How do I remove an accidentally pended version of a policy?

Editing a pending version creates a new draft. Once that draft is set to pend for approval, it replaces the pending version. For more on the Approval Workflow process, see this article.

For details on the process of deleting a pending version see this article.

Owen Owner and the Accidentally Pended Policy 

However, consider this scenario: Owen Owner is the Owner of Policy X and also the first Approver on the Approval Workflow. Owen accidentally clicks to start the approval process, even though the content is not yet ready.

Policy X then moves along the Workflow to step 2, where April Approver is waiting to mark her approval. Owen can edit the pending version and create a new draft, but the pending version of Policy X will remain available for April to approve until Owen finishes the revised draft and restarts the Workflow.

Consequently, Owen needs to bring Policy X back to draft but wants to retain the content he created.

Recreate the Draft

To do so, Owen will need to copy the content from the pending version, use the existing content to create a new draft, and delete the pending version to prevent April from marking her approval.

The two best ways to copy the content to a new draft are:

1. Export the content to Word, re-import as a new draft (if your facility has this feature enabled)
2. Copy the HTML from the pending version and paste in the new draft

Export to Word

For more on how to export/reimport the content to Word, see this article or click the Export to Word button from the Editor.

Copy / Paste HTML

To copy and paste the HTML (the code behind the policy):

1. Click the View Source icon from the Editor.
   
2. Highlight and select all of the content from within the pop-up window (Ctrl+A)
3. Copy the content (Ctrl+C)
4. Create a new draft from the PolicyStat Home tab.
5. Click the View Source icon from the editor on the new draft.
6. Paste the HTML code (Ctrl+V) into the pop-up and click OK.

Delete the Pending Version

Return to the pending version of the policy that was accidentally approved and delete it. Please note that deleting a pending version is an action that can only be completed by a user with Site Administrator permissions.

For more on that process, see this article.

This article applies to the following user roles: