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Usage

Adding the element to a webform

  1. Edit your webform and add a Webform Workflows Element element.
  2. On the General tab, select the workflow you created.
  3. Save the element.

The workflow element will now appear on the submission edit form.

Configuring the element

Workflow selection

On the element's General tab, select which workflow to use from the dropdown. Only workflows of the "Webform workflow" type are available.

Log settings

You can control which log messages are collected when a transition occurs:

  • Public log message — visible to the submitter on the submission view page. Can be set to optional, required, or hidden.
  • Admin log message — visible only to administrators. Can be set to optional, required, or hidden.

Per-transition settings

Under "Webform workflows element settings" on the General tab, each transition has additional options:

  • Enable/disable the transition entirely.
  • Message if disabled by a conditional — custom message shown to users when a conditional disables this transition.
  • Run on edit — automatically trigger the transition whenever the submission is edited (optionally limited to the submission owner).

Access controls

Element-level access

On the element's Access tab, configure which roles or users can see and use the workflow element:

  • Update access determines who can use the workflow on existing submissions. This defaults to "authenticated user".
  • Create access determines who can use the element on new submissions. By default, the element does not appear on the initial submission form.
  • View access determines who can see the workflow state on a submission.

Per-transition access

Scroll down on the Access tab to find access rules for each transition (e.g. "Workflow transition: Approve"). You can restrict each transition to specific roles, users, or permissions.

When a user has access to the element but not to a specific transition, that transition will appear disabled in the form widget.

State-based update access

You can override update access based on the current workflow state. For each state, toggle "Override update access" and configure which roles/users/ permissions can edit the submission when it is in that state.

For example, to lock a submission while it is under review so that only reviewers can edit:

  1. Edit the workflow element and go to the Access tab.
  2. Find the state (e.g. "Review") under the per-state overrides.
  3. Check Override update access.
  4. Under Roles, select only the reviewer role.

The submitter can still view the submission but gets a 403 when trying to open the edit form. Once the reviewer rejects (returning the submission to Draft), the submitter regains edit access.

Redirect after update

When state-based edit access is active, saving the edit form can redirect back to the same edit URL — which now returns 403 because the state changed. Enable "Display confirmation when submission is updated" in the webform's Settings > Confirmation page so the user lands on the confirmation page instead.

Conditional logic

You can disable transitions based on form values — for example, prevent approval if a required field is empty.

  1. Go to the element's Conditionals tab.
  2. Add a new conditional.
  3. In the State dropdown, find the "Workflow transitions" group — each transition is listed for disabling.
  4. Configure the condition and save.

You can provide a custom message explaining why a transition is disabled:

  1. Go to the element's General tab.
  2. Under "Webform workflows element settings", find the transition.
  3. Enter a message in "Message if disabled by a conditional".

Without a custom message, users see a generic message about the transition being disabled by a conditional.

Color configuration

Each workflow state can be assigned a color for visual identification in the UI. Colors appear in the results list, the submission view page, and the workflow summary.

  1. Edit the webform element and go to the General tab.
  2. Under "Webform workflows element settings", each state has a Color dropdown.
  3. Select a color from the available options.

The available color options can be configured globally at Administration > Structure > Webforms > Configuration > Workflows (/admin/structure/webform/config/workflows).

Submission view page

When viewing a submission, the module shows:

  • The current workflow state (with color badge if configured).
  • A workflow transition form (if the user has access to any transitions).
  • The workflow transition log (if logging is enabled on the webform).

Workflow summary

Each webform with a workflow element has a Workflows tab that summarizes:

  • All workflow states and transitions.
  • Access rules per transition.
  • Email handlers configured for transitions.

It is recommended to install the Workflows Diagram module to display your workflow as a visual diagram on this page.

Enabling logging

To track workflow transitions in the submission log:

  1. Go to your webform's Settings > Submissions page.
  2. Enable Submission logging.
  3. Each transition will now be recorded with details about the state change, the user, and any log messages entered.