Ziflow notifications are event-driven and controlled at multiple levels. What each reviewer receives depends on:

• Reviewer notification settings: organization level, group level, profile level, and proof level
• The type of event (for example, new proof, comment, decision)
• Their role in the workflow
• Whether a reviewer is part of an active stage

Notification settings hierarchy

Notification settings are set on the proof. Notification settings for a proof can come from multiple sources.
When more than one source defines a notification setting, Ziflow uses the most specific setting available.

From lowest precedence (broad defaults) to highest precedence (most specific):

1. Default email settings (admin)
   Organization-wide starting point for notifications.
2. Default profile settings (licensed users)
   Personal defaults applied to new proofs.
3. Workflow template settings (proof creators)
   Setting applied when a template is used.
   This setting is a snapshot and does not update automatically.
4. Group settings (proof creators)
   Setting applied when a group is used.
   This setting is a snapshot and does not update automatically.  
   If a member of the group is already in the proof stage, their profile notification setting overrides the group setting.
5. Proof settings (proof creators)
   Setting applied when configuring a proof.
6. Proof Viewer settings (reviewers)
   Per-proof changes made by reviewers during the review.

Example

A licensed user sets their user profile to receive All comments and decisions.

• A workflow template sets notifications to Decisions - this overrides the user profile
• The proof creator changes it to None during proof setup - this overrides the template
• The reviewer changes it to Daily digest in the Proof Viewer - this overrides everything else

Final result: the reviewer receives a daily digest for that proof only.

Notification types

There are three notification types:

• Invitation notifications (new review/version)

• Activity notifications (during review)

• System notifications (reminders)

Invitation notifications (new review/version)

Invitation notifications notify reviewers that something is ready to review.

Sent when:

• A new proof is created
• A new version is ready

Controlled by:

• Proof creation setup (Send standard invitation message)
• Group
• Workflow templates

Invitation notifications can be disabled during proof creation setup.

Activity notifications (during review)

Activity notifications notify reviewers about what’s happening during the proof review and provide summaries.

Sent when these activities happen:

• Comments and replies
• Reactions
• Decisions and final decisions
• @mentions

For the activities listed above, reviewers can configure notifications on individual proof stages in the Proof Viewer:

System notifications (reminders)

System notifications help move the review forward.

• Manual reminders
• Automatic deadline reminders (Enterprise)

Controlled by:

• Proof creator manual actions (reminders)
• Admin settings (automatic deadline reminders)

Who controls notifications

Different roles control different parts of the notification system.

Where notification behavior is defined

Notification behavior is configured in multiple places:

• User profile – default notification preferences
• Proof setup – invitation emails and per-proof overrides
• Group creation - saved reviewer settings (snapshot at time of creation) 
• Workflow templates – saved reviewer settings (snapshot at time of creation)
• Admin settings – defaults, reminders, and sender configuration

Setting notification preferences in one place does not change them in existing proofs or templates.

Verify and troubleshoot notifications

When notifications don’t behave as expected, check:

• Was the notification type enabled (invitation vs activity)?
• Is the reviewer in an active proof stage?
• Are their notification preferences set correctly?
• Was the invitation email disabled during setup?
• Is the reviewer unsubscribed or filtered by email systems?

Use the Emails log to confirm whether a notification was sent.

• If it appears in the log: delivery issue (spam, filtering, suppression)
• If it does not: configuration issue