Setting automations based on time in a cell
Automations can be set to run on a date found in a cell. Automations are able to be set to run at a particular time.
Is there a way to have the automation look at the time in a cell just like with dates?
This is so important as certain alerts are not only date sensitive but also time-sensitive.
Best Answer
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@Genevieve P.'s suggestion is what I usually do. I create a helper column with a formula to output 00, 01, 02, 03, so on and so forth all the way up to 23 (making sure they are all "text" for consistent formatting) then create 24 workflows. The one for 12am has a condition of the helper column being 00. 1am's condition is 01, and on we go. It sounds like a lot, but you can create the first workflow from scratch then duplicate it, adjust the title, trigger time, and condition, save, duplicate, ............ It is a bit tedious but doesn't take too long once you get on a roll with duplicating and tweaking.
Answers
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Hi @Eric88
Since Smartsheet doesn't have a Time column or Time function, there currently isn't a way for an Automation to look at text and understand what time that indicates for it to run on.
What you could do is set up multiple workflows, each that run on a different hour. Then you could use Condition Blocks in each workflow to filter what rows are eligible for the alert, such as a specific time selected in a dropdown column.
Please feel free to submit your feature request to the Product team by creating an Idea Post in the Smartsheet Product Feedback and Ideas topic here in the Community. You may also want to vote on the current Idea around time, here: Please let Smartsheet work with time
Cheers,
Genevieve
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@Genevieve P.'s suggestion is what I usually do. I create a helper column with a formula to output 00, 01, 02, 03, so on and so forth all the way up to 23 (making sure they are all "text" for consistent formatting) then create 24 workflows. The one for 12am has a condition of the helper column being 00. 1am's condition is 01, and on we go. It sounds like a lot, but you can create the first workflow from scratch then duplicate it, adjust the title, trigger time, and condition, save, duplicate, ............ It is a bit tedious but doesn't take too long once you get on a roll with duplicating and tweaking.
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Thank you, Paul! You're right, it did not take too long to do.
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Thanks, Genevieve. That's a good workaround.
Seems like it should be a fairly simple thing for smartsheet to implement, at least in a rudimentary way (ie. just using hours in a dropdown rather than with minutes in a way that interacts with dates).
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