Using Sheet Summary To Populate Columns - and Have Same Restrictions

delberto

I'm using a sheet summary to add some global sheet data (i.e., it's not associated with rows, it's associated at sheet level.)

I've got a sheet summary contact list field where I add the project manager - then it populates the top cell in a column. I then use this cell as an email recipient in a workflow.

However, it doesn't seem that the sheet summary field respects the restrictions in the column (Restrict to list values only). I can add what I want in the sheet summary and it will populate that in the sheet.

Does it work this way round?

Thanks.

jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp

Hi @delberto

When you populate the sheet summary contact list field to the top cell in a column, didn't you get a warning like the second image below?

If you paste a formula like =PM#, you negate the column restriction.

A workaround would be to use a dropdown list field with PM emails. As shown in the third image, the field will give a dropdown list to choose from. Sheet users can still input other values, but showing the list may decrease the chance.

delberto

HI @jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp , thanks for the response - yes, I get exactly what you've described. Understood re adding the drop down in Sheet Summary - not as neat as using the built in Contact List format but would work.

As I'll be populating these fields before sending out to my team, the other option is that I just populate the columns directly - then hide them and feed the contacts to the summary sheet.

It's interesting that the summary sheet doesn't get tied to the restrictions in the cell - I guess too many possible direction conflicts.

Thanks for the help!

jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp

@delberto

Happy to help.😁 And, thank you for giving me an opportunity to learn about the issue.

I did some experiments and found when I added a formula to any column with a restriction, I got a warning.

I got the above warning when I added =[Test Data]@row to the Symbols column, which is set to "Restrict symbols values only."

So, this is not a Sheet Summary issue but a general phenomenon of adding a formula to a restricted column.

Still, as you mentioned, Smartsheet could let users restrict Sheet Summary fields. That should further improve the value of the Sheet Summary.

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/publish?EQBCT=3aaa06ce5da84c28aa7a9067e57e5f22

delberto

@jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp , that's really interesting and useful to know. Thanks for posting.

Yes, I think there's room for improvement here 😊