Collections vs Work Apps

Tina Ciak

Hi Everyone! I've questioned whether or not to even post this, because I don't want to seem negative, but I'm having a really hard time understanding Collections.

When it popped up (randomly) a few months ago, I asked my Smartsheet team about it, and they really didn't have much information, but I was actually really excited to try it, because I often find myself having to create an "ADMIN" workspace to hide certain "behind the scenes" files from my users, however now that I've tried to use it, I just don't get it.

So, one KEY thing with it, is that you DO have to give access to your data sheet, and not just as view only. If you want someone to be able to edit a report in a collection, they have to have edit access to the sheet. This is not ideal.

Also, the ONLY place that I see you can find the link to the collection once you share it (outside of an email) is in the notifications. It's not like WorkApps, where you can click that icon on the sidebar and see all that you are shared to.

You also can't create folders within a Collection. This feature seems like it could be very useful, and who knows, maybe this is a me problem. Which is why I am reaching out.

Have any of you tried it and been successful? I'd love to hear your thoughts and how it's working for you.

Georgie

Hi @Tina Ciak,

Collections take the best of Workapps and bring that into workspaces, allowing you to share certain items from workspaces based on users’ roles. You can also have multiple admins managing a collection. However, Workapps are still useful for providing access without sharing Smartsheet items, as you’ve found.

To find a Collection they’re shared to, a user needs to go into the workspace that contains the Collection (check out the FAQ here).

For more information about Collections, take a look at the following learning track:

• Collections in workspaces

The release notes for Collections provide more context that you may find helpful as well:

• Introducing collections: Improved work solutions for specific purpose and scope
• Workspace Collections Are Here!

You might also find this comment on another Community thread helpful since it provides a detailed description of Collections.

Being able to create folders within a Collection is a great idea! I found a product idea for subfolders within collections - feel free to click the link and add your vote!  

Hope that helps!

Georgie