Alert Someone Automation Stopped Working

I have a simple sheet with no formulas I use to track the setup of new items for sale. In that form I have two main types of automation.

"Alert Someone" when a calendar date is entered in the "Arrival Date" field it is supposed to alert 5 users that the item is expected. This has worked without issue.
"Alert Someone" when checkbox "Setup Complete" is checked it is supposed to notify the correct order fulfillment department that the item is setup and ready. This is the one I am having issues with.
1. First time I setup I had the alert reference "Department" field and had 4 unique alerts for different department contacts. This worked for a brief while then stopped.
2. After searching around here I saw a recommendation that multiple alerts referencing the same action may cause an issue. So I condensed into a single alert for all departments. This worked one or two times, but then stopped again. When I run a test on this alert it works fine.

Edit to clarify - I originally had the "Setup Complete" checkbox tied to both the alert and a Move Row to Another Sheet action. I thought that might be an issue so I also added a secondary checkbox to move the row. This did not solve the alert issue.

Stumped on this one as I have other sheets with a similar setup to the original that work just fine and the calendar date has never given me an issue.

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Isaac A.

Hi @shiggins990!

Here are some steps and considerations to help troubleshoot your automation issue:

Notification Preferences: Are you testing with your own contact as part of the Department contacts? If so, check your personal notification preferences in Smartsheet. Make sure the box labeled "Include my changes in sheet notifications" is checked. If it’s unchecked, and you triggered the alert, Smartsheet would filter it out since it assumes you don’t need to be notified of your own actions.
Triggering the Checkbox: How is the "Setup Complete" checkbox being checked? If it’s triggered by cross-sheet formulas or cell-links, the automation won’t execute if there are additional actions in the workflow. For more information, see Trigger blocks: When your workflow is executed.
Workflow Loops: It sounds like there are multiple workflows in your sheet. Could this workflow be deactivating because it’s creating a loop with another workflow? You can test this by deactivating other workflows temporarily to see if it resolves the issue.

If these steps don’t resolve the problem, it would be very helpful if you could share:

A screen capture of your workflow setup.
A screen capture of the workflow in the Manage Workflows section to check when it was last run.

Just make sure to blur any sensitive information. Having these details will make it easier for us to assist further.

I hope this helps!

Cheers,
Isaac.

shiggins990

Hi @Isaac A.

I am using my own contact, but my preferences are setup correctly and no one else on the distro list is receiving.
No formulas used in checking the box. When user is done filling out the relevant information they simply check the box in the field.
All workflows are independent of each other. "Arrival Date" alert works when user sets the calendar field to a particular date.

Workflow posted below hoping you can help.

Isaac A.

Hi @shiggins990!

Thanks for sharing the screenshot of your workflow! After testing a similar setup, I found a few key points that might help:

Trigger Type: Try using "When rows are added or changed" instead of just "changed." With the current setup, if a row is added, you'll need to save the sheet first and then make edits before marking the checkbox to trigger the automation.
Notification Preferences: The only time I was able to reproduce your issue was when "Include my changes in sheet notifications" was unchecked in personal settings. Please double-check that this option is enabled.

Recreating the Workflow: If the issue persists, try duplicating or recreating the workflow to see if that resolves it.

If none of these steps work, I recommend reaching out to our Support team for further troubleshooting in a private channel.

I hope this helps!

Cheers,
Isaac.

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