Automation - Trigger an email submission from a cell change in a worksheet

LAW

I would like to email a volunteer that they have been approved for a position once I change their review status column to APPROVE. I would like to use a standard response.

I tried using automation…

<once row has changed>

when <x> column changes to <approved>and

<alert someone>

<send to contacts in a cell> then added the column name where the emails are stored

<send from triggering user>

<includes message only>

I also used unrestricted settings. For my test, I used my own row of data hoping the alert would be sent to the email specified in the <email> column on the worksheet next to my name.

The "alert" worked great but shows up in my smartsheets notifications rather than in my gmail - which is the email I have specified in the email column.

Since most of the volunteers are not smartsheet users, they will need an email sent to their email we have on file.

I thought perhaps I needed to have a different column with an email so I mocked up that but the automation did not recognize the column (did not show up as an option to check in the <send to contacts in a cell>)

Would it be different if I selected someone who did not have a smartsheets account or access to the underlying sheets or do I need to do something different?

Thank you.

jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp

Hi @LAW

Usually, when I alert someone with automation, the email alert takes time, while the Smartsheet notification arrives relatively faster. So, you may just have to wait for the email to arrive in your Gmail. (Read the Personal Settings Issue at the bottom for the "Personal Setting" issue that may have caused you not to receive an email.)

As for the different column with an email not showing up as an option, the column needs to be a contact column. However, as the test below shows, your  <x> column should work.

Here is my test results;

Sheet

Automation

Emails Received

Gmail account with no license in another account

licensed user in another account

non-smartsheet user

Personal Settings Issue

One possible cause is that in your "Personal Settings," you may have "Email" as your notification preference.

jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp

Hi @LAW

Usually, when I alert someone with automation, the email alert takes time, while the Smartsheet notification arrives relatively faster. So, you may just have to wait for the email to arrive in your Gmail. (Read the Personal Settings Issue at the bottom for the "Personal Setting" issue that may have caused you not to receive an email.)

As for the different column with an email not showing up as an option, the column needs to be a contact column. However, as the test below shows, your  <x> column should work.

Here is my test results;

Sheet

Automation

Emails Received

Gmail account with no license in another account

licensed user in another account

non-smartsheet user

Personal Settings Issue

One possible cause is that in your "Personal Settings," you may have "Email" as your notification preference.

LAW

This was insightful and detailed enough to trigger other ideas for use, so thank you for taking the time

All of my personal settings were both email and text. I never received any email alert, even overnight. When I deleted all the notifications to text and left all the emails, I received the notifications properly without too much of a time lag.

Is this perhaps a standard default - only send to the first one? I would think if both were checked, both would receive.

Also the changing the field to a contact type field solved the problem of the field not showing up.

jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp

Hi @LAW

As shown in the image of my personal settings, I select all three: Email, Mobile Push, and Messaging Apps.

I receive messages via all mediums;

• First, Smartsheet Notification.
• Second, Message App (Google Chat) and Mobile Push
• Last, Email.