Seat type report - what is an "edit"?

A&W Admin

Hi all,

I ran our Seat Type report as part of the true up, and I noticed that a single user has made almost 550,000 edits in Smartsheet in the past 365 days. This is not a power user, the user account doesn't create items. I have 3 other outliers in the 10,000-20,000 range. So now I'm curious, what constitutes an edit in this report? If you change a cell that is linked elsewhere does every link update count as an edit?

I'm quite perplexed, and wondering if we have a set up challenge with some of our sheets that are causing issues. Has anyone ever delved into this and can share some insights?

Melissa Yamada

Seeing 550k edits for a single user can definitely be surprising, but it’s usually not a behavior issue. In the Seat Type report, an “edit” counts any write to a sheet attributed to a user — not just manual typing. This includes form submissions, automations, formulas that overwrite values, Data Shuttle or Control Center writes, API/integration updates, and especially cell link updates. If one cell is linked across multiple sheets, a single change can generate hundreds or thousands of edits. Non-power users often show up as outliers because they own automations, submit high-volume forms, or edit heavily linked source sheets. High edit counts usually reflect sheet design and automation, not misuse. To check, review linked sheets, automation ownership, form usage, and any integrations running under that account.