Sending material back to the initiator for changes

When material is close but not right, you do not have to reject it. Set it to Needs change and the person who uploaded it can fix it and send a new version into the same review.

Before you start

You need to be an approver on the project. You also need at least one comment on the material: Plan will not let you request changes without one, because otherwise the initiator has nothing to work from.

See Commenting and pinning feedback on material under review for how to pin a comment to the exact spot.

Request the changes

1. Open Plan, go to Approval projects and click the project.
2. Click the item in the list.
3. Leave your comments, one for each thing that needs fixing.
4. Click the status control in the top right and choose Needs change.

A dialog opens headed What should be changed?. Tick the part of the review that is at fault, Visual + EXIF or Metadata or both, then click Confirm.

What happens next

The status turns amber and reads Needs change. The subjects shown at the top narrow to the ones you ticked, so it is clear what is being sent back.

The deadline clock stops and the status control is greyed out. This is deliberate: you cannot approve or reject the material while it is waiting on a fix. The main button becomes Upload new version.

The initiator is notified and picks the work up from there, as described in Fixing material an approver has sent back.

When the new version arrives

Once a new version is uploaded, the status returns to Pending review and the status control works again. Your earlier comments are still in the panel, labelled with the version they were made on, so you can check each point against the new version and mark them as resolved.