DataTable changing information in unmatched cells?

Natalia Kataoka

Hello. I have setup a DataTable to popluate a log I use to track approved invoices by job. I thought it was working fine, but have noticed that the fields I am NOT matching (and which contained formulas, text, or other references) have their contents deleted. I am using the filter option.

In addition, the filter criteria (I use Job No = Job No) ends up changing the match field to add an apostrophe before my text. For example, my column Job No. contains 12345, when the DataTable connection runs and matches based on Job No, the field ends up changing to '12345.

Is this by design? I need other information in the unmatched fields and having to repopulate those every time the DataTable runs is tedious and confusing. Am I missing something? Is there a way to tell the DataTable connection to leave all other fields alone?

See below a row that was populated, filtering on Job No, but the field now contains " ' " before the number. Green is the info that is populated by the table. Notice that I have the Assigned to column pre-populated in rows above, but that contact is now missing from the row that was populated by the table. Not shown are 3 formulas in other columns that are now missing, as well.

Isaac A.

Hi @Natalia Kataoka!

There are a few key considerations to keep in mind when working with DataTable connections, especially when you notice that certain fields or formatting behave unexpectedly. Here are some points worth checking:

• Data flow direction: DataTable syncs one way, from your DataTable into the connected sheet. Changes made in the sheet do not sync back to the DataTable.
• Lookup mode behavior: When using Lookup mode, any changes made directly in the sheet are overwritten with data from the DataTable so that your sheet always matches what’s stored in the DataTable. Because of this, mapped columns become locked to prevent edits—this is expected behavior.
• Column type alignment: Verify that your column types match between the DataTable and the target sheet. For example, if your Job No field is a number, both sides should be Text/Number.
  • DataTable doesn’t interpret special characters such as commas, currency symbols, or percent signs as numbers.
  • Always format percentages as decimal values (for example, 0.5 instead of 50%).
  • If the data is stored as a string, Smartsheet adds a leading apostrophe ('12345) to indicate it’s being treated as text.
  • In cases where the target column type doesn’t match the incoming data (e.g., the DataTable sends a number to a dropdown column), Smartsheet will also display the apostrophe.

For additional detail, you can refer to these help articles:

• Get started with DataTable
• Create and populate a DataTable
• DataTable FAQs

If you’ve verified all of the above and still see the same behavior, we’ll need a bit more detail to test and reproduce the issue. Please include:

• A screenshot of your connection mapping screen
• Your key configuration and connection type or mode
• The column properties for Job No, your formula columns, and any contact columns

(Just make sure to blur or remove any sensitive data before sharing.)

Once we have that, we can better understand what’s happening in your setup and help you fine-tune it.

Cheers,
Isaac.