Reply to a comment without @ should send notification

Matt Rasmussen

When person A enters a comment on a row and person B types a reply, no notification is sent to person A unless the @ feature is used in the reply comment. Most people do not know this -- the expectation when you reply to someone's comment is that a notification will be sent since you are replying directly to their comment. That's how social media processes replies for the last 20+ years, so that's what new users instinctively think will happen.

This product idea is to change comments so that any reply will send a notification to the previous commenter regardless if the @ feature is used. Using the @ feature should still send a notification when used, as this is very helpful to ping multiple people in the same comment.

I'm aware this is not an original thought on my part since I see a few Community posts as far back as 2018 asking about this, but I could not find a Product Idea for me to vote up. Smartsheet Employee Admins should feel free to post cross-links here if they can find previously submissions.

Genevieve P.

Hey @Matt Rasmussen

This actually is currently available in Smartsheet! As long as Person B types a reply as a threaded response (by clicking Reply), then Person A will receive the notification regardless of @mention.

Here's the release note with more information about how to unsubscribe to threads or even subscribe to conversations you haven't been mentioned in:

https://www.smartsheet.com/content-center/product-news/release-notes/subscribe-your-conversation-threads

Cheers,

Genevieve

Genevieve P.

Hey @Matt Rasmussen

This actually is currently available in Smartsheet! As long as Person B types a reply as a threaded response (by clicking Reply), then Person A will receive the notification regardless of @mention.

Here's the release note with more information about how to unsubscribe to threads or even subscribe to conversations you haven't been mentioned in:

https://www.smartsheet.com/content-center/product-news/release-notes/subscribe-your-conversation-threads

Cheers,

Genevieve

Matt Rasmussen

Thanks for your update, @Genevieve P.! We had reports from a couple of users that day that they didn't get notification emails and I tested it myself and didn't. However, it worked the next day and since. I just haven't taken the time to update this thread. I can confirm we get the notifications even when users don't tag the person they reply to.

Genevieve P.

Thanks for coming back to confirm! 🙂

Ami Veltrie

@Genevieve P. Hello!

This functionality is not working for me either. Replying via email OR replying directly in the sheet (via 'reply), is not sending an alert to the originator.

Genevieve P.

Hi @Ami Veltrie

A few things to check here:

• Are they receiving the notification in-app (the bell icon), just not in email?

If so:

• Have they checked their Junk mail?
• Does that person allow notifications for @mentions and Replies to be received as emails in their Personal Notification settings?

https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/796268-adjusting-personal-settings

• Does the company they work for have a third party program that checks emails as well, that could be blocking it from coming through?

https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/2481987-troubleshoot-email-send-issues

Cheers,
Genevieve

Ami Veltrie

@Genevieve P. Hi Genevieve!

Thank you for your response. All settings are correct and they work for the same company as I do, they are part of the plan.

No, they do not receive any notifications (including the bell) UNLESS they are @mentioned in the reply.

The functionality is supposed to be that you can reply to a string and not have to @mention.

Genevieve P.

Hi @Ami Veltrie

Absolutely, you're correct! If you're clicking "Reply" then the original poster should receive a notification regardless of @mention. That is, unless they have Unsubscribed from that thread or they've changed their personal preferences (my first screen capture).

• Have you tried this across multiple sheets?
• Is it only 1 user in your account?

Ami Veltrie

@Genevieve P. These are brand new users so they haven't changed settings or unsubscribed.

Yes, tried it on multiple sheets and tested it with several users. When they replied, no one get an alert.

Genevieve P.

Hi @Ami Veltrie

Thanks for clarifying!

In that case, as long as you're sure they're clicking "reply" (and not adding a new comment), please open a Support ticket with a screen recording showing your Reply to their comment and the lack of alert in their own Smartsheet account.

Support will need the email addresses of those affected, a note that you've tried this on multiple sheets (link to a few as examples), and a screen capture of their notification preferences to look into this further.

Thanks!
Genevieve