# Your first approval Five minutes, one page, nothing to configure. Do this on a real page you actually want reviewed, because there is nothing here you will need to undo afterwards. ℹ️ If **Approval** is not under your page title yet, start at [Install Capable Approval](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/install-capable-approval.html). --- 1 Ask someone 2 Watch it 3 Answer one 4 Show it off Open a page, click **Approval** under the title, add a colleague, and click **Request approvals**. That is the whole thing. They get an email straight away, and a Slack message if your site is connected. Every other option can wait for [Request an approval](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/request-an-approval.html). ![image-20260902-091731.png](https://help.gocapable.com/images/606ed32a-13a7-4846-bf6f-da6c7f230cea.webp) --- ✓ Ask someone 2 Watch it 3 Answer one 4 Show it off Open **Capable, Approval**. Your request is under **Requested by you**, showing who you asked and who has answered. This is the screen that replaces chasing people in corridors. Leave it open for a day and you will see the point of it. More in [Track approvals](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/track-approvals.html). ![image-20260902-092027.png](https://help.gocapable.com/images/079d399b-981e-43fb-a280-475542cea993.webp) --- ✓ Ask someone ✓ Watch it 3 Answer one 4 Show it off Ask your colleague to send one back to you. It lands in your **inbox**, and you can approve it by dragging the card into the Approved column, or by opening the page and using the panel. While you are there, try leaving a comment instead of approving, and watch what happens to the status. | **You click** | **The request becomes** | **Why** | | ------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | Approve | APPROVED | Your yes met the threshold. | | Comment | IN REVIEW | Comments are recorded, but never count as a yes. | ⚠️ That second row trips people up more than anything else in the product. If a request ever looks stuck, check whether people commented instead of answering. See [Respond to a request](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/respond-to-a-request.html). ![image-20260902-092127.png](https://help.gocapable.com/images/11f5533e-bc5b-458f-86f0-c941080d516a.webp) --- ✓ Ask someone ✓ Watch it ✓ Answer one 4 Show it off Edit the page, type `/approval`, and insert the macro in **Banner** mode. Now anyone reading the page can see it was approved without knowing where to look for the byline. See [The approval macro](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/the-approval-macro.html). ![image-20260902-092218.png](https://help.gocapable.com/images/94c738e1-9ac0-4127-a66f-18cd45203fef.webp) ![Screenshot 2026-09-02 at 10.23.52.png](https://help.gocapable.com/images/a7d3b2ad-fbf8-4e5f-9720-2605624e6966.webp) --- ## What to set up next | **If you want** | **Go to** | | ---------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | To stop picking the same reviewers every time | [Teams and assignment](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/teams-and-assignment.html) | | Pages to come back for review every six months | [Expiry and re-approval](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/expiry-and-re-approval.html) | | Every new page in a space to need approval | [Automatic approvals](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/automatic-approvals.html) | | Approvals to count as signatures | [Sign approvals with a code](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/sign-approvals-with-a-code.html) | | Approved pages published automatically | [Publishing](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/publishing.html) | --- ## A few things that catch people out * Editing the page after you send restarts the review on the new version. * Sending with nobody selected does nothing at all, and says nothing either. * People who cannot read the page are skipped silently, so check access if someone says they heard nothing. * Approving does not publish the page unless somebody switched that on. See [Space settings](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/space-settings.html). --- ## Related [Request an approvalAll the options you just skipped.](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/request-an-approval.html) [How approvals workWhat actually happened after you hit send.](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/how-approvals-work.html) [Track approvalsThe inbox, the board, and never chasing again.](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/track-approvals.html) [Teams and assignmentReviewer lists that fill themselves in.](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/teams-and-assignment.html) [The approval macroPut the status on the page itself.](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/the-approval-macro.html) [Respond to a requestThe three answers and what each one does.](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/respond-to-a-request.html) --- _That is your first approval done, start to finish. Everything after this is just making it faster._