Proofing: Orientation & Walkthrough Follow

This guide gets you oriented to Proofing for Midnight and Drive — what it is, how it works, and what to expect as you use it.

Before files go to production, they need sign-off. Proofing is a way to send files out for review, collect decisions from multiple people, and track progress toward approval — all in one place.

The problem it solves: You have a file. Your designer created it. Your client needs to approve it. Your legal team needs to see it. And you need to know who's looked at it and whether it's ready to print.

Instead of emailing back and forth, Proofing lets you:

  • Send and request multiple files once
  • Add multiple reviewers with different roles
  • See in real-time who's approved, rejected, or requested changes
  • Know exactly when it's ready to move forward

How Creation Works (Four Stages)

Creating a proof unfolds in four stages:

1. Files & File Requests

Choose what's being reviewed. You can include files you already have, or request files from others. File requests let you build the workflow now and let people fulfill it later.

2. Add Participants

Bring in the people who need to be involved. Assign each a role. You see the groups form and the order emerge visually. Mark Gatekeepers if certain approvals must come first.

3. Proof Details

Name it, set a due date, choose priority. Preview the invitation emails that each role will receive. Customize the message if you want.

4. Review & Send

See the full picture — files, participants, workflow order, emails. Everything good? Send it.

Participant Roles

  • File Provider — uploads a file you've requested for the proof.
  • Approver — reviews a file and approves or rejects it.
  • Technical Reviewer — same as an Approver, used to label a technical review stage.
  • Final Approver — same as an Approver, used to label the last sign-off.
  • Watcher — gets notified as the proof progresses, but doesn't approve anything.

Approver, Technical Reviewer, and Final Approver all work the same way, approve or reject, the different names just help identify which stage of review someone represents.

Any participant who takes an approval action (File Provider, Approver, Technical Reviewer, or Final Approver) can also be marked as a Gatekeeper by clicking the lock icon next to their name. A Watcher can't be made a Gatekeeper, since a Watcher never approves anything for the workflow to wait on. Nothing later in the workflow moves forward until the Gatekeeper approves.

Proof Statuses

A proof moves through these statuses in order as it's built, sent, and reviewed:

  • Draft: being set up. Not visible to participants yet, and nothing can be approved.
  • Sent: sent out and awaiting review.
  • Viewed: at least one participant has opened it.
  • Partially Approved: some files are approved; the rest are still waiting on a decision.
  • Approved: every file is approved and the proof is ready to move to production.
  • Production: moved to production.
  • Completed: production is finished.

If a file doesn't pass review, the proof takes one of these paths instead of moving forward:

  • Rejected: a participant declined the file. Review their comment to decide next steps.
  • Revision Requested: specific changes were asked for. Review the comment, then upload a new version of the file so it can go back for review.

A proof can also be set to Archived at any point to take it out of the active list.

File Requests

Unlike traditional workflows, you can request files for the proof. "Designer, I'm setting up client approval now. I'll ask you to upload your design mockup when you're done." The request sits in the workflow, and when the file arrives, the review starts. No need to recreate the workflow later.

Participants & Groups

People you add automatically form groups by role. All approvers are one group, all technical reviewers are another. You see the order visually. If you mark someone as a Gatekeeper, their approval must happen before anyone in later groups can act.

Basic Actions

  • Approve / Reject a file from the review screen (rejecting requires a comment).
  • Comment on a proof at any point.
  • Move to Production once a proof is fully approved.

What Happens After You Send

Your proof is now Sent, and participants get email invitations.

When they open the link, the proof moves to Viewed. As they make decisions, the proof's status shifts:

  • First approvals → In Review
  • Some approved, some pending → In Review (still waiting)
  • All approved → Approved
  • Any rejection or revision request → Revision Requested or Rejected

If someone requests changes, whoever uploaded the file (or you) can provide a new version. It goes back for review. No need to start over. When all approvals are in, you move it to Production. When the work is done, mark it Completed.

Quick Reference: Status Flow

DRAFT → SENT → VIEWED → IN_REVIEW (or REJECTED / REVISION_REQUESTED)
                           ↓
                      APPROVED → PRODUCTION → COMPLETED

Gatekeepers can block forward progress until they approve. Otherwise, reviewers act independently and in parallel.

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