Select which columns to copy or move from one sheet to another

As part of the automation it is possible to copy or move a row from a source sheet to a destinatio0n sheet. At this point all columns are copied/moved, and if a column do not exist it will be created in the source sheet.

The request for this improvement, is to allow the admin or owner of a sheet to select which columns needs to be copied or moved. This will allow for having sheets with more detailed and sensitive information, whilst a second sheet is used for sharing with customers, employees, etc. but only containing information to be shared.

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Comments

vinjett

Moving all the columns often causing the "cells limit reached" issue. Which could be solved by being able to selectively move or copy rows in the automation setup.

Chris_C

This would be a huge benefit for my team. While I know that INDEX and Datashuttle are potential options, I'm looking for something simpler.

Being able to select (or even map) copied columns and automating a copy of those columns using a manual trigger (like a checkbox for "Copy to target sheet"), would save my team quite a bit of time because we don't need (or want) all columns from the source sheet moving to the target sheet.

Danielle Wilson

@Chris_C You might want to look into DataMesh! It does this, particularly if you make the source a report (where you're filtering against items that are checked).

Chris_C

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/458771#Comment_458771

Based on what I've seen Data Mesh requires some form of unique ID to already exist in both places, correct?

Our use case is new team member information being submitted, then we need to have them transferred to a new sheet manually to track onboarding requirements. Not everyone added to the main sheet needs to be onboarded and we will not already have their employee ID (nor do we want it) in the target sheet to match with the source. At the start, the unique ID could be anything from their name, position code, or employee ID. We may have all of that information, but we many also only have one of them (and need to track down the rest).

Instead, I'd like to be able to click a checkbox when I decide someone needs some sort of onboarding help, then have it shift over common fields like name, manager, team, project, start date, location, etc.

Samuel Mueller

DataMesh can add a row if the unique value does not exist on the target sheet. You can also use a report as a source so you can control when a record gets sent via checkbox or something assuming you set the report filter up accordingly.

But it is true you need to determine a unique column at least on the source sheet.

jgleason

We use Move and Copy Row automation in many of our processes. One 'unfortunate' component of a Copy\Move action is that the ENTIRE ROW-all columns of data- must be handled in one package. Wouldn't it be great, if I could tell the automation specific columns to move forward?

Example: Copy\Move entire row out of sheet one, but only populate specified fields in sheet 2.

This would allow me to set conditions to "Pass Data Along", but not have to send all the data related to Process #1 into Process #2. Our example is a Universal Schedule, that, once a condition is met can pass along core data to several downstream schedules based on project status point being reached.

Rich Coles

Hi @jgleason - I achieve this using Data Shuttle, although I appreciate this maybe not a helpful answer if you don't have Data Shuttle, but maybe give it a trial… I've done a video demonstrating it in action https://youtu.be/sf7zLNQRGI8

ksunday

This would be a very helpful feature. Oftentimes we want a row to be moved or copied to another sheet (and usually have an Automation set up to do this for us when a specific Condition is met), but we do not need all columns from the original sheet to move/copy over. This lends to our secondary sheet having unneeded data that we have to Hide. Being able to select which columns are actually moved/copied, would save time and make our secondary sheet more specific to its purpose.

degerax0

For the copy/move row actions in an automated workflow, it would be nice to specify only specific columns to be copied/moved over to the destination sheet. For a lot of my sheet-to-sheet workflows, I have columns in my origin sheet which serve no purpose in the destination sheet. Even though I can hide those columns in the destination sheet, the feature would be nice to keep my destination sheet as tidy as possible.

JRudd

I love the automation to move over rows automatically, but being able to choose which columns data is moved from would be ideal.

We use a sheet to track our recruitment efforts (with interview dates and other information) but when we hire someone, we don't need all the misc. dates and information to come into our current employee sheet.

Monique Odom Stearn

Agreed - I like that I can use Datamesh to update my chosen columns across sheets, but it would be AWESOME if we could copy or move specific columns as part of an automation in the core functionality!

degerax0

It would be great if a user could block a row ID from moving with the row when copied/moved to another sheet. Either by allowing a user to select which columns are included in copy/move row automations, thus allowing a user to exclude an auto number column, and/or adding an optional configuration for auto number columns that overwrites existing row IDs that are copied/moved over from another sheet. There have been a number of times where not having this ability has prevented me from setting up a sheet-to-sheet workflow to accomplish a specific task. The simplest example is when I use an automation that effectively duplicates a row by first copying it to a helper sheet, which has its own automation that immediately moves the row back. This only works if I don't have a need in my sheet for unique row IDs.

THS Jen

We are facing the same here in that we desperately need an easy way to copy specific row data from one sheet to another without the use of lookups and helper sheets. Would be fantastic if this was on the radar of Development!

thoughtfirestudio

Hey, if anybody is still looking at this thread - we're actually building a Chrome extension called Hypesheet with a "Data Sync" feature that aims to solve this exact problem!

I noticed so many comments about needing to selectively copy columns between sheets, especially in automated workflows. We're designing our extension to let you pick specific columns when transferring data, keeping your destination sheets clean and focused.

Just curious - would preserving comments and attachments during these selective transfers be important for your workflows?

We'd love to make sure we're building something that actually solves your pain points. If anyone's interested in testing early versions or providing input on the feature, feel free to reach out!

David Bernal
david@thoughtfire.studio

Founder | ThoughtFire studio
thoughtful technology for humans

JBG

Hi @David Bernal

This would be a great feature. I would say no. The areas where I need it, would only want row data to be copied. Attachments and comments are normally needed in situations when creating archive sheets, and then the current automation workflow is sufficient.

Long winded answer, but NO.

Regards,

Hannes Greyling

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