Moving Attachments Across Sheets

suzanne.fitzpatrick88451

I have a situation where I need to be able to move attachments across sheets as part of our workflow. I've looked into using Automation and Data Mesh and don't see how I can do this without Automation→ move row functionality. I don't want to move the whole row, just the attachments. I'm already using Data Mesh to connect the data between sheets, now I have an issue with getting the attachments to sync. Any suggestions?

jessica.smith

@suzanne.fitzpatrick88451 do you have access to Bridge?

suzanne.fitzpatrick88451

I don't think we do. I have our product owner double-checking now.

kowal

hi @suzanne.fitzpatrick88451,

I remember I had similar task once (actually it was only to save all the attachments to one place in GoogleDrive) and I used Zapier for that.

It was bit complicated at first but I managed to save every Attachment that was added to Smartsheet bo be saved in Selected GoogleDrive folder so I am sure you can also use it to move Attachments between sheets.

it was sth like that: https://community.zapier.com/troubleshooting-99/unable-to-file-smartsheet-attachments-to-google-drive-on-my-zap-25671

suzanne.fitzpatrick88451

Just to clarify, I'm looking to use automation to move attachments at the row level when a task is completed in a workflow. I want to be able to move the entire row, INCLUDING the attachments from one sheet to another automatically. We don't have Bridge. I don't see a way to do it using traditional built-in automation or Data Mesh. I'm looking for other suggestions and if anyone else has ever successfully been able to do it. Thank you!

MedaUser

Hi @suzanne.fitzpatrick88451,

I want to make sure I'm not providing similar answers as above. Your initial post says that you DO NOT want to move the entire row whereas your most recent comment says that you DO want to move the entire row. If you want to move the entire row, are you saying the attachment is NOT flowing with it?

suzanne.fitzpatrick88451

@MedaUser you are correct. I'll modify my latest post. I already am moving my row details, I just need the attachments to keep up. We don't have a lot of the add-on apps at my work so I have an old school mess of sheets going on to support my multi-team workflow and uploaded documents come in from 2 teams that are using 2 different sheets and I'm trying to get everything to sync in a master sheet where the majority of automation is currently set up.

suzanne.fitzpatrick88451

I guess I can't edit my prior post. Thank you for clarifying!

MedaUser

@suzanne.fitzpatrick88451 No problem! Back to your issue though, I may not be following. When workflow triggers to move or copy a row, it should be pulling the attachment along with the row details. I just tested this and it worked for me. Is there something I may be missing to replicate your issue?

suzanne.fitzpatrick88451

@MedaUser right, so my final step in my workflow moves a row to the completed sheet. But I have 3 sheets that feed into a master sheet. Right now, I'm only able to sync up the fields in those sheets because when I originally tried to use copy row, it would duplicate instead of just updating the row. So I am using Data Mesh to keep the fields in sync between the Master sheet and it's "children" if you will. What I haven't been able to accomplish is to move attachments from those 3 children sheets into the master without moving an entire row.

I've tried automation, Data Mesh, and I don't think Data Shuttle is an option here. We don't have Bridge or most add-ons. Right now I'm doing it manually and I wanted to try and automate it, if possible.

Thanks for digging into it further. I hope this better explains it.

MedaUser

@suzanne.fitzpatrick88451 Yes, I'm following now. Sorry for the drawn out responses without a good answer. I'm not sure I know of a way that would accommodate what you're trying to do. Good luck though! Many more people in community here that are smarter and more experienced that me! 😊

Isaac A.

Hi @suzanne.fitzpatrick88451! 

I've checked, and currently, there isn’t a way to use Smartsheet’s automated workflows to move only attachments without moving the entire row. If this functionality would be helpful to your workflow, I'd recommend submitting a feature request to the Product team by creating an Idea post in the Smartsheet Product Feedback and Ideas topic.

Another option might be leveraging the Smartsheet API to achieve this, though it can be complex depending on your specific needs. I've also found a couple of related discussions in the Community you may find helpful:

• Copy/Move Attachments between sheets
• Is there any way to move attachments from one row/sheet to another sheet?

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Isaac.