How can somebody tweak or update info in a smartsheet form they have already submitted?

JamesRestore

My company are using a smartsheet form to collect product information from numerous companies that feed into our internal product database.

Some companies have already completed our product info data capture form, but have requested to tweak or update the entries they have completed, and they wish to add new additional information surrounding their products listed in our database.

Can anybody explain to me how I can send them a link to our data capture smartsheet form with the information they originally provided already completed. Or is my only option to send them a blank form and they will need to complete the full product data entry again from scratch?

Thanks in advance for any help / advice on this!

Kerry St. Thomas

The short answer? You can't do what you're hoping to do with a form. At least not how you're envisioning it. There IS another option, though!

Quick review on what a few objects are:
—A SHEET is a repository of information.
—A FORM collects NEW information to be stored in the SHEET.
—An UPDATE REQUEST automation allows for modification of EXISTING information already stored in the sheet.

So every time someone clicks "Submit" on a form, a NEW ROW is created. It won't CHANGE existing rows. So what you're thinking of up front wouldn't work. BUT if one of the data points you collected is an email address (which I'd assume you have, since you can send a link), you could set up an update request automation to trigger based on your business case needs. (On an annual cadence or whatever timeframe is appropriate, as a one-off that you can manually push out, or whatever.) The update request would send an email to designated address(es) - they'd have access to update the info even if they don't have Smartsheet accounts, just like Forms can do.

If this is going to be a regular occurrence, I can't recommend enough that you investigate Dynamic View. In a nutshell, Dynamic View allows you to create a form based on existing rows, filter those rows, designate which rows are read-only versus write-allowed, and provide free-flow updating by users based on their sharing.

Whichever way you decide to go, good luck!

JamesRestore

Hi Kerry,

Thank you for your prompt answer on this topic.

I have come across update requests, however this option is not particularly useful for us, as I believe this would mean we would need to provide many companies access to our master product inventory sheet on smartsheet, which has product information from a vast number of companies. Many of the companies listed on our master sheet would be in direct competition with each other, and we do not want competing companies to be able to see the rows of product listings that their competitors entered.

Is there a way I can do an update request, but hide all rows not relevant to the company I am requesting an update from?

I hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance for any help.

Andrée Starå

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/480541#Comment_480541

Hi,

I hope you're well and safe!

Yes, an Update Request can be set to show only the columns you'd like, and it can be shared with anyone without them having access to anything.

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe, and have a fantastic day!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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