Proofing While Hiding Columns

Hey Smartsheet community,

We want to utilize the proofing feature with our customers while in the same sheet hiding specific columns just from the customer (while allowing our team to see those columns).

Dynamicview does not appear to allow for proofing, and a report would require sharing the entire base sheet.

External proof requests seems to fall short as we want the customer to see the columns in the basesheet + revision history which external proof requests do not include.

Does anyone have any ideas? Is there maybe a way to link proofs between sheets so we could have a customer sheet + internal sheet?

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jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp

Hi @BenNoble

I’ve worked on a similar setup before, and here’s a workaround that could help you maintain visibility into proofing activity while keeping internal columns hidden from the customer:

1. Create a separate "Customer Sheet"
In this sheet, only include the fields you want the customer to see — for example, file name, proof, due date, etc.
👉 In the customer sheet, add an ID column (e.g., 1, 2, 3...100) to serve as a unique identifier per row, and use this to pull corresponding data from your internal sheet.

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/publish?EQBCT=f6d96e5e2ad84cc5b3e5a195b2da6302 (Note: The Published sheet does not show the proof menu)

2. Add an editable column for customers
Include a "Customer Note" or "Feedback" column that allows customers to update their information. This enables communication while preserving the integrity of your internal data.
👉 Use VLOOKUP or INDEX(MATCH(...)) in other columns to retrieve up-to-date data from the internal sheet based on the ID.

[Primary Column] =IFERROR(VLOOKUP([Row ID]@row, {Proofing While Hiding Columns : Vlookup Range}, 2, false), "")

[Show Column1] =IFERROR(VLOOKUP([Row ID]@row, {Proofing While Hiding Columns : Vlookup Range}, 3, false), "")

[Show Column2] =IFERROR(VLOOKUP([Row ID]@row, {Proofing While Hiding Columns : Vlookup Range}, 4, false), "")

3. Automate change tracking in the customer sheet
Set up an automation that updates a "Note Date" field when the "Customer Note" is modified.
💡 Since proofing alone doesn’t update "Modified By" or "Modified Date," this is your trigger for detecting activity.

4. Build a combined report for your team
Create a report that pulls data from both the internal and customer sheets. Use grouping by primary column (e.g., file name or ID) to organize related entries together.

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/publish?EQBCT=c0d2732e86114b7a8a89454611f51fa1 (Note: The Published report does not show the proof menu)

5. Share the report and both sheets with your team
This way, your team can view both internal details and customer-facing content while ensuring that sensitive columns remain private.

6. Access proofs via the report
Your team will be able to open the proof files attached to the customer sheet directly through the report.

7. Monitor customer activity via automation
If a customer edits the note column, the timestamp will be displayed in the "Note Date" field, providing your team with a visible sign of engagement.

8. Alternatively, ask customers to @mention your team
While proofing doesn’t update system columns, you can encourage customers to @mention team members directly in the proof comments, which sends them an email notification and makes the activity easier to track manually.

Note: Proofing interactions do not trigger Smartsheet’s system columns, such as "Modified Date" or "Modified By." This method helps you stay informed.

BenNoble

@jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp Thanks for the detailed idea! I never considered having multiple sheets roll up into one report. I'm going to create a mock-up and get some other teammates thoughts on it.

Thanks!

jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp

Feel free to reach out to me anytime if you need support or have questions — always happy to help.😁

Heather White

Is there a way to have a box pop up that requires a reason for the update or change so you can track/log? Sometimes i have dates that are updated many times and having a log to remember why they were updated and where i can reference the change would be helpful. is this possible and how would i set it up? @jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp

jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp

Hi @Heather White

Great question! While Smartsheet doesn't support pop-up boxes to require a reason before a change, here are some practical options:

Pop-ups aren’t possible in Smartsheet.
The best approach is to use the proof comment panel. When you invite your customer to review a proof, ask them to include the reason for any requested change directly in their comment — for example: “Remove this — reason: confidential information.” This keeps everything clear and visible in the proof UI.
I’ve built a solution that pulls row comments (not proof comments) into a central view for tracking*, but since customers usually want to stay in the proof interface, it may not be the best fit here.
You could also create a workflow that triggers when a customer marks “Required Change” in the proof — it can send an update request asking them to fill in a “Reason for Change” column. However, if they’ve already written the reason in the proof comment, this feels redundant.

(*)

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/480345#Comment_480345

So overall, encouraging clear proof comments during the review process is the most effective and seamless method.

Heather White

thank you, @jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp

Heather White

@jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp when you say "proof" comment, you really mean just the comment section? when i clicked on the proof, it was more of an upload. And how do i pull a report for comments for specific tasks for tracking?

jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp

Hi @Heather White

The comments or discussions I am talking about is like the one on the right side of the image below.

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/proofs/sheets/rP7p9x93CWC4M6G5M6c5rmCCxrQR78hcP8cJ54V1/proofs/9Vx6FM2h4j6g3MM8C59vM98wPpqPJfPw88p8FVc1

In Smartsheet, it is not possible to get that information into the Sheet.

If you use the Smartsheet API, you can get the information and even populate it into the sheet.

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