Datasources for Dropdown Menus

A sorely missing feature from Smartsheets right now is the ability to link dropdown menus to a central datasource - currently when designing sheets with dropdown menus, you need to manually update every sheet where the list exists making change management a pain.

If we could populate those dropdown menus from a reference sheet instead, this would go a long way to improving the user experience for change management.

Sign in to vote!

Find more posts tagged with

On Roadmap

Grid View

Comments

Paul Newcome

@Neil Egsgard Yes. I use this pretty frequently, but it does (as you pointed out) have its limitations. You can set up a date shuttle workflow to export a list from a Smartsheet into a .csv file and have it automatically attached to a sheet and then use a separate workflow to re-upload you dropdown options.

If you have ALL of your dropdown tables on a single sheet, you can set up this offload one time and then take care of the mapping in the upload workflows. You can map on .csv column to multiple dropdown columns, but you do need a separate upload workflow for each sheet.

ZjHagens

This is so long overdue. Having to use data shuttle or third party solutions for something like this is silly.

TC101

This feature has been requested for years now. Long overdue.

Andrée Starå

I agree with previous commenters. Data Shuttle is the Smartsheet-endorsed solution at the moment, and it works great, but it would be such a game changer together with the other dropdown list enhancements to have it built in.

2023 = the year of dropdown list improvements? 🙏

bcappi

This prohibits me from considering smartsheets for some data management projects as without this functionality I have to update any lists/drop-downs manually. I understand I can purchase an "upgrade/premium service" to have this ability but should something that is easily accessible in Excel and Access be a(n) "upgrade/premium service"?

Jakub Lenczowski

I have many drop-down lists with a contact data and I would like to have possibility to update this list from a different column with contact data. If new employee appears in the company I would like to update 1 HR list and link it with my drop down list to have always updated contact data in my drop down list and not be forced to update it each time.

Marc Hauge

Very easy to do with API call. I use an inexpensive integration application called Make (formerly Integromat). Let me know if you want to learn how.

James Vandezande

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/391534#Comment_391534

Interested to know more about how you're using Make for this, Marc.

Marc Hauge

@James Vandezande I'll put a video together for you.

Marc Hauge

@James Vandezande

Here is the video link. I know this will probably seem complicated. Make is a great program that works very well with Smartsheet. If you get into that environment and learn it, you can probably make sense of this. I hired someone to help me get started for the first time and now I can build automation with ease.

Update Dropdowns in Smartsheet (vimeo.com)

James Vandezande

Thanks @Marc Hauge - I'm going to watch that more carefully after the weekend. Just wanted to express my thanks now!!

Adrian Mandile CHESS

Having a Report (column) be the source data (as well as a Sheet/Column) for this would also be useful, as we can use a report to filter and sort data sheet rows.

rfeick

Currently each drop-down list must be maintained individually. It would be very useful if a drop-down list could reference a list of options on a sheet. This way drop-downs on different sheets that use the same list (ex. all employees) could be maintained in one spot to ensure they're always consistent and less tedious to update.

Emory

A way to select the source list for a drop-down column, similar to excel's data validation.

It would be most useful if this would be able to link the column of a different sheet and use the values listed as the option for the column drop-down.

Tim C

You can do this with data shuttle or bridge. https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/2482755-dynamic-dropdowns-data-shuttle

Quick Links

Trending ideas

Resource Management Plan Settings in Control Center - add Client and Project Code fields
In the Resource Management Plan Settings in Control Center, there is no way to link the Client and Project Code fields even though they are not Custom fields and part of the first 3 fields you enter when creating a new project. I can't select them in the Custom Resource Management Information Fields because they are not…
WorkApp Analytics
I’d like to see user analytics for WorkApps. I’ve checked the user report available in the Collaborator Pack, but it only shows how many times someone has clicked into the WorkApp each month. I’d like to know: Which resources (dashboards, sheets, forms, etc.) are getting the most traffic? Where are people spending their…
Sheet Icon Color Consistency
The 'Sheet' icon appears purple in the left navigation but blue within the sheet, creating inconsistency. Aligning icon colors across the platform would improve clarity and simplify user training. Please standardize the icon color to enhance user experience and reduce confusion during onboarding.