The old sharepoint 2010 workflow for document approval is a well used tool, I'd go as far as to suggest that most users of workflows in sharepoint have this one running in any number of libraries.

Now i get that you need to get rid of old tech and MICROSOFT believes that power automate should be the replacement, I get it I truely do, however you need to look again. I use power automate a lot, just not for document approval, cos it doesn't work.

What used to be a simple processes of setting up workflow for approval of documents (and it's a well worn path that we all tread) is now a convoluted process in power automate that, despite the plethora or alternate configurations being touted around on the web, just doesn't work.

Simply put we need power automate to talk to sharepoint in a simplified manner.

We need a templated Power Automate task to manage the approval process and I mean manage it in full, ie: users adds or modifies a document in sharepoint library, Power Automate creates an email notification to alert the approver of the approval request, now either 1 - the user approves it from the email, the document status is updated and the approval comments are added to the published doc or 2 the document is rejected and the email notification is sent with the document approval status not being updated.

I have followed about 10 different how to's to try and get this, essentially simple, process working and to date, none of them work!

The failure always comes when attempting to modify the document approval status, until then it all works fine. Getting document metadata and etags doesn't work.

So my suggestion is to put a couple of devs on it and get a standard process worked out or maybe just publish a process that shows us all how your tech resources have designed the process cos honestly despite us being techie and competant - we can't figure it out.

Just look at the responses on the now closed and DENIED postponement idea :

https://sharepoint.uservoice.com/forums/330318-sharepoint-administration/suggestions/40856713-postope-designer-2010-workflow-engine-retirement

Surely all these people cannot be wrong!!!