Approval requests can be completed within Salesforce or outside of the system via email. This feature identifies which of the two is used for each approval request.

By adding the new Approval From Email field to a report, based on the Approval Request custom object, you can see whether someone actioned an approval request via email. This means they replied to an approval request email by entering the word APPROVE, APPROVED, YES, REJECT, REJECTED, or NO in the first line of their email response. Any other method of deciding on an approval request is considered as approving it via Salesforce.

To create a custom report

  1. Click Approval From Email to display all tabs, and then select Reports.

  2. Click New Report and from the Select Report Type list, expand the Other Reports folder.
  3. Select Approval Requests and click Create.
  4. From the Fields list, drag and drop Approval From Email and any other fields you will include in the report.


  5. Click Save to display the Save Report dialog, enter the required details, and click Save. The report is saved in Salesforce.

After a number of approval requests has been decided on, you can run the report and see which requests were approved via email.

You must also ensure that the Enable Email Approval Response custom setting for Approvals System Properties is set to enabled. This is required for approvers to be able to approve approval requests directly in email, outside of Salesforce.