Here’s everything ApprovalTrail adds to your WordPress admin, in the order you’ll actually meet them.
ApprovalTrail (top-level menu)
You’ll find it in your admin sidebar with a checkmark icon, positioned near WooCommerce. It’s visible to anyone with the edit_shop_orders capability, typically shop managers and administrators.
Waiting
admin.php?page=approvaltrail
This is the morning screen: open it first. Proofs are filtered by Waiting on customer (the default view), Changes requested, Approved, or All. Columns: Proof, Order, Status, Sent, Due, and a link to the Record. Overdue due dates are highlighted so nothing quietly slips. Results are paginated at 25 per page, and the underlying order data is fetched in one query rather than one per row, so this screen stays fast even with a long list.
Settings
admin.php?page=approvaltrail-settings, requires manage_woocommerce
Every setting is documented in Settings. This screen also shows the storage meter: how many master files are currently on disk and their total size, how many the retention policy has released, and the server’s own upload ceiling (the real limit your host enforces, which ApprovalTrail cannot raise).
Approval record
admin.php?page=approvaltrail-record&proof={uuid}
Not in the menu; you reach it from the dashboard or from the order panel. Renders the printable record for one proof, with a “Print or save as PDF” button. Full explanation at The approval record.
Setup
admin.php?page=approvaltrail-setup
The three-step walkthrough, covered in Getting started. Not shown in the menu once setup is complete.
License
admin.php?page=approvaltrail-license, licensed build only
Not present in the WordPress.org free build at all. See License, updates and support.
On the WooCommerce order screen
“Proof approval” meta box
This appears on every order screen, whether your store uses WooCommerce’s High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS) or the legacy posts-based storage — both are fully supported. It lists the proofs on that order, their versions, the decision trail, and the current production-lock state, and carries the form for sending a new proof.
Every action here (send a proof, revoke and reissue a link, cancel a proof, override the production lock) posts through admin-post.php and is checked against both your capability and a nonce before anything happens.
Orders list column
A proof-status column appears in your Orders list (again, on both storage modes), so you can see at a glance which orders are waiting, approved, or have changes requested — without opening each one.
Admin notices
You’ll see three kinds of notice, all dismissible:
- The production lock’s refusal notice — explains exactly why an order was refused a status change, and what to do about it.
- The result notice after any proof action — including the approval link itself, printed in full, whenever email couldn’t be sent. A broken SMTP setup never has to mean a lost link; see Troubleshooting.
- A dismissible pointer to the setup walkthrough, shown until it’s finished.
Tools → Site Health
Three tests plus an info panel — file reachability, SMTP, and background-job timeliness. Full detail in Troubleshooting.
Tools → Export / Erase Personal Data
ApprovalTrail appears as “Proof approvals” in both of WordPress’s built-in privacy tools. See Privacy and data.