How to organize multimedia folk dance data in Smartsheet effectively?

folkdancedk

I'm working on a project to catalog 100 instances of a folk dance, including various elements like video, PDFs, text, images, categories, steps, etc. I am looking for advice on how to efficiently structure a Smartsheet to handle this type of multimedia and categorization. Could anyone suggest the best approach to start this? Specifically, I'm interested in advice on organizing and linking different types of media and data within Smartsheet. Thanks in advance!

Colleen Patterson

@folkdancedk

What an interesting project!

The goal whenever I am setting up a new sheet / solution is always started with a planning process. The goal for this is to review how you would like to organize and utilize the data and information, as well as to determine what information you would like to have surfaced.

You have a few options from what I am seeing. You would be able to choose to have all information on a single sheet, where you have items in columns. You can surface your images directly into cells, have columns for hyperlinks, etc. You may want to include some categorical columns that would help you refine your views to see subsets later. Alternatively, you would also be able to have a single sheet for each dance, and then use a report to pull the sheets together (this would include links to the source sheets) for easy navigation later.

Which direction I would move in would be predicated based on the amount of information that I am trying to capture per dance. Are you wanting to have 8 pdf's for example or 1 for each?

Hope this helps, and I'd love to see your solution after building.

Andrée Starå

Hi @folkdancedk

I hope you're well and safe!

I'd recommend having each folk dance instance in a group with a Parent/Children hierarchy, and then each row would contain information and each asset which could also be grouped.

Make sense?

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Have a fantastic week & Happy New Year!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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Colleen Patterson

@folkdancedk

What an interesting project!

The goal whenever I am setting up a new sheet / solution is always started with a planning process. The goal for this is to review how you would like to organize and utilize the data and information, as well as to determine what information you would like to have surfaced.

You have a few options from what I am seeing. You would be able to choose to have all information on a single sheet, where you have items in columns. You can surface your images directly into cells, have columns for hyperlinks, etc. You may want to include some categorical columns that would help you refine your views to see subsets later. Alternatively, you would also be able to have a single sheet for each dance, and then use a report to pull the sheets together (this would include links to the source sheets) for easy navigation later.

Which direction I would move in would be predicated based on the amount of information that I am trying to capture per dance. Are you wanting to have 8 pdf's for example or 1 for each?

Hope this helps, and I'd love to see your solution after building.

Andrée Starå

Hi @folkdancedk

I hope you're well and safe!

I'd recommend having each folk dance instance in a group with a Parent/Children hierarchy, and then each row would contain information and each asset which could also be grouped.

Make sense?

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Have a fantastic week & Happy New Year!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

✅Did my post(s) help or answer your question or solve your problem? Please support the Community by marking it Insightful/Vote Up, Awesome, or/and as the accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

folkdancedk

Hi Andrée and Colleen,

Thank you both for your valuable insights on structuring my Smartsheet for the folk dance cataloging project.

Andrée, your suggestion of using a Parent-Child hierarchy in Smartsheet aligns perfectly with my project's needs. This structure will be ideal for managing the extensive details for each dance instance.

Colleen, your emphasis on a thorough planning process and the option of using a single sheet for all data resonates with my vision for this project. Your ideas about categorizing columns and integrating different types of media directly into the sheet are very insightful.

I'm planning to follow a streamlined approach where all information is consolidated into one Smartsheet. This will be crucial for quick reference and efficient management, considering the large volume of data — about 1000 dance instances, each with roughly 100 elements like text and links.

Here's the structure I'm considering for the Smartsheet:

1. Naming Convention: Each dance instance will be assigned a unique number for easy identification and quick lookup.
2. Parent-Child Hierarchy: This will be utilized to organize the 100 elements related to each dance. Each dance instance (parent) will have associated rows (children) for details like text, links, images, etc., instead of using columns for each element.
3. API Integration for Future Expansion: I'm also planning for API integration to push the information to a database. This proactive strategy will ensure that the data remains dynamic and easily accessible, and will be beneficial for the project's future scalability.

Your combined expertise has been incredibly helpful in refining my approach and ensuring the project's success.

folkdancedk

I have to get started on all the videos and guides. Its not very intuitive. Like just creating a task if now explained to well I think. Am I missing somthing - Check my images

Skærmbillede 2024-01-11 kl. 15.15.27.png

Skærmbillede 2024-01-11 kl. 15.15.51.png

https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/504721-inserting-deleting-rows-or-tasks

Andrée Starå

@folkdancedk

Excellent!

Happy to help!

✅Remember! Did my post(s) help or answer your question or solve your problem? Please support the Community by marking it Insightful/Vote Up/Awesome or/and as the accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

folkdancedk

Actually - I need help to sort out how we use and organize the data best way. Perhaps a short call if possible?

Andrée Starå

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/414769#Comment_414769

I'd happily schedule a free discovery call to discuss your needs and how I can help.

Please e-mail me at andree@workbold.com, and we will take it from there.