--- title: "A Policy Is Approved. Its Readers Hear About It." description: "Tell the readers when a policy or procedure changes in a SharePoint library: an email on approval, alerts for one folder and a weekly table of updates." url: https://www.virtosoftware.com/use-cases/document-library-change-notifications/ language: en-US last_modified: 2026-10-14T00:00:00+02:00 translations: de: https://www.virtosoftware.com/de/use-cases/document-library-change-notifications/index.md --- # A Policy Is Approved. Its Readers Hear About It. Policies and procedures live in a SharePoint library. Virto Alerts & Reminder App emails the readers when a document is approved, covers one folder with its own rule, and sends a weekly table of what changed. Available at: SharePoint Microsoft Teams Microsoft Azure Illustrative email sent within minutes when a document is approved: Travel and expenses policy, status Approved. Trusted by Industry Leaders Warner Bros. Disney Sony UC Berkeley Motorola Teck Resources US Treasury University of Pittsburgh NASA Stockholms Stad FedEx Zespri and over 8,000 businesses worldwide ## From a Status Change to an Email With a Link One library and three rules: an announcement when a document is approved, a rule for one folder, and a weekly table for whoever answers for the library. The announcement ### When a document is approved, an email goes out #### Drafts stay quiet The condition Status equals Approved keeps working drafts out. The email goes out when a document reaches that status or an approved one is changed. #### Within minutes An immediate rule sends within minutes of the change. The condition is checked when the email is sent, so the message shows the document as it stands then. #### To the people who need to read it Recipients are set in the rule: named people, with copies where needed. ![Edit window of the alert Policy published or updated in Virto Alerts & Reminder App, Options section: Filter items set to Use condition(s) with Status equals Approved; When To Send Alerts set to Send notification immediately](https://www.virtosoftware.com/images/use-cases/document-library-change-notifications/policy-options.webp) Options of the announcement rule: only documents whose Status equals Approved, sent immediately. The email ### A link to the document, its folder and who changed it #### The file name is the link A click in the email opens the document in SharePoint; nothing is attached or copied. #### Folder, editor and status The message can print the folder path, the person who made the change and the columns of the library, such as Status. #### Your subject and sender name Subject, body and sender name are set in the rule; the header and footer can be replaced with your own. ![Email Policy updated: Travel and expenses policy.docx from Policy Library opened in Outlook: the file name as a link, the lines Folder /Policies and procedures/HR, Changed by Marco Rossi and Status Approved](https://www.virtosoftware.com/images/use-cases/document-library-change-notifications/policy-email.webp) The announcement as it arrives: the file name as a link, the folder path, the person who changed the document and its status. One folder ### A rule for one folder through a condition on the path #### The path is a column like any other A condition Path contains the folder name limits the rule to that folder, so the security team hears only about its own documents. #### Separate recipients per folder Each folder rule has its own recipients and its own message, on the same library. ![Edit window of the alert IT security folder changes, Options section: Filter items set to Use condition(s) with Path contains /IT security; When To Send Alerts set to Send notification immediately](https://www.virtosoftware.com/images/use-cases/document-library-change-notifications/folder-condition.webp) Options of the folder rule: only documents whose path contains /IT security. The weekly table ### Once a week, every document that changed #### One row per document A document edited several times during the week appears once, as it stands at send time, with Show latest version only. #### Drafts included The weekly rule has no condition on Status, so a renamed draft is listed next to the approved documents and the library owner sees the whole week. #### On the weekday you choose Send a weekly summary takes a day and an hour. This email goes to the person who looks after the library, not to its readers. ![Email Policy library: changes this week opened in Outlook: a table with the columns Document, Status, Changed by and Review date and seven rows, one per document changed that week; each document name is a link](https://www.virtosoftware.com/images/use-cases/document-library-change-notifications/weekly-table.webp) The weekly summary as it arrives: one row per changed document, with its status, the person who changed it and its review date. ## Key benefits ### Only approved documents are announced A condition on a library column decides what is worth an email, so readers are not told about every draft. ### A link, not an attachment The email points to the document in SharePoint, so readers always open the current version with the permissions they have. ### One folder, one audience A rule with a condition on the path keeps a team's notifications to its own folder. ### A weekly table for the library owner One email on the weekday you choose lists what changed in the library. ### Every rule in one place My alerts lists each rule with its library and recipients, and the Queue tab shows what has been sent. ### The library stays where it is The documents remain in your SharePoint library in your Microsoft 365 tenant, with the permissions and version history they already have. ## Which notification fits which library | Real-life scenario | Best fit | Why it works | | --- | --- | --- | | A policy library whose readers must hear about approved changes — Documents are drafted and edited by a few people and read by many. | Virto Alerts & Reminder App | A rule with a condition on Status announces a document when it is approved, with a link, the folder and the person who changed it. | | A team that cares about one folder only — The security team should not get emails about HR documents. | Virto Alerts & Reminder App | A second rule with a condition on the path covers that folder and has its own recipients. | | A few named people need an email at every change | Rules in SharePoint libraries | The built-in rules email named people when a file changes. Each rule is created by someone with Contribute permission on the library. | | Readers must confirm that they have read the document | A policy management system | Virto Alerts & Reminder App sends the notification. It does not collect acknowledgements or track who opened the document. | ## Related products Explore how our set of productivity tools can transform your task management - [Virto Alerts & Reminder App](https://www.virtosoftware.com/microsoft-365/virto-alerts-and-reminders-app/): Email and Teams alerts when SharePoint list items change, and reminders before the dates they hold—one-off or recurring. - [Virto Notifications & Reminders App](https://www.virtosoftware.com/microsoft-teams/virto-notifications-reminders-app/): Elevate Microsoft Teams with an app for direct notifications and reminders, ensuring team alignment. - [Virto Notifications & Alerts Web Part](https://www.virtosoftware.com/sharepoint/sharepoint-alerts-and-reminders-web-part/): Craft alerts, reminders, or notifications for any user or group, with options for email, SMS, etc. ## Related use cases Discover our range of use cases to take your planning and coordination to another level ![Change Digest for SharePoint Lists](https://www.virtosoftware.com/images/use-cases/sharepoint-list-change-digest.webp) ### Change Digest for SharePoint Lists Several people edit one SharePoint list; the project manager gets one email a day with every change in a table, and a separate email within minutes when a task is blocked. ![Multiple File Management](https://www.virtosoftware.com/images/use-cases/file-management.webp) ### Multiple File Management Built for high-compliance organizations: Virto Multiple File Operations uploads, moves, copies, deletes and re-tags SharePoint files in bulk, under the permissions you already set—without scripting or IT help. ![Compliance Management Software](https://www.virtosoftware.com/images/use-cases/enterprise-compliance-management.webp) ### Compliance Management Software See every audit and filing date in one calendar, move remediation tasks across Kanban boards, and email owners before compliance deadlines, all in Microsoft 365.