Sharepoint workflow approval through Outlook email

Question

Is it possible and if so how; to have an outlook email where I can approve/reject a sharepoint workflow from within the email instead of navigating to sharepoint?

Or is it possible to use an infopath form inside outlook to make approvals/rejections instead of going to the sharepoint site?

Thanks You.

Solution 1

Yes, but only with Outlook 2007+. There is an "Edit this Task" button which you can use to Approve or Reject the task directly from Outlook.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/HA102202031033.aspx

Solution 2

Sharepoint workflow tends to be limited. Third party components such as Nintex Workflow give an option for "lazy approval" i.e. just reply approved or rejected. Nintex takes care of the rest.