A workflow state represents a lifecycle stage for a file or process.
Each state has a name, such as “Initiated”, “Waiting for approval”, or “Approved”. For each state,
you can define user and group permissions (rights), such as being able to check out files or
increment revision numbers.
Every workflow must have at least one state. One and only one state must be
designated the initial state. All new files added to a workflow start in the initial state.
In the workflow editor, a state is shown as a box with the state name, a
descriptive icon on the left side, and status icons on the right
side.

The status icons indicate:
 |
Initial state |
All new files added to a workflow start in the
initial state. There can only be one initial state in a
workflow.
|
 |
Ignore permissions in previous states |
Access rights applied to this state override any
inherited state rights from previous states. |
To the end user, the state of a file is displayed in the State column of a SOLIDWORKS PDM
File
Explorer View file listing. Also, if data cards are set up, the History dialog box and Version information tab display the file state.