How to edit a template after it's approved
A template that's ready for automation asks where it goes after you edit it. Keep it live, send it to review, or send it to Draft.
Published Sep 30, 2026
An approval covers the design as it was when someone approved it. A template that's ready for automation may be rendering in production right now, so Orshot asks what should happen after you edit it, before any change is saved.
Approval flows are available on Scale and Enterprise plans.
Start editing#
- 1
Click Edit
Open the template in the studio. The bar under the canvas says Ready for automation. Click Edit….
- 2
Pick what happens after editing
- Keep it in 'Automation approved': you edit it where it is and approve your changes when you're done. This is the default for approvers of that stage, owners and admins, and only they see it.
- Send it to review: you edit it where it is, then submit your changes to the review before its stage, like 'Legal review'.
- Send it to Draft: it stops rendering now and goes through approval again.
- 3
Click Start editing
The lock is gone and you can edit.
While you edit#
Automation keeps rendering the approved design, so half-finished changes never reach production. A bar above the tools says Editing a live template, and the card on the board shows Being edited. The stage's approvers get notified.
When you're done:
- Approve changes approves the design as it is now. Automation renders the new design from then on.
- Submit for review sends it to the review before its stage. It's blocked for automation until the new design is approved there.
If you leave without finishing, anyone who can approve in that stage can finish it from the studio.
From the API or an agent#
A design write to a template that's ready for automation is refused with stage_locked (code approval.edit.choice_required) until it says what happens after the edit. Send approvedStageEdit with the write: keep, review or draft. keep needs an approver of the stage, an owner or an admin: an API key on its own can't keep a template live. Finish the edit with Finish editing an approved template.
If a stage allows edits#
An owner or admin can turn on Design can be edited for an approved stage. The template then stays in its stage when someone edits it, and its card shows Edited since approval. What automation does next depends on the stage rule If the design is edited here:
| Rule | Automation after an edit |
|---|---|
| Block automation until it's approved again | Blocked with edited_since_approval until someone approves it again. This is the default. |
| Keep rendering the approved version | Keeps rendering the design as it was approved, with a warning, until the new design is approved. |
To undo the edit instead, open File → Version history in the studio and restore the version that was approved. Automation renders it again without a new approval. Renaming a template, changing its tags or folder, and new thumbnails don't count as edits.
Common problems#
| You see | Why, and what to do |
|---|---|
| You don't see Keep it in 'Automation approved' | Only approvers of that stage, owners and admins can keep a template live while editing it. Send it to review instead. |
| Approve changes is greyed out | Your latest changes are still saving. It's ready a moment later. |
| While you're editing, a message says the template can't be edited in its stage | Someone moved it to a locked stage. Your edits are still in the editor: save them as a new template. |
| An automation fails with "This template was edited after it was approved" | The design changed after it was approved, in a stage that allows edits or some other way. Get it approved again. If the stage allows edits, you can restore the approved version instead. |
| Design can be edited is on, but you still can't edit | You may be a reviewer. Reviewers see View only and never edit. |
Related#
More in Approval flows
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