Is there a formula that can check if a row has an attachment?

sheetsmartsarah

I have a dropdown, single-select column that describes the type of action item listed on that row.

For example: If someone selects the Star symbol on that row, the column formula calculates that the action item is a Milestone and returns the "Milestones" option from the drop-down options.

I would like to indicate when an item is a Deliverable. This formula would need to check the row for any attachments.

This way when in Card and Calendar Views I can easily filter to see all the deliverables for the project. I know I can check the Sheet Attachments menu option, but I'd like to see how many deliverables were expected, not how many attachments (versions) we have total.

Thanks for any help!

Eric Law

@sheetsmartsarah You can create an automation that triggers when an attachment is added, you checkbox/star/whatever a column that is named Has Attachment.

Eric Law

@sheetsmartsarah You can create an automation that triggers when an attachment is added, you checkbox/star/whatever a column that is named Has Attachment.

sheetsmartsarah

Thanks @Eric Law! I didn't think about an automation.

I've created a template with attachments pre-loaded. I guess I can preset the rows to "Deliverable" and then the automation can take care of any future attachments.

sheetsmartsarah

Looks like I ran into an issue with having both a column formula and an automation. The automation says it can't be run because the column (with a formula) is not writable. I'll play around with using only a workflow vs a column formula.

Eric Law

@sheetsmartsarah glad to assist! Sometimes we are too close to the project. Also, yes you can't have an automation with a formula as you would override the formula with the automations. Reach out if you need any other assistance!

sheetsmartsarah

thanks @Eric Law :) I think the automation alone works out for what we need. Thanks for helping me simplify it!

A.J.

Follow up on this, @Eric Law, but am I missing that there's not a condition in workflows that can check for the presence of an attachment?

sheetsmartsarah

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/428587#Comment_428587

Hi @A.J. that's right. Instead of setting a condition, you'd have to set the trigger to be the attachment itself. I set my "Change a cell value" workflow to Trigger when "An attachment" is "☑️Added".

A.J.

@sheetsmartsarah, thanks. Seems like a good opportunity for a feature enhancement to have a workflow condition be related to the presence of an attachment.