Automated Workflow Not Triggering as Expected in Delegate Sheet

I have two different sheets, and I'm facing an issue with automation triggers not behaving consistently.
- The Main Sheet contains all data and approvals. I set up an automated workflow to send reminders every second day to approvers who haven't checked their assigned tasks. This works perfectly without manual intervention.
- Delegate Sheet: Contains approvers with an option to delegate tasks when they are on holiday (with an expiration date). I created a formula to detect when the delegation expires and set up an automation to trigger when that happens. The expected behavior is:
- The workflow identifies that the delegation has expired.
- It sends a notification.
- It clears the delegation and restores the default approver.
The Issue
Unlike the reminder workflow in the Main Sheet, the automation in the Delegate Sheet only runs when I open the sheet in the morning. It doesn’t trigger automatically in the background, even though both workflows are set up with the same logic.
I also tested scheduling the automation to run at the same time daily, but it still does not execute unless I manually open the sheet.
What I’ve Tried
- Confirmed that the automation settings are identical to the working workflow in the Main Sheet.
- Used different trigger types, including "When a date is reached" and "When a cell changes."
- Set a scheduled automation to run every day at the same time.
Questions
- Why does the automation only trigger when I open the Delegate Sheet?
- Is there a way to force Smartsheet to detect the expiration date change without manual intervention and it should run in the background?
- Could there be a limitation related to formulas not being considered as a "change" in automated workflows?
Thank you for your help!
Best Answer
-
Hello @Kevin1894!
I've ran into this issue a few times and it is very frustrating! I found this article helpful when troubleshooting: Trigger blocks: When your workflow is executed | Smartsheet Learning Center
I've also tried the time-based settings for sending notifications and continued to have issues. As a workaround, I added a "Record Date (Helper) Column with a time-based workflow that updates the date on the sheet every day. The update to the sheet, allows my notification workflows to run without opening she sheet daily. It seems a little silly but works beautifully.
Michelle Cullen
Answers
-
Hello @Kevin1894!
I've ran into this issue a few times and it is very frustrating! I found this article helpful when troubleshooting: Trigger blocks: When your workflow is executed | Smartsheet Learning Center
I've also tried the time-based settings for sending notifications and continued to have issues. As a workaround, I added a "Record Date (Helper) Column with a time-based workflow that updates the date on the sheet every day. The update to the sheet, allows my notification workflows to run without opening she sheet daily. It seems a little silly but works beautifully.
Michelle Cullen
-
Hi @mcullen!
Thank you so much for your answer. I used this solution in a different sheet earlier, because I needed a time stamp, but I didn't know that it helps to run the flow correctly.
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