The Bridge

Mommaduck

I'd appreciate hearing from individuals - not SS employees please - who have utilized the Bridge application. What about it made you use it? Did it do what you expected? If you had to make the decision again, would you still make the investment? Examples of how you use it would be a great plus. Thanks!

Genevieve P.

Hey @Mommaduck

I understand you don't want to hear from Smartsheet Employees, but while you wait for a member response, here are some other threads from the Community that discuss Bridge you may find helpful:

• Questions about Bridge from a potential newbie
• Clear a sheet using Bridge
• Using Bridge for Row Autosort
• Use Javascript in Bridge to efficiently import data from an API

Cheers,

Genevieve

Ken A

Hey, I'm a user and I've tried not to get any add-ons as long as possible -- using workarounds (sometimes quite tortured workarounds). I added Dynamic View in the Spring to make my life easier, and then, Data Mesh. With Bridge I can now get rid of third-party integrations (zaps) I'm quite certain. The interface is similar to Zapier and others, but I still can't get a delayed automation workflow to work (just adding a check in a column in a newly added row).

Specifically, the workflow delay utility is helpful for me. I've seen a lot of posts about the limited 1-hour increment automations, and that some workflow automations don't finish execution before a row is copied/moved over. I have at least 100 workflow automations across multiple staggered sheets (yes, sorry, I use scripts/formulas but I'm terrible at them). So, for me, being able to control the timing of the workflow automations (or creating triggers to start certain workflow automations based on conditions) is helpful. *I think I can actually control how each workflow automation executes? But I have too many automations to figure that one out right now. I just want key workflows to execute not in an hour, but in 8-10 minutes. Which I can do with Bridge.

The overall negatives with the premium add-ons for me is the lack of information and documentation on how to use them. The manner in which they were slowly activated was odd also, making me wonder if I actually had access (and Control Center and Bridge are separate sites and not nestled in the main SmartSheet page, go figure). I've watched the videos and tried to read as much as possible (including this forum), but it's hard to follow sometimes.

I firmly believe that being able to get rid of my tortured workarounds is worth the premium add-ons, but not having Pro Desk support for Bridge is : ( indeed. @Genevieve P. is there an article that shows a basic, no-condition, delay utility function workflow? I literally just want to add a 10 minute delay to checking a checkbox a column in newly added rows in a sheet (that's my trigger to copy a row after 100 or so workflow automations are hopefully completed). And yes, I've ordered the workflows so that copy row is the first (meaning the last to run), but my rows are copied before all the workflows are actually completed (i.e., values appear on the source sheet in some columns after the row has already been copied to a different sheet). Thanks in advance!

Genevieve P.

Hey @Ken A

Thanks for jumping into this conversation!

This is currently the only documentation on the delay module:

https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/2482058-delay-utility-function

Ken A

Hi Genevieve. I have reached out to Pro Desk and technical support and I strongly feel that neither has sufficient understanding of Bridge. At best I have been placed on hold for an hour +, waited days (still waiting), and getting incorrect feedback (I pointed out the run log data, etc., clearly showing something else). I would appreciate some leads on when/who I can contact at Smartsheet regarding Bridge. If not, is there a third-party individual/company you can recommend? Thanks!

Genevieve P.

Hi @Ken A

You're correct, Pro Desk currently does not offer sessions on Bridge at this time. It's good to hear your feedback that this is something you would find useful!

If you're struggling with building a specific workflow or reaching an end-goal with your workflow creation, please do feel free to post your scenario as a new Question here in the Get Help section of the Community. Other users may have built something similar in Bridge before and can help lend an eye for a piece that could be missing. There are some examples of this in my first comment! 🙂

If you're encountering an error or and issue with Bridge, then please keep following up with Support, providing them with as much information as possible. If the initial Support representative you're talking to is unable to help, they will escalate the case to another representative that has more experience in this part of the product, but it may take some time and further explaining of your scenario.

For other resources, the Help Articles are the best reference points that I can suggest at this time. There is also an eLearning course and an intro webinar:

• eLearning course on Bridge
• Intro to Bridge Webinar
• Bridge written documentation

Please submit your ideas on how Bridge could be improved by creating an Idea Post in the Smartsheet Product Feedback and Ideas topic. This will allow other users to vote on your ideas!

Cheers,

Genevieve

Genevieve P.

@Mommaduck

Here's another Bridge discussion you may be interested in:

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/106400/if-you-have-bridge-what-are-you-using-it-for

Julie Fortney

@Genevieve P. Is the eLearning Course on Bridge you linked above no longer available? I keep getting an error when I try to click the link, and I can't find a Bridge course in Smartsheet University using the search function.

We just signed on for Advance and I CAN'T WAIT to start using Bridge!

Danielle Wilson

@Julie Fortney Unfortunately it's not! We have it down while we're revamping it with some Bridge changes. If you have access to the Engage recordings from this year (I think they should be added to Smartsheet University at some point if they're not yet?), there's a great Introduction to Bridge session that I would recommend!

Julie Fortney

@Danielle Wilson Thanks Danielle, I will check out the ENGAGE sessions. Another Bridge user recommended the Smartsheet U course, so I will look forward to completing it once it's re-released!