Email a row needs to have comments saved in comments box and link to row in email

Mark Bonham

When using the Email row the functionality is excellent but the comments are saved in the comments box of the row automatically.  Receivers of the email tend to just reply on the email as opposed to going to the row.  

 

Two suggesitons;

1.  Make sender and receiver email comments save automatically to the row in the comments box.

2. One the email sent out have the link to the actual row so the receiver can immediately jump to the related row on the smartsheet.

Thanks,
Mark

Stephanie Taylor

If you are using outlook as your email, Smartsheets just announced an outlook app that would allow you to add emails to the SS row.  Check it out, it's pretty cool.

Travis

Good suggestions Mark! Stephanie brings up a good idea - If you use Gmail or Outlook, you can update rows directly from the Send Row email. 

 

Here is my announcement on our new Outlook integration: https://community.smartsheet.com/announcement/smartsheet-outlook-here

 

Here is information on the Gmail contextual gadget: http://help.smartsheet.com/customer/portal/articles/863861-smartsheet-integration-with-google#Gmail 

Wanda Taylor

Travis - sooo close ...  We really need the Edit Rows in Smartsheet button at the TOP of the email not at the bottom.  It's great to have this feature within Gmail, however with it being at the bottom of the email, users have a tendency to read what they need or want and then click 'reply' to the email.  If the Edit this row button was at the top of the email, they would begin seeing  the contents of the row immediately and this would drive the behaviour for them to see and 'edit' within the email (instead of 'reply').

 

Can you make this happen?  It appears to be a template issue - the code is there, the location of the code is what could make the difference between SmartSheet adoption .. .and not.  I feel so close to getting our project teams on board and make liitle victories every day - this making it easy for others - as a major hurdle.

 

 

Mike Healey

Agree with Wanda, happens to me all the time, people do not realise they can edit and simply reply to email.

Travis

Hi Wanda, I can certainly see your use case for having the button located at the top of the email and will pass your suggestion along to our product team! 

Wanda Taylor

Thanks Travis, I am unfamiliar with Smartsheet product cycles - how agile is the team?  Days, Weeks, Months or Years for something of this scope.  Not expecting a commitment, ideally a SWAG.

 

Its a relatively small button - even in our gmail it's not so obtrusive that it would create issues for seeing the actual message below so I am hopeful 

Travis

Wanda, we typically release a new version of Smartsheet every 6 weeks. Unfortunately, I am not able to provide any information about when this specific request may be implemented. While we do take into account all user feedback, our development team has their own processes for choosing what they are going to develop and when. I have submitted your feedback to them but with all suggestions, there is not guarantee that it will be developed but it will be considered when they are looking at new features. 

Wanda Taylor

Excellent, thanks Travis - totally understood.

 

If it adds value to the prioritization conversation; even my most avid sheet users do not follow the edit rows link in the Update Request email - hence another reason asking for the higher visibiilty of edit this row in smartsheet 

 

Waiting with baited breath .  Appreciate the responsiveness

Chris79

I, too, think Wanda's suggestion is important. I vote for it!

Mike Lottridge

I agree. Another basic usability issue that there isn't a link back to the row & discussion in the email. I have to waste time copying and pasting the response back into the discussion thread since users that aren't enthralled with Smartsheet aren't going to 1) look up the link to the sheet the discussion is on 2) figure out what row they need to go to 3) click the discussion icon. 

 

Seriously, how hard is it to include a link and instructions on how to respond? 

Travis

Hi Mike, when you send a row, the Log In button in the email will bring you directly to the row in the sheet. Is that what you are looking for?

Mike Lottridge

Users simply aren't clicking login, since it appears to be ( and is ) easier for them just to reply to the email. I think Smartsheet needs to be more explicit. If there was a link that said "click to respond" at the bottom of the message, I think that alone would be a significant improvement. 

 

Although this sort of thing seems minor, it is a pain for people who are using Smartsheet with new users. I have to explain and convince people to use a new methodology, which frankly makes me less likely to use Smartsheet since it consumes time for me. Little things that make it obvious for new users what the next step is would only help improve adoption and make it less painful for your early adopters in an organization. 

 

 

Travis

Those are good points Mike! I will submit your feedback to our Product team. 

Mike Lottridge

One additional thought - if the reply-to address actually went to smartsheet and was pasted into the discussion tab automatically, that too might help, for users that won't change behavior easily. 

Travis

That is a suggestion we have heard in the past and I think it is a great idea! I'll add your vote for it.