Submission Types

Overview

Every Capture Template must specify a Submission Type that determines how captures are completed. The two submission types are Submit and Approve/Reject, each designed for different use cases.

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Submission Type Comparison

Aspect	Submit	Approve/Reject
Purpose	Data collection, simple submission	Review and approval process
User Actions	Submit	Approve or Reject
States	Open → Submitted	Open → Under Review → Approved/Rejected
Decision	No decision needed	Yes/no decision required
Comments	Optional	Recommended (required for reject)
Event Handlers	On Submit	On Approve, On Reject
Use Cases	Transmittals, requests, data entry	Reviews, approvals, validations

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Submit Type

Overview

Submit type is for processes where user submits information or artifacts without requiring an approval decision.

Characteristics

Workflow:

User creates capture
    ↓
Fills in fields
    ↓
Adds artifacts
    ↓
Clicks "Submit"
    ↓
Capture completed
    ↓
On-submit automation runs

No approval needed:

• User submits and process completes
• No reviewer required
• No approve/reject decision
• Submission itself is the completion

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When to Use Submit Type

✅ Use Submit Type for:

Document Transmittals:

• User selects documents to transmit
• Fills in recipient, project, etc.
• Submits transmittal
• Automation handles distribution

Information Requests:

• User submits request for information
• Fills in details of what's needed
• Submits request
• System routes to appropriate person

Data Collection:

• User provides required data
• Fills in form fields
• Submits data
• System processes or stores information

Self-Service Processes:

• User initiates a process
• Provides necessary inputs
• Submits to begin automation
• No approval gate needed

Work Orders:

• User creates work order
• Specifies requirements
• Submits to work queue
• Assigned automatically

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User Experience

Actions Available:

• Create capture
• Edit fields
• Add/remove artifacts
• Add comments
• Submit (primary action)

No Review Options:

• No approve/reject buttons
• No formal review process
• Submitter completes the process

After Submission:

• Capture status: Submitted
• Cannot edit
• View only
• Automation executes

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Configuration

In Template Settings:

• Submission Type: Select "Submit"
• Event Handlers:
  • On Submit: Configure automation
  • No On Approve or On Reject options

Fields:

• Configure fields needed for submission
• Mark required fields
• Set defaults as appropriate

Security:

• Who can create captures
• Who can view submissions
• No separate approver role needed

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Event Handlers

On Submit:

• Triggers when user clicks Submit
• Can execute:
  • PowerShell scripts
  • Workflows
  • Notifications
  • External integrations

Example Automation:

On Submit:
    → Send email notification
    → Copy files to distribution folder
    → Create calendar event
    → Update status dashboard

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Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Transmittal:

User creates transmittal
  → Selects documents from Mesh
  → Fills in recipient, due date
  → Submits
  → Automation emails documents to recipient

Pattern 2: Request:

User creates information request
  → Describes what's needed
  → Submits
  → Workflow assigns to appropriate person
  → Assignee receives notification

Pattern 3: Workflow Trigger:

User creates capture
  → Provides workflow inputs
  → Submits
  → Workflow executes with capture data
  → User notified of completion

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Approve/Reject Type

Overview

Approve/Reject type is for processes that require human review and a yes/no decision.

Characteristics

Workflow:

Capture created (by user or system)
    ↓
Reviewer opens capture
    ↓
Status: Under Review
    ↓
Reviewer examines artifacts
    ↓
Reviewer adds markups/comments
    ↓
Reviewer makes decision:
    ├─ Approve → On-approve automation
    └─ Reject → On-reject automation

Approval decision required:

• Reviewer must approve or reject
• Cannot simply "submit"
• Different automation for each outcome
• Comments typically required (especially for reject)

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When to Use Approve/Reject Type

✅ Use Approve/Reject Type for:

Engineering Reviews:

• Drawings need approval before release
• Reviewer examines design
• Approves for release or rejects for rework

Design Approvals:

• Design requires sign-off
• Reviewer validates against requirements
• Approves to proceed or rejects for changes

Quality Gate Checkpoints:

• Process has quality gate
• Reviewer checks quality criteria
• Approves to continue or rejects for correction

AI Output Validation:

• AI generates output
• Human validates accuracy
• Approves for use or rejects for manual handling

Change Requests:

• Proposed change needs approval
• Reviewer assesses impact
• Approves for implementation or rejects

Document Sign-Offs:

• Document requires formal approval
• Reviewer verifies completeness and accuracy
• Approves for publication or rejects for revision

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User Experience

Actions Available:

For Creator/Submitter:

• Create capture (if user-initiated)
• Edit fields
• Add artifacts
• Add comments
• Wait for reviewer action

For Reviewer:

• Open capture
• View artifacts
• Add markups
• Add comments
• Approve or Reject (primary actions)

