Need some help linking an entire column in a Master Summary Sheet to all my existing projects

I have Control Center and a few different master summaries. I created a new master summary and want to include all existing projects. I copied one of my existing Master Summaries but there are a couple columns that were missing from the one I copied, but it's the closest to what I need so I am stuck with it.

So I manually added the column and now want to link every cell in the column to the data that is in each project summary. Is there a way to do that? That column already exists in a different Master Summary, but I can just copy and paste the column. And I prefer not to use a formula to grab the data (like Index/Match)… I'd prefer it be linked.

I am adding the new master summary to my blueprint so new rows should have that column linked, but I want all the existing rows to be linked as well.

Any help is appreciated.

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mcarlson

In Smartsheet Control Center, when you add a new column to a Master Summary and want to link it to existing projects’ data, you can achieve this by manually configuring Cell Links or using Global Updates if available. Here’s how to proceed:

Method 1: Manually Link Cells in the Master Summary (For Existing Projects)

Open the Master Summary: Go to your Master Summary sheet where you added the new column.
Set Up Cell Linking:
- In the new column, select the cell you want to link.
- Click Cell Linking in the toolbar, then select Link from Cells in Other Sheets.
- Navigate to the specific project summary where this data is stored, select the cell you want to link to, and create the link.
- Repeat this process for each project row in the Master Summary.

This approach can be time-consuming if you have many existing rows, but it’s a direct way to link existing project data without formulas.

Method 2: Use Control Center’s Global Updates (If Available)

If you have Global Updates enabled in Control Center, you can automate this linking across multiple projects:

Access Global Updates: Go to your Control Center and open the Global Updates section.
Add the New Column to the Global Template:
- Add the new column to the project template you’re using, if you haven’t already. This ensures future projects will include the new column automatically.
Apply Global Update to Existing Projects:
- Configure a Global Update to apply the new column and linking configuration to all existing projects in the program. This will propagate the new column and any links or settings to your current Master Summary without manual linking.
Run the Update: Run the update across all relevant projects to implement the changes.

Method 3: Use a Third-Party Automation Tool (e.g., Smartsheet API or Zapier)

If you have a large number of projects and want to automate linking, consider using a third-party tool or the Smartsheet API. This approach requires some setup but can help link each row in your Master Summary to the corresponding project data.

With these options, you should be able to add and link the new column to all existing project summaries in your Master Summary without manually recreating each link. Let me know if you need further details on any of these methods!

Steven Sawyer

I wanted to use method 2… add a new column to existing projects… but it wants to add a column to a project template and I need to add a column to a master summary. The data I want to link already exists in a project template, the project summary template, in one cell in an existing column. So I need to add a column to a master summary and then link each corresponding cell in that column, in each row in the master summary, to the once existing cell in each project summary file that already exists.

Possible?

Isaac A.

Thanks @mcarlson! for the detailed suggestions!

Hi @Steven Sawyer, you're correct—you'll need to add the column to the project template when using Method 2. This is necessary for Global Updates to work as intended. For more details, you can check these articles:

Additionally, you might find DataMesh useful for your case. It enables you to map data across multiple sheets by linking based on specified lookup values, ensuring consistency and saving time on manual updates. DataMesh can also help populate cells in one sheet with data from another while avoiding duplicates.

You can read more about it here: DataMesh Overview.

I hope this helps!

Cheers,
Isaac.

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