Best method to update a project sheet

Ahmed Lazrak

Hello everyone!

I'm a project coordinator at a company specialized in manufacturing and installing irrigation systems, we have over 50 projects going on at the same time.

We're trying Smartsheet to check whether it suits our needs, we're looking for a way to let a user supervising the project to update the progress (%Complete) and indicate if there's an urgent situation (At Risk?) in the project sheet.

I've tried forms but the they only add new rows of data and can't update existing rows.

I've also tried using reports but the user has to have access to the original sheet and we want to avoid that because it contains financial data too.

is any workaround or a better method for doing this? 

Many thanks in advance

Andrée Starå

Hi Ahmed,

Depending on your specific setup and needs I would probably set up cell linking or use update requests. 

Please see the attached link/screenshot for more information.

Cell links

Update Requests

I hope this helps you!

Best,

Andrée Starå

Workflow Consultant @ Get Done Consulting

Ahmed Lazrak

Hi Andree

Thank you for your reply

I've checked cell linking, it lets you create a view-only sheet and link it with the original sheet, you can then update the original and it will update the view-only one automatically. In my case I'm looking for the opposite, I want the user to be able to update the original sheet and unfortunately cell linking doesn't work the other way around.

For update request, it's great for few updates here and there but when 50+ projects are going at the same time with progress made each day it will be bothersome to keep sending update requests.

I know I'm asking a lot, I just hoped there might be a similar case where someone found a workaround.

Thanks again

Ahmed

Andrée Starå

Happy to help!

What I was thinking was that you could have a cell link show the data and another cell link going back to the original sheet that can be changed.

Depending on the sensitivity of the other information there are ways to make it cumbersome to see.

The third option could be to use the new premium add-on Dynamic View where you decide specific views of the sheet with no possibility to see the other information.

Would any of those suggestions work?

Best,

Andrée

Ahmed Lazrak

I haven'y thought about cell linking in both ways, that might work, I will try it right away.

I will also check the add-on, if it turns out to be a better option I'll definitely go for it.

You've been a great help, thank you!

Andrée Starå

I'm always happy to help!

Here is a link with information about Dynamic View (updated link)

 

Let me know if I can help you in any other way!

Best,

Andrée

Paul Newcome

If you set someone to Editor permissions when sharing them, they cannot change locked cells or unhide any columns. Would either of those two options work for you? Just lock down the columns/rows they need to see but you don't want them editing and hide any columns with data you don't want them to see.

Andrée Starå

@Paul.

The risk is that you still can access all of the columns if you want. They are not secure.

Dynamic View is great for this use case.

Paul Newcome

@Andree

 

I have shared sheets to people as editor and they were unable to edit locked cells, and they couldn't "unhide" hidden columns.

 

If they need to see something but not edit, I lock it.

 

If they don't need to see it at all, I hide it.

Andrée Starå

@Paul

They can't edit, but they can see the information even if it's hidden in edit row and maybe even in send row. Also if they export to Google Sheets or Excel, they can unhide everything. 

Be cautious!

Paul Newcome

@Andree

 

Ah. Good thinking. Couldn't they also do the same with "Save as New"? Is that an option within Dynamic View?

 

I don't know much about the details concerning Dynamic View. Our use for it here doesn't justify the cost, so I haven't gotten to play with it at all.

Andrée Starå

Better late than never! 

No, there is no way to save as new in Dynamic View, so it's a secure solution. Also, if you need to use current user for data in a dashboard, you could use Dynamic View for that.

Hope that helps!

Paul Newcome

Hahaha. I think at this point "late" has become an understatement. 

 

Definitely good to know though. While I still can't justify the cost for Dynamic View, it's always nice to have just a little more knowledge. 

Andrée Starå

Haha!

Everything under one year is late, and everything over is ***! (I accidentally added your question to the wrong folder, obviously)

 

 

Paul Newcome

Hahahaha. Fair enough. 

Andrée Starå