Numbers only column

KDTaylor

There should be an option to make a column numbers only. I've had trouble with sum functions, only to find that people have made 'non-numeric' entries in fields that are intended only for dollar amounts. When this happens, I have to go in and find all the non-numeric entries and delete them to get the sum function to work. It should be easy to limit a column to numbers only to prevent these issues.

Laura McDonald

I agree - I have some formulas that will display #INVALID OPERATION if someone has mistakenly input a symbol in one of the fields. Limiting a column to Number Only would mitigate any risk of a symbol being input, causing formula errors.

Colleen Patterson

I love this idea. The data validation portion of this, I can see being very valuable.

MKing

Yes I totally agree. It has a huge effect on Reporting errors coming up. does my head in. Especially when data is entered by a number of external parties.

TMC2

Currently there is only a text/number option. Despite asking for only a number, people don't always listen and put in characters when only numbers are asked for. If characters are used, it will break any math based formula. By adding a number only column it will alleviate corrections needed.

Jivi3

Can you a column property to be a numbers only field? We have run into multiple instances where this would have been handy instead of having to do a checkbox to reflect an error for validation and a note on how to correct the issue (adding essentially 2 extra columns every time there is a validation like this)

KDTaylor

This feature is still needed. Any update? I know the comment "We are also thinking about how to super-charge column management! It's not currently part of our plan but we will make updates to this status if we believe we can make this idea a reality." was added, but it doesn't seem like a huge stretch to have a numbers only validation.

mariahneu

It would be great if a column could be defined as either a string or a number, especially when working with Tax IDs, numbers with leading zeroes, etc. Please add this feature. Thanks!

spauliszyn

@mariahneu this is already part of SmartSheet.

When you create a new column, you can choose the "Text/Number" style. Also, if you "Edit Column Properties" by right-clicking on the column header (or double-clicking the column header), you should be able to select "Text/Number" if you already chose something else.

As a test I created a "test" column in my sheet with the "Text/Number" style. Even if I enter a pure number but with leading zeros, the zeros are not removed.

mariahneu

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/428410#Comment_428410

This idea is related to this issue in Smartsheet where a single quote keeps getting added when a 0 precedes an integer regardless of the entry method for the cell’s value (e.g., when the values are imported into Smartsheet from an Excel file, when the values are copied and pasted into Smartsheet or when the values are manually entered). Smartsheet does this to convert an integer to text, but this could be resolved by giving users the ability to define the column as a string or as a number, not as Text/Number. https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/428152#Comment_428152

spauliszyn

@mariahneu, ok that's starting to make sense now. I get the apostrophe as well, but I guess I ignore it as I am so used to dealing with it with Excel macros. And you know Excel ain't changin' their tune anytime soon ;)

Cathy Salscheider

I found a separate request in community to support negative number formatting with parentheses. It would make sense that if making a numeric only column type then standard numeric formatting should be supported too!

JerryCooperCMA

I concur. Having a Numeric Column Type seems like a very basic feature. When dealing with data, there is a world of difference between numeric values and text. Text which happens to contain number characters is still text. In Smartsheet today the only way I know of limiting column data to numbers is by using Validation / Number only in the Field settings of an Input Form. But in Dynamic View Details, and in the underlying Sheet itself, the Column Properties / Column Type cannot be set to strictly Numeric or "Numbers Only" … so some users can always enter text, and so they do. Solution: a Column Type for Numbers (no text) with the optional ability to limit numeric input to positive or negative values, allow zero or not, restrict to maximum and/or minimum, or a range of values.