Workflow not triggering emails for multiple rows

ScottH24
ScottH24
edited 04/18/24 in Smartsheet Basics

Hello,

I have a grid that I am using to trigger emailing forms to other parties to collect data. I am using a Y/N field and a workflow to trigger the email. When "No" or "blank", nothing happens. When moved to "Yes", the workflow grabs a link from another cell and sends the email with the link to the form. This works fine when testing one row on the grid at a time. When I use this for real, I will probably have 4000-5000 rows on the grid and need to trigger hundreds at a time to send the emails/links. Today I tried to test 5 at a time, I updated the first to "Yes", then copied the Yes by dragging the cell (from the bottom right corner) to the other 4 rows. Only the first row triggered an email. I am not sure why, the last step in the workflow is to update another column with the send date. The send date populated for all 5 rows, so I know the workflow executed. Any thoughts on why this is not working or how I can trigger large batches at one time?

I tried copying and pasting the "Yes" into the rows as well. That also only triggered the email for the first row, but the column updated for all 5.

Thanks for any help.

Answers

  • Itai
    Itai ✭✭✭✭✭✭

    @SS_User_99

    Can you share a screenshot of the workflow please?

    Itai Perez

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  • Andrée Starå
    Andrée Starå ✭✭✭✭✭✭

    Hi @SS_User_99

    I hope you're well and safe!

    I agree with Itai.

    Can you share some screenshots of the workflow and sheet? (Delete/replace any confidential/sensitive information before sharing) That would make it easier to help.

    I hope that helps!

    Be safe, and have a fantastic weekend!

    Best,

    Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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  • The workflow and grid are attached. I blocked out some of the identifying data.

    The workflow is fairly simple and works on one record at a time, saving in between each update to the "Send Initial Questionnaire" field. The problem is when trying to mark multiple rows to send at once, only the first sends the email, however the send date saves for all rows marked.

    Ultimately, I will have 1000s of rows and need to trigger this for 100s at a time.


  • Hi @SS_User_99

    A few questions about your process and things to check:

    - Did all 6 rows have an email in the PrimaryContact column?

    - Were all 6 of the emails in that column the same one? In this case, it would have batched all the changes into one email (versus sending 6 individual emails).

    - Was the email your email? If so, can you check your personal notification settings to ensure that you have the box checked that will allow you to get notifications on changes you made.

    - I see you have your trigger set to a cell changing to Yes, not being added as Yes. Can you try changing this to "Added or Changed" instead, so that if the row is seen as "new" it will still look for the Yes.

    Let me know if any of this helped!

    Cheers,

    Genevieve

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  • @Genevieve P.

    Thanks for your help. I think it is the grouping, if I set every row to a unique email then the emails seem to go out as expected. Is there any way to disable the grouping so each row gets its own email regardless of the recipient?

  • Hi @SS_User_99

    Thanks for clarifying! You can split out rows into separate emails by using {{Placeholders}} in the message, but this only works as long as you'll have 6 or fewer rows for each Contact. Once you have more than 6 rows it will batch the content again so as not to spam the receiver. Here's more information: Tips for working with placeholders

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  • Thank you, I was going to try adding a unique value to the email subject, I will be sure to test with greater than 6 to the same recipient at a time to make sure we understand how they will be sent. Thanks for your help.