Can I use a Contact column in one sheet to populate options for a Contact field in another sheet?

Hi all! I manage a sheet with a very long list of employees (500+) who have signed up for a program. I'm trying to create another sheet so that the program administrators can easily fill out a form to identify when an employee participates in a development event. I'd like the form to have the contact list from the master sheet so that administrators can start typing in the name and get the right employee, and that we can then use the contact list field for reporting. (We do have another unique identifier, but it would be harder for people to use because it's an 8 digit employee number that they'd have to look up each time). I have not been able to figure out how to use the contact list from the first sheet to populate options in the form on the second sheet. Any advice would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance!

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Best Answer

  • ChristianFinke
    ChristianFinke ✭✭✭✭✭
    Answer ✓

    @RAdamowicz

    Smartsheet doesn’t allow you to directly reference a Contact column from one sheet to populate options in a form on another sheet. However, you can work around this by exporting the Contact column from the master sheet and importing it into the new sheet as a dropdown list for the form. If you have Smartsheet’s Data Shuttle, you can set up an automated workflow to sync the Contact column from the master sheet to the new sheet. Or, you can periodically copy and paste the updated contact list into the new sheet to keep it accurate. Let me know if you need help setting this up!

    CHRISTIAN FINKE

    cfinke@digitalradius.com

    Schedule a Meeting

Answers

  • ChristianFinke
    ChristianFinke ✭✭✭✭✭
    Answer ✓

    @RAdamowicz

    Smartsheet doesn’t allow you to directly reference a Contact column from one sheet to populate options in a form on another sheet. However, you can work around this by exporting the Contact column from the master sheet and importing it into the new sheet as a dropdown list for the form. If you have Smartsheet’s Data Shuttle, you can set up an automated workflow to sync the Contact column from the master sheet to the new sheet. Or, you can periodically copy and paste the updated contact list into the new sheet to keep it accurate. Let me know if you need help setting this up!

    CHRISTIAN FINKE

    cfinke@digitalradius.com

    Schedule a Meeting

  • Thank you @ChristianFinke ! One of my coworkers actually just showed me that Data Shuttle workaround and helped me set it up! It's too bad you have to jump through hoops to get there, but it's a pretty neat solution. Thanks for your help!

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