Bridge Workflow Export

Matt Kirby

I have just recently found use cases where I needed Bridge. I created a sheet with unpivotted data. I have a love/hate relationship with the tool for now. I really like flexibility and power, what I don't like is how difficult it is to troubleshoot and in some ways manage the workflows. Seems to be some sensitive points that could break it. There are also not many documentation resources and the training is extremely basic.

My question is, is there a way to export the entire workflow as a JSON or some other format? I see people taking screenshots and copy/paste, but it would be extremely helpful if there was exposure to the structure of the completed workflow that could be exported and read by an LLM or the community that would give details about how the workflow was build and how it is working, or up until the point that it is broken.

Darren Mullen

@Matt Kirby Bridge workflows aren't portable, unfortunately. If you were moving accounts, maybe Smartsheet could move them on the backend with a special request, but otherwise, they are stuck where they are.

And you are correct that the flows can be hard to troubleshoot sometimes. Some of the error messages tell you what's going on, some are more cryptic.

Bridge is like just about every other Smartsheet feature. It could be really good, but it's left 70%-80% done for years without much if any updates….

Also, to do anything more than the simplest of flows, the JavaScript module really needs to be utilized.

I've come to leverage Power Automate more and more because it will do everything Bridge can do, plus more. Such as handling physical attachments, etc. And Smartsheet users don't need to have Enterprise. So many companies are already in the Microsoft ecosystem, and solutions built in Power Automate can be exported and imported between accounts. You don't have to use Microsoft services to use Power Automate, but because it's a Microsoft product, it's an easier sell to IT departments if you already to business with Microsoft vs adding in another 3rd party like Zapier or More.

I've done several sessions in my Smartsheet Guru Elite program covering Bridge concepts and users have the same complaints, such as lack of documentation. I've got a couple YouTube videos showing some Bridge workflows, but they aren't focused as much on troubleshooting.

That generally requires seeing the flows operating live and figuring it out. Sometimes screenshots give enough of the story, but not always.