Editing Start & End Date w/dependencies enabled

Paul Reeves

I have a worksheet with a Start & End and Project Settings set. I really need the durations and predecessors for the Gantt chart. However, I want my users, ELT, to work only from a report of Dynamic View and they need the ability to edit their dates as needed. According to the article below you can only edit the dates in the worksheet. Is there a reason for this that I am not understanding. I really don't want my users having to navigate a worksheet to edit the dates.

Does anyone have a workaround?

https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/765737-project-sheet-columns-start-date-end-date-duration-complete-and-predecessors

Darren Mullen

@Paul Reeves Only work around I can think of is that there is a Smartsheet add-on sold by one of my partner firms that can be used to change those columns via a formula.

You would then have a column called something like "Start Date Update" and the add-on would take that value and insert it into the actual Start Date cell. You'd have to refresh the view to then see the new date.

Paul Reeves

@Darren Mullen Thank you for the response. At this point I think if ELT wants to edit a date they will have to submit a request to an admin, especially since it could impact downstream stakeholders.

I really appreciate your feedback.

Darren Mullen

@Paul Reeves That works too!

Paul Reeves

However, that said, would like to have their justification applied to a notification to the impacted downstream stakeholders. Thinking out loud, if the End Date changes for Line 7, and it impacts the Start Date for Line 9 that owner receives a notification with the comments of Line 7.

Any thoughts on how that might look? Roughly thinking seems like a Comment In (Justification), Comment Out (Notification) that is an Index/Match or Collect (Comment In, Start Date=Modified Date). Then automation notification then triggers off the Start Date change.

Am I over thinking this?