it may not have been enabled for your environment. If in doubt, contact your Account Manager.

Why don't I see the Assignee Actions widget?
This widget appears only for those responsible for the ongoing stage. If you are not the assignee, you will see the Process Status widget, which shows progress and pending items, but does not include assignee actions.

The approve and reject options are not showing. What should I do?
If the stage requires completing a questionnaire, the approve and reject options appear only after you access the questionnaire via the View questionnaire button. Additionally, some stages cannot be rejected based on the workflow configuration, and in those cases the reject button will not appear.

In which stage can I send the document to the counterparty?
If the workflow has a review stage, sending for external review is only possible during that stage. If the workflow does not have a review stage, sending can be done in any approval stage, provided it is performed by the stage assignee and there are no parallel stages in progress.

Can I send the document for review and signature at the same time?
No. It is not possible to send the document for review with the counterparty and for signature simultaneously: one process blocks the other.

How do I send the document for signature if the workflow has no signature stage?
In this case, a button with a pen icon ✎ is displayed in the Assignee Actions widget. Only the assignee of the ongoing stage can use it, and the configuration options are the same as a signature-type stage, according to their signature integration access profile.

The document was signed outside netLex. How do I complete the stage?
If the document was signed using another tool (e.g., the counterparty's tool), you can upload the signed document and complete the stage normally, without launching a signature process in netLex.

Why can't I advance the signature stage?
While a signature process is in progress, you cannot advance or go back the stage. To complete it, you must wait for signatures to be finalized or cancel the process if applicable. During this period, the questionnaire also remains locked, as the document cannot be edited.

🎯 Objective

✨ What changed?