Latest Comment Column - Default Name Doesn't Include Last Name.

Hi,

How can I get the name that appears in the "Latest Comment" column to match the name in the "Assigned To" column?

I have a helper "yes or no" column with a formula. The formula is set to enter yes if the latest comment is NOT the person in the "assigned to". Then, I use this helper column for a notification automation.

However, the "Latest Comment" column enters the name without a last name, while my "assigned to" has name and last name. So, my formula does not work since it is looking for an exact match, therefore people are getting notified of their OWN comment (people in the "assigned to" are not shared to my sheet, which is why I use this notification workaround).

NOTE: I realized that M is in our system's contact list twice with the same email address. One contact with just the first name, the other with name and last name. Is this what is causing the issue? How can I fix this?

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Genevieve P.

Hi @Thiara Perez

The Latest Comment column will pull last names as well 🙂

The name that appears in the "Latest Comment" column is the name that the user has set in their Personal Preferences. This means that if the user set up their account without a last name, then when they add a comment it will appear without a last name in the Latest Comment column.

I would suggest removing all instances of the Contact with the last name so that what appears in your Assigned To column is the correct value.

Edit the Column Properties and remove the one with the last name (add the correct one in)
Update any current cells with the MA Contact listed to only have the M contact
Adjust your personal Contact list to have the correct name

Cheers,

Genevieve

Thiara Perez

Hi @Genevieve P.

Thank you for the suggestion. It looks like I'd have to do this for every contact I have this problem with, correct?

What does adding the contact in the Column Properties actually do?

Ok, so I went and added the right M contact in the column properties of my "Assigned To" column and saved. BUT, when I start typing her name (same column, different row), all the her other contact versions still pop up. I thought adding her would eliminate the other contact versions from the options. I also noticed that after adding, her name is now in the drop down, but so is every other person I assigned to previously without adding to the column. So what is the purpose of adding a contact in the column properties? I don't see any changes.

Now, this makes me wonder, how can I check for this ahead of time? How do I know which contact a user is using if I see several? I see some contacts with same name but different emails, or same email but different name. How do I know which one is the right one?

Genevieve P.

Hi @Thiara Perez

The options that show up in a dropdown when editing a cell are as follows:

Users shared to the sheet
Contacts already assigned in other cells
Contacts added to the Column Properties
Members of your organization's plan
Members of your "My Smartsheet Contacts"

See: Manage which contacts appear when you type in a cell

This means that if you're still seeing the wrong contact appear as an option, it's likely because that has already been selected somewhere else in the sheet.

One way to control what appears in the dropdown is the Restrict the Column Properties to a specific list of contacts:

Cheers,
Genevieve

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