Is there a way to build notifications into a template?

Steve Metzman

I've figured out how to automoatically share sheets and templates to multiple people with workspaces. Is there a way to build a template so that  every time I create a sheet from the template it will also have the same notifications built in as well?

Travis

Steve - notifications are set up for specific users and specific sheets and there is not a way to include them when coping a sheet. If you want users to get notifications on copied sheets, they will need to be set up through the Alerts tab after creating the copy. 

MattK

Too bad. Every project sheet I create has the same notification setup. It is not ideal to add the same notifications over and over.

Sarah S

This is what I need as well! Any way this function can be added?

Travis

Sarah, I would be happy to add your vote for this feature to our enhancement request list and it will be considered for future development. 

Angelene Smith

Please add my vote to this as well! (And as soon as possible!) I need the same series of reminders (seven of them) for each new sheet being set up from the template, and - with multiple sheets being created every day and messages needing to be written for each reminder - this is a real tedium for the poor guy setting them up. It robs us of a lot of the convenience and time-saving that would otherwise be gleaned from Smartsheet.

 

This is difficult to describe, but if you need a more specific description about how we're set up: I have a task on each row with a checkbox column (column is labeled "Task Completed?") and date column ("Date Completed") which is filled out by the team member responsible for that task. Then there is a hidden column corresponding to each row (So for example Row #2 with the task "Jim sign-off" corresponds with a hidden date column titled "Jim sign-off trigger" and the formula "=[Date Completed]2" is on Row #2 only, in that hidden date column. Then the Reminder would be set to "Send Ted and Jane and Louise an email reminder 1 day after Jim sign-off trigger for this sheet."

 

In this way we can keep the alerts flowing based on each person's task completion. (Ideally as soon as each person had completed their task they would send an update request to the next person in line, but past experience has shown this to be unfortunately unsuccessful.)  Thank you!

Travis

Thanks Angelene for your use case - it is helpful! I will submit your informaton to our product team! 

Eric W.

Travis,

 

Please add my vote to this as well!

 

The Web Form is a great method to get data into the sheet as a new row.  It is a standard template and walks the recipient through each field that is desired (as setup by the sheet admin).

From many of the discussions I've been reading there seems to be a need/desire for a  hybrid of a Web Form and Send Update Request.

 

The Web Form creates a new row with the data entered.  

The Send Update Request allows an existing row to be updated with information from the recipient.  

 

I'm looking for a standard template that would enable the recipient to populate an existing row with new data, without me having to select or deselect the columns I do not want sent.  Also, adding the functionality to send to the "assigned to" person is far more convenient than having to type in or search for the recipients contact info.  I've already taken the time to assign the resource to the row/task.

 

Thanks,

 

 

Eric

Travis

Hi Eric - good suggestions! I'll submit your feedback to the Product team 

Evan Meyers

I'm going to jump in and add my vote for this feature.   Our use case is more about templatizing the the columns for an alert.  Perhaps having the ability to save an alert configuration would get it done?

 

In our scenario, we have a master sheet we use to track headcount requests.  Each row contains about 50 data points, but the owner of the row is only responsible for about 20 of the 50 total.  It would be great for us to have a way to save the selected 20 rows in order along with any update message so when we need to request an update we don't have to spend the time choosing the 20 rows in the right order and adding the message.

 

Alternatively, it would be a big time saver if there was an option to sort the columns for selection in the order they appear in the sheet vs alphabetical order.  While the filtering capability is helpful, we still need to enter a search for each column.  If the selection window was ordered as the sheet, it would be much easier to just select the needed adjacent cells instead of having to hunt and peck based on alphabetical searches (for example, if we want to send the monthly breakdown, we have search on jan, then feb, then mar since alphabetically they are not adjacent, but in our sheet they are in natural calendar order).

 

Any tips for our use cases?

 

Bob Andrews

Evan, you can sort your sheet based on entered dates or based on when the row was created. Is that what you are looking for?

Evan Meyers

@Bob, no...I'm referring to the splash screen when setting up alerts and update requests.  The list of the fields available to selection/inclusion in the message is sorted alphabetically as opposed to the order the sheet is designed, so if you want to send the monthly data and the columns are labeled "Jan" "Feb" "Mar" - you would have to search on each title or scroll the alphabetical list to find them.

Travis

Evan - the pop up menu to select columns are sorted based on the order of the columns in your sheet.

 

I agree, templates for update requests alerts could be useful. I'll pass your suggestions along! 

Steve Johnson

+1

 

Entering the same alert criteria into countless sheets over and over again is a waste of time.  

David M.

There are multiple posts about this, so I'll just choose this one to reply to. I've just spent a good 4 weeks planning out our new project that will use Smartsheet and OneDrive, and now that I'm into the Smartsheet development phase, I'm hit with a wall. That wall is the templates that will not allow me to save my notifications. My whole project is built around those simple notifications believe it or now, and now I discover that I'll need to set up each notification for every new sheet I create. That is so mentally deflating, I cannot even describe it.

 

I partially understand some of the discussion I've been reading as to why it isn't a feature at this moment, but there has to be other options that can capture this. Such as, "Save as template WITHOUT Notifications" & "Save as template WITH Notifications".

 

Honestly, we have 4 templates, and all 4 templates have the exact same notifications, and while the templates may need to be revised to add, modify, or remove information, the notifications will only need to be revised if an employee leaves the company, an employee is reassigned to a different department, or a new employee is brought onto the team.

 

We need those notifications to be created from the template each and every time. This has been on ongoing discussion for over a year. Has there been any progress internally?

David M.

Or..... Give us the option to save our notifications as a template, that we can quickly add to each new sheet with relatively few clicks of the mouse. While there is an extra step, a simple import or copy/paste of all notifications is a really nice work around if the templates themselves cannot store the notifications.