How to avoid approver manually approve to override a workflow

Question

We are using the OOTB "Approval - SharePoint 2010" workflow to manage a page library. We need every publishing be reviewed by Approver (with log).

However, Microsoft come with an funny idea to allow users with "Approval" permission to approve the document without workflow. When a page being approved without workflow, it will leave a useless log (workflow is cancelled by system account). No one know who and when the document is being approved. According to Microsoft article: How to use manual approval to override a workflow of type "Approval - SharePoint 2010" which is "In Progress" It is desired behaviour.

May I know how to avoid this behavior while retain the "Approval - SharePoint 2010" workflow work as expected?

Answer 1

There is no way to avoid. We have to work around it by permission policy. There are 3 types of users:

1. Site Admin (Full control) - Top level managers that seldom edit the site. Their job is assign user permission and setup "Approval - SharePoint 2010" workflow for libraries and lists. In the workflow "Approver" is predefined to a manager or any editor.
2. Editor (Contribute) - Site editors who can edit the page, upload document and start a workflow setup by Site admin.
3. Viewer (read only)

Hence, beside Site Admin, no one can approve items without using the workflow.