After Approval:

• Capture status: Approved
• Cannot edit
• View decision and comments
• On-approve automation executes

After Rejection:

• Capture status: Rejected
• Cannot edit
• View rejection reasoning
• On-reject automation executes
• May need to create new capture with corrections

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Configuration

In Template Settings:

• Submission Type: Select "Approve/Reject"
• Event Handlers:
  • On Approve: Configure automation for approval path
  • On Reject: Configure automation for rejection path
  • No On Submit option

Fields:

• Configure fields for capture data
• May include review-specific fields
• Reviewer comments field

Security:

• Create: Who can create captures
• View: Who can see captures
• Approve/Reject: Who has authority to approve/reject

Important: Separate creator and approver roles for accountability

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Event Handlers

On Approve:

• Triggers when reviewer clicks Approve
• Different automation than On Reject
• Typical actions:
  • Publish documents
  • Update file states
  • Send approval confirmation
  • Trigger downstream workflows
  • Record approval decision

On Reject:

• Triggers when reviewer clicks Reject
• Different automation than On Approve
• Typical actions:
  • Return files to previous state
  • Create rework task
  • Send rejection notification
  • Log rejection reason
  • Trigger alternative workflow

Example:

On Approve:
  → Update files to "Released" state
  → Publish PDFs to document control
  → Email approval to submitter
  → Update project status dashboard

On Reject:
  → Return files to "Work in Progress"
  → Create task for designer
  → Email rejection with feedback
  → Log in quality metrics

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Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Drawing Release:

Workflow generates PDF from CAD
  → Creates capture for review
  → Engineer reviews drawing + PDF
  → If Approved:
      → Publish PDF
      → Update file state to Released
  → If Rejected:
      → Create task for designer
      → Return to Work in Progress

Pattern 2: Multi-Stage Approval:

Design complete
  → Capture created for technical review
  → Technical lead reviews
  → If Approved:
      → Capture created for management review
      → Manager reviews
      → If Approved: Publish
      → If Rejected: Return to technical
  → If Rejected (technical): Return to designer

Pattern 3: AI Validation:

AI processes document
  → AI confidence below threshold
  → Capture created with AI output
  → Human reviews AI findings
  → If Approved:
      → Accept AI output
      → Continue automated workflow
  → If Rejected:
      → Flag for manual processing
      → Retrain AI with feedback

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Choosing the Right Type

Decision Guide

Ask these questions:

Is a yes/no decision required?

• Yes → Approve/Reject
• No → Submit

Does someone need to approve before proceeding?

• Yes → Approve/Reject
• No → Submit

Are there different outcomes based on approval?

• Yes → Approve/Reject
• No → Submit

Is the user just providing information?

• Yes → Submit
• No → Approve/Reject

Is visual review and markup needed?

• Usually → Approve/Reject
• Sometimes → Submit (can still use markups)

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Changing Submission Type

After Template Creation

Can you change submission type?:

• Technically possible (configuration change)
• Not recommended if captures exist

Impact of changing:

• Existing captures use original type
• New captures use new type
• May cause user confusion
• May break automation

Best practice:

• Create new template instead
• Migrate gradually
• Retire old template when ready

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API and Integration

Querying by Submission Type

Filter captures:

GET /api/captures?submissionType=Submit
GET /api/captures?submissionType=ApproveReject

Creating Captures

Must specify template:

• Template defines submission type
• Cannot override at creation time

Handling Outcomes

Check result:

If capture.submissionType == "Submit":
    If capture.status == "Submitted":
        # Handle submission

If capture.submissionType == "ApproveReject":
    If capture.status == "Approved":
        # Handle approval
    Elif capture.status == "Rejected":
        # Handle rejection

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Reporting

By Submission Type

Useful reports:

• All submissions (Submit type)
• Approval rate (Approve/Reject type)
• Rejection reasons (Approve/Reject type)
• Average review time by type
• Volume by type

Metrics

Submit Type:

• Submissions per day/week/month
• Average submission time
• Common use cases
• Field completion rates

Approve/Reject Type:

• Approval rate %
• Rejection rate %
• Average review time
• Top rejection reasons
• Reviewer performance

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Best Practices

Template Design

For Submit Type:

• Keep fields simple and clear
• Provide helpful defaults
• Clear submission instructions
• Appropriate validation
• Efficient automation

For Approve/Reject Type:

• Clear review criteria
• Helpful reviewer guidance
• Require comments for rejection
• Different automation paths
• Separate creator/approver roles

User Training

Explain to users:

• Which submission type each template uses
• What actions they can take
• What happens after submission/approval
• Timeline expectations
• Who to contact with questions

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Next Steps

• Capture States - How submission types affect state transitions
• Create Template - Configuring submission type
• Event Handlers - Setting up automation for each type