Background Color Formatting: Only Change First Row Background

brockswiftly

Hi there,

I'm trying to format a single cell in the first row of a sheet using the python sdk. I'm finding that all subsequent cells in that column show the same color despite no format being applied to them. I have tried changing the format string of them but they still seem to "inherit" the color of the first row. How can i avoid this?

jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp

Hi @brockswiftly

To avoid unintentional format inheritance in Smartsheet, you need to explicitly clear or set the format property for every cell in the column, not just the first row. Smartsheet uses a cascading format system where unformatted cells can appear to "inherit" formatting from cells above them if their format is not explicitly defined.

That said, if you're only trying to apply a background color to a specific cell (like the first row, first column), make sure you're only modifying that single cell and not re-applying the format to all others.

Here’s a minimal working example that only changes the background color of the first cell in the first row:

# Get the sheet

sheet = smartsheet_client.Sheets.get_sheet(

    sheet_id,

    include=["format"]

)


first_row = sheet.rows[0]

first_cell = first_row.cells[0]  # Adjust index or use column_id as needed


# Create a row object to update

new_row = smartsheet.models.Row()

new_row.id = first_row.id


# Create the new cell with background formatting

formatted_cell = smartsheet.models.Cell()

formatted_cell.column_id = first_cell.column_id

formatted_cell.value = first_cell.value

formatted_cell.format = ",,,,,,,,,27,,,,,,1,"  # Your desired background color


new_row.cells.append(formatted_cell)


# Send the update

response = smartsheet_client.Sheets.update_rows(sheet_id, [new_row])

brockswiftly

Hi,

Thanks for this! I was trying to use null or just the empty format string ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but that wasn't working. The clarification makes sense now and is working as I now expect.

bh

jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp

Hi @brockswiftly

To avoid unintentional format inheritance in Smartsheet, you need to explicitly clear or set the format property for every cell in the column, not just the first row. Smartsheet uses a cascading format system where unformatted cells can appear to "inherit" formatting from cells above them if their format is not explicitly defined.

That said, if you're only trying to apply a background color to a specific cell (like the first row, first column), make sure you're only modifying that single cell and not re-applying the format to all others.

Here’s a minimal working example that only changes the background color of the first cell in the first row:

# Get the sheet

sheet = smartsheet_client.Sheets.get_sheet(

    sheet_id,

    include=["format"]

)


first_row = sheet.rows[0]

first_cell = first_row.cells[0]  # Adjust index or use column_id as needed


# Create a row object to update

new_row = smartsheet.models.Row()

new_row.id = first_row.id


# Create the new cell with background formatting

formatted_cell = smartsheet.models.Cell()

formatted_cell.column_id = first_cell.column_id

formatted_cell.value = first_cell.value

formatted_cell.format = ",,,,,,,,,27,,,,,,1,"  # Your desired background color


new_row.cells.append(formatted_cell)


# Send the update

response = smartsheet_client.Sheets.update_rows(sheet_id, [new_row])

brockswiftly

Hi,

Thanks for this! I was trying to use null or just the empty format string ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but that wasn't working. The clarification makes sense now and is working as I now expect.

bh

jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp

Happy to help!😁