Skip Draft Status on the Collaboration Step

By default, a Collaboration step opens in Draft so the Document Owner can review and redline internally before sending Version 1 to the external party. Skip internal draft review lets you start that session at Version 1 instead, so a document that is already validated can go to the external party as soon as collaboration begins.

Use this when you run many parallel collaboration sessions and do not need an internal Draft click-through on every one. Leave the setting off if your team still needs that internal review stage before the external party sees the file.

This setting is available on the Collaboration step. For the rest of collaboration setup, see Collaboration Step in Streamline Workflow Builder.

Who Has Access?

Skip Draft Status is part of the Intellistack Streamline CLM module and is available to customers who have the Collaboration step.

Key Capabilities

• Start at Version 1. Skip the internal Draft stage so collaboration opens ready for external-party review.
• Immediate external invite. The external party is activated and notified when the session starts. The Document Owner does not have to submit a draft first.
• Internals stay on the session. Owner-party collaborators remain assigned. Skipping the internal draft does not remove them from the step.
• Draft-first remains the default. Existing workflows, and new Collaboration steps with the setting off, still open in Draft.
• Owner notification. When the setting is on, the Document Owner is notified that the document was sent to the external party.

How Skip Draft Compares to Draft-First

Note: After the session starts, later rounds still follow the existing version-submit flow (external submits back to the owner, owner submits a new version, and so on). Skip internal draft review changes the initial state only.

How to Enable Skip Internal Draft Review

Open the Collaboration step

Open the workflow and select the Collaboration step. Complete the usual Settings and Collaborators setup, including a document from a previous step and an External party representative.

Important: Skip internal draft review only applies when an external party is configured. If the step has no external party, the setting is disabled.

Turn on Skip internal draft review

On the Settings tab, under Collaboration document, enable Skip internal draft review.

Helper text: Start collaboration with external parties immediately, without an internal review.

This setting sits with the other collaboration options:

• Skip internal draft review
• Require external party approval
• Set a completion deadline

The setting saves with the step. Publish the workflow so live sessions use it.

Tip: Leave Skip internal draft review off when the Document Owner still needs to review, comment, or redline internally before the external party should see the file.

Confirm internals if you still need them

Skipping the internal draft does not mean internal collaborators are excluded. If owner-party internals should remain on the session, keep them on the Collaborators tab under Assign document owner party. They stay on the session but are not the active party when the session starts.

What Happens When a Session Starts

1. Start a new workflow session as you normally would (+ New Session, or your usual trigger).
2. When the workflow reaches the Collaboration step, Streamline skips Draft and opens the session at Version 1.
3. The external party receives Document awaiting your collaboration and can open the document from that email.
4. The Document Owner receives a notification that the document was sent to the external party.
5. You may see confirmation copy such as Document sent for collaboration.

The Document Owner and internal collaborators can still access the session from email or Workspace. They cannot edit while the external party is the active party.

Example Workflows

• Parallel buyer NDAs. An M&A team sends the same pre-validated NDA to many prospective buyers. Each session starts at Version 1 so operators do not clear Draft on every room.
• Vendor paper already reviewed. Legal has already approved a vendor contract outside Streamline. Collaboration starts with the vendor as the active party.
• Standard MSA with no internal redline. A pre-built master agreement goes straight to the counterparty for review and comment.
• Internal-first negotiation. Leave Skip internal draft review off so the Document Owner and internals redline in Draft, then submit Version 1 to the external party.

Feature Considerations

• External party required. Skip internal draft review is disabled when the Collaboration step has no external party.
• Default is off. New Collaboration steps and existing published workflows stay Draft-first unless a builder turns this setting on.
• Owner party cannot edit at start. When the setting is on, the Document Owner and owner-party internals are on the session but are not the active party.
• Only the Document Owner can leave Draft on the classic path. Internal collaborators cannot submit Draft to the external party.
• Collaboration step only. This setting is not available on the Sign step.
• Later rounds are unchanged. Skip internal draft review does not skip a draft stage on every subsequent version. After start, parties submit versions as they do today.
• Comments are still visible to the external party unless you delete them. There is no internal-only comment flag. See the Collaboration step article for that limitation.
• Addendums and revised uploads follow the existing collaboration upload flow. This setting only changes how the session starts.
• Notifications recipients are separate. The Collaboration step Notifications field (opened, reassigned, or submitted to another party) is unchanged. Skip internal draft review does not replace that list.

Compliance

Skip internal draft review does not change document retention or legal hold. Collaboration still records version history. When the setting is on, Version 1 is the first exchangeable version. The history should not show a Draft submit that nobody performed.

Troubleshooting

Skip internal draft review is disabled.

• Add an External party representative on the Collaborators tab. This setting only applies to collaboration with an external party.

The external party never received the document.

• Confirm Skip internal draft review is on in the published workflow, not only in an unpublished draft.
• If the setting is off, the Document Owner must use Submit to External Party before the external party is invited.
• Ask the external party to check spam or junk for Document awaiting your collaboration.

The session still opened in Draft.

• Re-open the Collaboration step on the Settings tab and confirm Skip internal draft review is enabled, then republish.
• Confirm an external party is configured. Without one, the setting has no effect.

Internal collaborators disappeared.

• Skipping the internal draft does not remove internals. Check the Collaborators tab and confirm they are still listed under the document owner party.

The Document Owner and internals cannot edit at the start of the session.

• This is expected when Skip internal draft review is on. The external party is the active party. The owner party remains on the session but cannot edit until it is their turn.

The Document Owner received "Document drafted for collaboration" instead of a sent-to-external notification.

• That mail is the Draft-first path. Confirm the published step has Skip internal draft review on.

I don't see the setting at all.

• Confirm you are editing a Collaboration step, not a Sign step, and that your account includes the Streamline CLM module. Look on the Settings tab under Collaboration document. If you still don't see it, contact Support.

Summary

Skip internal draft review is an optional Collaboration step setting that starts a session at Version 1 and invites the external party immediately, instead of opening in Draft for an internal submit. It is off by default, requires an external party, and keeps owner-party internals on the session without making them the active party at start. Enable it on the Settings tab of a Collaboration step, then publish the workflow.