Marking reviews as complete tells Dapple that no further feedback is expected for a submission, making it eligible to be moved to the next stage. You can do this in two ways: individually per submission (from the submission's Reviews tab) or in bulk for an entire stage (from the Stages view). Whether you use one method or both depends on how cleanly your panel has returned feedback. Each Review Panel has a configurable minimum and maximum review count — hitting the minimum is required before a panel can be marked complete, and hitting the maximum triggers completion automatically.
What are the minimum and maximum review settings on a panel?
When setting up a Review Panel, you can configure the minimum and maximum number of reviews required per submission. These thresholds control when a panel is eligible to close.
Setting | What it does |
Minimum reviews | The lowest number of completed reviews a submission must have before the panel can be marked as complete. Without reaching this number, the submission cannot be moved to another stage. |
Maximum reviews | The upper limit of reviews for a submission. Once this number is reached, the panel is automatically marked as complete — no manual action needed. |
If a panel member has not submitted their feedback and you have already hit the minimum, you can still mark the reviews as complete manually without waiting for the remaining panel members.
Why can't I move a submission to another stage?
Submissions currently in review are locked in their stage. Dapple prevents them from being moved until their reviews are marked as complete. This ensures feedback is not cut off mid-review and the results are treated as final before any stage transition happens.
A blue dot on a submission indicates its reviews are still open. Once the reviews are marked as complete, the blue dot disappears and the submission becomes eligible to move.
How do I mark a single submission's reviews as complete?
Use this method when you want to close out reviews on a submission-by-submission basis — for example, when most panel members have submitted but one has not, and you are ready to proceed.
Open the submission you want to close reviews on.
Select the Reviews tab. You will see all feedback returned so far for that submission.
Select the three dots (more options menu).
Click Mark Complete.
This then confirms its reviews are now closed. You will see a note that it has been manually completed and displays the admin user who marked it as complete. It can now be moved to another stage.
This action tells the system no further reviews are expected for this submission. It does not affect other submissions in the stage — those remain in whatever state they are in.
How do I mark all submissions in a stage as complete in bulk?
Use the bulk method when you are ready to close reviews across the entire stage at once — typically when the review round is finished and you want to move all submissions forward.
Go to Stages in your project.
Select the three dots next to the relevant stage.
Click Send to Review Panel.
Select Mark All as Complete.
All open reviews in that stage are marked as complete. The blue dots disappear and all submissions become eligible to move.
This is the fastest way to close out a round once you are satisfied with the feedback received. Any submissions that had already been marked as complete individually are unaffected.
What's the difference between marking individually vs in bulk?
Method | Best for | Scope |
Individual (per submission) | Closing out specific submissions where enough feedback has been returned, without affecting others still awaiting reviews | One submission at a time |
Bulk (per stage) | Ending the review round entirely and making all submissions eligible to move at once | All submissions in the stage |
Automatic (max reviews hit) | No action needed — Dapple closes the reviews when the maximum count is reached | Per submission, as each hits the threshold |
Best practices for marking reviews as complete
Set a realistic minimum/maximum. Set the minimum reviews per submission is usually enough to give a fair result without needing every panel member to return feedback before you can proceed.
Use due dates to reduce the need for manual intervention. Setting a panel deadline nudges reviewers to submit on time, so you are less often in the position of waiting on stragglers.
Check the Reviews tab before marking individually. Confirm the minimum threshold has been met — you can see at a glance how many panel members have submitted for that submission.
Use bulk completion at the end of a round, not mid-round. Marking all complete mid-round cuts off reviews for submissions that may still be in progress. Save bulk completion for when the round is genuinely finished.
Watch for the blue dot. It is the quickest signal that a submission's reviews are still open. No blue dot means it is ready to move.