Tracking Created/ Modified and retaining historical data

Alicja Sybilska

Hello,

I am managing a RAID log which was previously copied from Teams and past into Smartsheet. I'd like to track who and when:

1. created a row
2. modified a row

I know those can be automated easily by system columns, however there are some historical data i the already existing columns (creator , created on & modifier, modified on) which I want to keep. I also don't want to add multiple columns for the same data.

Can you think of any automation formula to make this happen?

For the dates, I tried to add column automations for the existing columns as in the picture but they are not working:

Any ideas?

Andrée Starå

Hi @Alicja Sybilska

I hope you're well and safe!

Please have a look at my post below with a method I developed.

More info: 

Lock or Store Date/Value Solution without using Zapier

Andrée Starå

May 24, 2020

Hi all,

I hope you're well and safe!

I've developed a solution that lets you store the date or value.

You'd use the copy-row automation and a VLOOKUP or combination of INDEX/MATCH to make it work.

We'd trigger the copy-row to another sheet and get the created date/other value and then use the VLOOKUP/INDEX/MATCH to get it back to the main sheet in another so-called helper column. As long as you have a unique id/value that we can use, it will work.

Also, this opens up more options with auto-numbering and similar.

Depending on other workflows, you could reuse one sheet for multiple workflows.

I hope that helps!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Stay safe and have a fantastic day!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

✅Did my post(s) help or answer your question or solve your problem? Please help the Community by marking it as helpful. It will make it easier for others to find a solution.

---

View Post

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe, and have a fantastic week!

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!

Alicja Sybilska

Hi @Andrée Starå , sorry for no reponse. Thank you for coming back to me on this.

I am unsure how to apply this, though. Should I create a separate sheet with historical data?

Andrée Starå

@Alicja Sybilska

No worries!

Happy to help!

I'd be happy to share an example. 

Please email me at andree@workbold.com, and I'll share it with you.

✅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!