How do I set up a workflow to notify someone if a predecessor task has been completed?

Sarah Butterworth

Gia Thinh

Hi Sarah Butterworth,

I have developed this solution for your question as the screenshot below:

1. Create a new ID column with auto-number property. This is to make each row unuiqe.
2. Create a new Rownum column with column formula to number each row : =MATCH(ID@row, ID:ID, 0)
3. Create a new Successors column with column formula to indicate the Successor rows of the current row : =JOIN(SUCCESSORS(Rownum@row), CHAR(10))
4. Create a new Predecessor’s status column with column formula : =JOIN(COLLECT(Status:Status, Successors:Successors, CONTAINS(Rownum@row, @cell)))
5. Create a new Alert workflow when row changes with Predecessor’s status = “Complete”

Let me explain:

• Row 16 is predecessor task of Row 18, 19. Then the Successors column has a value = 18 19
• When Row 16's status change to "Complete", then Predecessor’s status column of Row 18, 19 will change to "Complete". This will trigger the Alert workflow.

Hope this works for you.

Sarah Butterworth

Hello @Gia Thinh thank you for the above, this is a great solution, I think I am really close, however the last formula in the Predecessor Status is returning the following:

Do you have any thoughts on this? Thank you

Gia Thinh

can you provide a whole sheet screenshot and the formula of the Predecessor Status?

Sarah Butterworth

@Gia Thinh here is the screenshot, thank you

Gia Thinh

Can you provide a screenshot as below? Want to see the whole columns highlighted.

Sarah Butterworth

Apologizes here you go.

Gia Thinh

Try to change these 2 formulas:

Rownum : =MATCH(ID@row, ID:ID, 0) + CHAR(127)

Successors : =JOIN(SUCCESSORS(Rownum@row), CHAR(127)) + CHAR(127)

Sarah Butterworth

@Gia Thinh I have and still the same!

Gia Thinh

can you share the sheet to me to look into the formula?

Shanu

Thanks for your solution @Gia Thinh, its exactly what we need - to be able to alert the next person that the preceding task is completed.

When trying to implement in my sheet, I keep getting this error "#UNPARSEABLE" for RowNum, for Successor.. Any suggestion? Also I'm quite new to Smartsheet, so please bear with my limited knowledge 😅

Gia Thinh

@Shanu

Can you provide the screenshot of the sheet with errors and used formulas?