How to create a dashboard from a client smartsheet project

Angie Hatfield

We are working on a system conversion. The project is in Smartsheet but owned by the new system company.

They've not been able to provide the level of reporting my SLT is requesting.

How can I create a dashboard from that project without doing any changes or calculations, summaries within their project?

They did make me an admin so I can create reports, but they lack some details that I need to calculate.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help!🙂

Kerry St. Thomas

You can leverage premium apps if you have access. DataMesh can create a dynamically updating duplicate of the original sheet, Data Shuttle to produce "snapshots" of the sheet that in turn can be selectively moved to a sheet you own, and Pivot can aggregate info from reports you can already create. Since you'd own those assets, you can add the formulas or summaries to your need, and use them as the basis of your dashboarding.

If you don't have any premium app access (or don't want to go that deeply), you can create KPI sheets - cross-sheet formulas that could be strategically created to give you a separate place to do the calculations you need. This may or may not be able to solve what you're after, depending on the specific calculations you need.

The simplest answer to me, though, seems to be to add column formulas to the existing sheets and then hide those columns. That way you'll have access to whatever info you need (and can resurface via Reports) but the user experience on the project management sheets will be effectively the same.

Andrée Starå

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/123523/how-to-create-a-dashboard-from-a-client-smartsheet-project

Hi,

I hope you're well and safe!

You could add a so-called helper sheet that replicates the structure using cell-linking or cross-sheet formulas and then add the other necessary columns.

Make sense?

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe, and have a fantastic day!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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Angie Hatfield

andree

I started with cell linking but the cell limits would take too much time to set up.

I don't think I know about cross sheet formulas. I don't think I've heard of it but will look it up.

Andrée Starå

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/441612#Comment_441612

Ok.

You could connect the sheets using cross-sheet formulas combined with either a VLOOKUP or INDEX/MATCH structure. When you update the source sheet, it will reflect on the destination sheet.

To connect them row by row, you'd use an Autonumber Column in the Source sheet and add a so-called helper column to manually add the row ID on as many rows as you think you need in the Destination sheet.

https://help.smartsheet.com/function/vlookup
https://help.smartsheet.com/function/index
https://help.smartsheet.com/function/match

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Angie Hatfield

Andree,

Thank you. I will give it a try.👍️

Angie

Andrée Starå

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/441624#Comment_441624

Excellent!

You're more than welcome!

✅ Remember! Did my comment(s) help/answer your question or solve your problem? Please support the Community and me by marking it - Insightful 💡- Vote Up ⬆️ - Aweseome ❤️ - or/and as the accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer! I appreciate it, thanks!