Access to a workflow and to the document inside it is controlled separately from who signs. This article explains how requesters and reviewers get access — and covers the one case that trips teams up most: when Aline's AI conditionally routes a task to someone, that person is not automatically added as a collaborator.
Use this whenever a requester says they can't see their contract's status, or a reviewer who was assigned by the AI can't open the document.
How Workflow Access Works
A person can have access to the workflow (seeing where a request stands) and access to the document (opening and marking it up) — these are set independently. Document access comes in levels: a Viewer can see the document, while a Suggester can redline it but cannot directly edit it.
If your template includes a requester / carbon-copy placeholder, the person who launches it gets workflow access automatically and can see the workflows they've launched when they log in to Aline.
⚠️ Adding someone only as a carbon copy on the signing phase is not the same as workflow access — a CC recipient receives the document only after everyone has finished signing, so it gives no status visibility along the way.
Step 1: Give a Requester Workflow Access
Open the workflow and find the collaborators section, then click the Workflow tab to see who has workflow access.
If the requester is missing, open the template and add a group: click the + button to add an additional group, then add a Requester and Carbon Copy.
Back in the Workflow section, give the new requester Viewer access so they can follow status.
Step 2: Add Reviewers the AI Routes Conditionally
This is the key gotcha. When a workflow uses conditional routing — for example, "if there are privacy and security considerations, assign to Gary" — the AI reassigns the task, but that reviewer is not automatically added as a collaborator. They end up with view rights only and can't do their part.
For any reviewer who is only brought in by AI routing, add them to the workflow specifically in the collaborators section so they have real access:
Open the workflow's collaborators and Workflow tab and check whether the reviewer is listed.
If not, add them, and set their document access to Suggester so they can redline (but not edit) the contract.
💡 Best Practice: Reviewers who are always part of a workflow are included automatically when they are assigned a task. It is specifically the conditionally-routed reviewers — the ones the AI only pulls in when a rule fires — that you need to add by hand.
Setting access deliberately — workflow vs. document, Viewer vs. Suggester — means every person sees exactly what they need and nothing stalls waiting on permissions.