How can I split info from cells to rows?

MarthaP

I have a sheet set up that is populated by a form. The form will have 2 questions where the user can select multiple options. When that info is captured on a sheet, how can I set the sheet up to parse the multiple pieces of info in each cell to an individual row?

The information comes in from the form like this.

And I want it to be split like this.

Paul Newcome

I would suggest setting up the form to reload after submission and then have your people enter each person and all of their sessions for a single form submission.

Protonsponge

Hello @MarthaP,

I was only reading about this topic last night and found this post by @Paul Newcome which explains a way to do this really well with lots of detail and with core product features.

I have yet to practice this myself and so I sadly have nothing else to offer except the link to this great post and maybe Paul Newcome can help you out next time he is online.

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/119380/split-multiple-selections-in-single-form-into-individual-rows-core-product

@Paul Newcome - I hope you are ok with me sharing the link on your behalf 😊

Paul Newcome

@Protonspounge No worries. Always happy to help when I can.

@MarthaP The above link is a good starting point, but it will definitely require some modification to work for your case. The second field being a multi-select dropdown makes this process much easier because of consistent formatting, but what about that first field. Can you guarantee that it will always be a semi-colon and a space between the names? What is the greatest number of rows that would need to be created from a single entry? For example, your screenshot shows two names and three sessions for a total of 6 rows. What is the maximum number of names and the maximum number of sessions?

MarthaP

Thank you @Paul Newcome ! Let me ask this, is there a better way to set up a form in Smartsheet that will allow me to receive info regarding multiple people that will need to be added to a variety of sessions?

Paul Newcome

How many different sessions do you have and how many different people do you have?

MarthaP

We'll have 30 sessions, and roughly 200 people.

Paul Newcome

I would suggest setting up the form to reload after submission and then have your people enter each person and all of their sessions for a single form submission.

Jayy S.

@Paul Newcome Can you provide some assistance in how to format this with multi-select drop down? I'm having a similar situation and I'm thinking of having people enter into a multi-select field with numbers and separate each with "enter" as they enter multiple numbers so it'll drop into the intake sheet the same way each time.