Option to Send Separate Email Notifications in Update Request Automation

Jenny Dawson Tibbits

We have several use cases where it would be very helpful to be able to choose whether email notifications are combined or sent separately.

For example, we are sending an Update Request to other departments for what is basically an approval, but they need the ability to edit fields and/or record additional information, not just record an approval/denial. We have this set up as an Update Request automation triggered on another cell in the sheet changing, and the subject/body of the message include specific fields in {{curly brackets}}. We also have selected "Specific Fields" to include with the message.

When multiple lines are triggered at once and the "to" email is the same, there is only one email notification going out with multiple requests in it. The approvers are requesting separate emails but that doesn't seem possible currently according to the help articles I reviewed.

It would be great if all the automations gave you the choice on how you wanted the emails to go- bundled or separate.

Interested if anyone has found a way around this pending an enhancement!

Jenny

Erica L.

When receiving an email alert for a new request received at an intake sheet, if more than 1 request came into the tracker during a specific time frame (say within 2 minutes of each other), we don't want the email notification to "combine" the information from those tickets into the one email. We want each to include just the details from the one ticket request it pertains to. This way the sheet owner can forward the email with the details for one specific ticket to the requestor to let them know status, vs. having to strip out details from other tickets contained in the same email alert. Can this be an enhancement request?

Stephanie Graham

This would be a huge help when we have multiple people working out of an inbox and we want to tag emails for people separately for processing. Now we have to separate the info with a note for individuals to manage parts of the email.

Andrée Starå

Hi @Erica L. @Stephanie Graham

I hope you're well and safe!

If you add a Placeholder field, it will be triggered in separate messages as long as no more than seven rows were triggered.

If six or fewer rows are triggered simultaneously, placeholders with Alert or Update Request actions in change-based workflows will generate separate notifications. The custom subject and body will be removed if seven or more rows are triggered at once.

Make sense?

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe, and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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Erica L.

Hell @Andrée Starå

Thank you for your feedback. I shared the issue a few times with my TAM, technical account manager and he said this was the expected experience. To have the tickets merge into one email when they come in close enough to each other. Wasn't always the case I thought however. We are already using placeholders in the message of the email sent. See attached screenshot. Is this what you're referring to? Doesn't seem to help as the message will just include 1 or more tickets in the same email.

Andrée Starå

@Erica L.

Happy to help!

Strange!

If there are fewer than six, it should be separate. Can you share a screenshot of the Workflow?

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Erica L.

@Andrée Starå: Sure, let me know if this helps:

mnamestkova

When you work with workflows and customized messages in workflows, the automation will generate separate notifications if six or fewer rows are triggered simultaneously. If seven or more rows are triggered at once, the system removes the custom subject and message body -> this merged notification results in the user receiving a table with no message body and the subject line defaults to the internal name of the workflow. This seems like a very poor design to me. Every single time this happens the user either ignores that merged notification or e-mails someone back to ask "What is it?" "What do you need me to do?"

A simple solution would be to let the Sheet Owner/Admin decide on their notifications merge functionality. Let us decide which once we want to merge as opposed to doing it automatically and dropping essential information, which in turn makes the notification itself confusing, if not worthless.

Until fixed, we're advising users to try to avoid the trigger of this merged notification by not triggering too many at a time. Essentially, this defies the purpose of Smartsheet creating that feature, doesn't it?

Thank you for your consideration.

Stephen_at_ODOC

Agreed. I have some recipients getting a single email that has multiple "reminders" stitched together. I really need each reminder sent as an individual email — NOT combined.

Drake Detwiler

Agree 100% with this! Not only is this hard when working with those outside of our department, but some of the reminders will get missed because they're lumped into one notification.

Stephen_at_ODOC

The best workaround I've been able to manage is to include an additional field for "day of the week for notification", with each notificiation that might be stitched together going out on a different day. They get a reminder for one item on Monday, a reminder for the next item on Tuesday, etc.

RuthF

Is there anyway to make it so that the recipient will receive separate notifications even if seven or more rows are triggered at once?

I have read in different posts that, "Placeholders will generate separate notifications when using placeholders with Alert or Update Request actions in change-based workflows if six or fewer rows are triggered simultaneously. If seven or more rows are triggered at once, the custom subject and body will be removed.", but I would like Smartsheet to generate separate notifications.

If this is not attainable, can the screen where the Update has to be performed contain the message from the Update Request email? As it is now, there is no message, only a blank field to enter data, but no way of differentiating from screen to screen (update request to update request)

Thanks ~ Ruth

Steffen C

Hi,

I understand from the automated alerts article that if seven or more rows are triggered simultaneously that the system removes the custom subject and body and combines it into a single notification.

I have a need to make sure that each notification still be sent out individually, so would hope to see an option to opt out of this automated combined notification.