Losing form queries

Zsolt

Hi all!

I asked support about this but I didn't get an answer yet, so I just wanted to see if anyone else had this issue. We're using forms with queries (passing default values to fields). It works fine as long as the user has accessed smartsheet at least once that day, and so single sign on is happening.

But if they launch a form with queries and then redirected to "Sign in with your corporate..." thing, the form appears at the end without any of the original queries. Since forms are pretty static, I can't check for the queries until they submit the form.

Has anyone had this issue?

Tx

Paul Newcome

Right. SO what is happening is that Smartsheet is refreshing back to the form in much the same way that it would "reload the form for another entry". In those cases, it is pulling in the base URL. It is not ideal, but it is expected behavior.

Paul Newcome

It sounds like they are being redirected to a different form. When you say there are default values set, are you using URL manipulation to set the default values or are you using the default values feature built into the forms?

Zsolt

It's the same form but without the parameters: ?id=1 or similar in the the URL. The URL becomes the base URL of the form without any arguments added that the original link had.

Paul Newcome

I understand that the URL is changing, but how are you generating the original URL? Are you using a formula to output a custom URL using cell data, or are you using the default values feature within the form?

Zsolt

It is a formula but it has nothing to do with the URL change. Users receive an email with a URL. At that point the URL is a static url that ends with something like ?id=1&cohort=3

When the user clicks on the link in the email and they are not yet authenticated through single sign on, Smartsheet's generic page appears with the button to click on to log in through single sign on. User clicks on the button (behind the scenes single sign on happens) and the users is taken to the form.

But it is only the base URL without any of the queries.

So, right now, I basically put the instructions in the email that if they have not logged into smartsheet yet, they need to do that first. This works for a whole day, they're logged in. The next day it starts again.

I'm not using the default values for those fields because they're getting different values from the URL.

Paul Newcome

Right. SO what is happening is that Smartsheet is refreshing back to the form in much the same way that it would "reload the form for another entry". In those cases, it is pulling in the base URL. It is not ideal, but it is expected behavior.

Zsolt

I got the same answer internally at Amazon. It may be an expected answer from an engineering perspective but not from an end user. But that's what it is. Thanks for chiming in, Paul!

ker9

I found the same problem and Support referred me to this post.

I think they should update the instructions for using the URL so that you understand the limitations.

Expected or not, it's not helpful behavior.

ker9

@Zsolt

I added an enhancement request - perhaps you could up vote it.

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/104953/url-link-for-forms-customization/p1?new=1