Parent/child rows in a report even if not assigned to parent row

Question

I need to build out a report that pulls the below information:

Report needs to show the parent and child rows

-Parent is not assigned but child is assigned

-Parent is assigned and child is assigned

I am open to helper columns but everything I have tired is not working.

Formulas:

-Parent Helper: =COUNT(ANCESTORS())

-Assigned Helper: =IF(COUNT(CHILDREN([Assigned To]@row)) > 0, [Assigned To]@row, PARENT([Assigned To]@row))

Assigned Helper is only pulling form the parent assigned to not the child and I am unsure how to get this to populate in a report.

any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Alexis

AlexisJ · Answer

@jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp

So this worked perfectly but the more I play with it the more I realize I did not give all of the information.

The columns, formulas, and report pulled as they should but when I add "Assigned To" has "Leonardo Cerna" the report breaks and no longer includes the parent and child.

Each person will have their own report and needs to show:

-Parent if assigned to Parent

-Parent if assigned to child and not parent

-child if assigned to child.

Do you have any guidance on this portion?

Main Sheet:

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/publish?EQBCT=7295db532ccd42bcb71ef3b834918c7d

Report:

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/publish?EQBCT=4eeef500b7274880b7c53435b3408417

Thanks,

Alexis

jmyzk_cloudsmart_jp · Answer

Hi @AlexisJ

You’re running into a common limitation with reports — they evaluate rows individually, not as parent/child groups. So the key is to shift the logic into helper columns at the sheet level and “flag” the entire hierarchy.

What worked for me was building a set of helper columns that identify whether either the parent or any of its children are assigned, then using that to pull both parent and child rows into the report.

Parent/child rows in a report - Smartsheet.com

Here’s the approach:

[is Parent]
 =COUNT(CHILDREN()) > 0

[Parent is assigned]
 =AND([is Parent]@row, NOT(ISBLANK([Assigned To]@row)))

[Child is assigned]
 =COUNT(CHILDREN([Assigned To]@row)) > 0

[Assigned Parents' Children]
 =PARENT([Either Parent or Child is Assigned]@row)

[Either Parent or Child is Assigned]
 =OR([Parent is assigned]@row, [Child is assigned]@row, [Assigned Parents' Children]@row)

How this works:

* Flags parents that are assigned
* Flags parents who have assigned children
* Pushes the flag down to children via PARENT()
* Results in a single column that marks the entire parent/child group

Then, in your report, just filter:

[Either Parent or Child is Assigned] = true

Result:

* If the parent is assigned → parent + all children appear
* If any child is assigned → parent + all children appear
* If neither → nothing appears

This gives you a “group-level” result even though reports are row-based.

Hope this helps — this pattern has worked well for grouping parent/child logic in reports