> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.besmarthead.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.besmarthead.com/team-collaboration/collaboration.md).

# How data requests work

Requests turn one disclosure into twenty small jobs – each with an owner, a due date and a thread. Learn the model once and every icon in SmartHead makes sense.

A request hands one data point to one person: "fill this in", "sign this off" or "have a look". It replaces the email with the spreadsheet attached, keeps the discussion next to the number and tells you who is late. This page explains the model in one picture; the next pages show each action.

{% hint style="success" %}
**Saves you time:** you never chase anyone by email. SmartHead emails the assignee, shows the request in their inbox and, when they click **Complete**, puts the result in front of you to approve.
{% endhint %}

## The model in one picture

<figure><img src="https://2593582272-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FxT5TFLiwBWeM9d0fDydH%2Fuploads%2FqCMDfqVlXJ9EMVsfTxec%2Fdatapoint-1.png?alt=media" alt="Data point toolbar with a request"><figcaption><p>3 Complete · 4 Delegate · 5 Assignee · 6 Attachments · 7 Comments · 8 Status dot · 9 "…" menu. A data point without a request shows a <strong>+</strong> instead of 3–5.</p></figcaption></figure>

Three rules cover everything:

1. **A request lives on one data point**, never on a whole disclosure. To hand over a disclosure, you create one request per data point – in one go, with the bulk bar ([Assign requests](/team-collaboration/assign-requests.md#many-data-points-at-once)).
2. **The toolbar tells you whether a request exists.** A **+** means "no request yet – click to create one". **Complete**, **Delegate** or an assignee avatar mean "there is a request".
3. **One drawer holds everything.** The avatar, the **Comments** icon (speech bubble), the **Attachments** icon (paper clip) and **"…"** › **View detail** all open the same right-hand drawer: the request card with **State** and **Due Date**, the **Assignee**, **Participants**, **Users with access**, and the tabs **Comments**, **Attachments** and **Change log**.

![the request drawer on the Comments tab, with Task card, Assignee, Users with access](https://2593582272-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FxT5TFLiwBWeM9d0fDydH%2Fuploads%2FpF9aEeaAcDefK9qwwYdW%2Fdatapoint-3.png?alt=media)

## Three kinds of request

| Request type    | What the app says                                                                                    | Use it for                                                                        |
| --------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Task**        | "A task with the selected parameters will be created and assigned to one user for each data point."  | Someone fills the value in. The everyday request.                                 |
| **Approval**    | "Request approval from users. Users will be able to view the datapoints, comment and give approval." | Someone checks a value and signs it off – or rejects it with a reason.            |
| **Access-only** | "Allow users to view selected datapoints" – "Restricted to read-only access"                         | Someone may read and comment, nothing more. Created with **Give viewing access**. |

## The life of a task

| Status          | What happened                                                                            | Who acts next                  |
| --------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| **To do**       | The request was created; the assignee got the email "Assigned request".                  | Assignee opens the data point. |
| **In progress** | The assignee changed the value.                                                          | Assignee clicks **Complete**.  |
| **Submitted**   | The assignee completed the task (they see it as **Completed**).                          | Requester approves or reopens. |
| **Validated**   | The requester clicked **Approve**. Done.                                                 | –                              |
| **Reopened**    | The requester chose **Reopen and assign**; it is a fresh **To do** for the new assignee. | Assignee.                      |

Approvals have their own two endings: **Approved** or **Rejected**. All three vocabularies of SmartHead – disclosure status, request status, counters – are side by side in [Statuses explained](/working-with-your-data/statuses.md).

{% hint style="info" %}
Every step sends an email to the people on the request – and nothing else does. There is no reminder before a due date, so the **Overdue only** filter on the [Requests page](/team-collaboration/requests-page.md) is your reminder.
{% endhint %}

## Who does what

| Role              | Creates requests                                                             | Works on them                                 | Signs off                                                        | Reads                                                               |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Administrator** | Tasks, approvals, viewing access – single and in bulk; reassigns and cancels | Yes, when assigned to themselves              | Approves completed tasks they requested; approves as an approver | Everything                                                          |
| **Reporter**      | –                                                                            | **Complete** and **Delegate** their own tasks | As an approver, when assigned                                    | Only data points they have a request or viewing access for          |
| **Auditor**       | –                                                                            | –                                             | As an approver, when assigned                                    | Data points shared with them                                        |
| **Viewer**        | –                                                                            | –                                             | –                                                                | The whole administration, read-only; comments without a comment box |

{% hint style="warning" %}
TO CHECK: the user picker of the Request and Give viewing access drawers lists the administrators and reporters of the profile (`task-request-drawer`, `task-viewing-access-drawer`); confirm how an auditor is chosen as an approver or given viewing access – the roles overview says they can be (Q601).
{% endhint %}

Full matrix: [Roles and permissions](/your-account-company/user-management/roles-explained.md).

## Where requests show up

* **On the data point** – toolbar, status dot, drawer.
* **In the email** – one per action, with a link to the data point.
* **On the Requests page** – header › **Requests**: your inbox across all profiles, with an overview for administrators. Reporters and auditors land here after signing in.

## Tips

* A request on a data point also decides who may **edit** it: the assignee writes, the rest reads. Administrators write everywhere, but a data point with someone else's open request is read-only for them – assign it to yourself first (**Assign request** › your name).
* **Mark as not material** cancels any request on the data point – tell the assignee before you do it.
* Add a comment when you assign; it arrives in the email and stays in the thread.

## Related

{% content-ref url="/pages/30BqAhBYGLPXPn5VOMlp" %}
[Assign, delegate and complete requests](/team-collaboration/assign-requests.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/pyXgcxwyOjw7lVlWOv7i" %}
[The Requests page](/team-collaboration/requests-page.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/5AlSzDbQv17oUlW9LUNX" %}
[Statuses explained](/working-with-your-data/statuses.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/u6Pa4YI1dEL5IdahrOl7" %}
[Roles and permissions](/your-account-company/user-management/roles-explained.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}