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RIGHT NOW:
Implement a pop-up warning to alert someone and verify that they want to delete a row. You do it for unlocking rows, and that's nothing compared to deleting a row.
SOON:
Give us a new user level with edit access but no ability to delete rows
or make it impossible to delete a row if any cell in that row is locked (even if by column)
Currently, any editor can delete an entire row and there is now way to stop them. Restoring a row from a backup copy does NOT restore the cell histories or other tracking information related to the cells/comments/attachments/changes.
This is a long running issue. Please see the following posts:
June 2015
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/rows-being-removed
August 2015
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/revert-old-version-sheet
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/avoid-shared-person-delete-my-row
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/conditional-lock
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/find-deleated-items
October 2015
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/retrieve-deleted-data
January 2016
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/form-and-sheet-functionality-available-security-levels-users
February 2016
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/delted-section-my-worksheet-and-undo-button-does-not-go-back-far-enough
March 2016
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/prevent-deletion-rows-if-it-contains-locked-cells
May 2016
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/allowing-team-members-update-smartsheet
June 2016
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/prevent-deletion-rows-enhancement-request-again
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/delete-rows-employee-avoide-tasks-completion
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/deleted-rows-there-way-find-out-who
July 2016
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/historychange-deleted-rows
October 2016
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/block-rows-been-deleted-editor
February 2017
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/admin-deleted-bucket
March 2017
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/retrieving-lost-data
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/viewing-deleting-rows
June 2017
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/web-form-submissions-disappearing
July 2017
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/retaining-deleted-info
September 2017
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/external-collaboration-communication-outside-company-contacts
January 2018
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/adding-back-deleted-rows
March 2018
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/overwritten-sheet#comment-67946
June 2018
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/questions-new-user#comments
July 2018
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/retrieve-deleted-sheets
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/how-avoid-deleting-rowcolumn-smartsheet
August 2018
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/can-free-collaborator-delete-line
November 2018
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/activity-logrows-deleted#comment-124356
Again, remember that even with a ‘backup’:
1. You will not be able to restore any cell history.
2. You will not be able to put the comments back in with the correct layout. (time/date/user stamped, etc)
3. You will not be able to restore the original value of any system column where an index was created. (e.g. a unique ID or counter)
4. You most likely will not be able to restore the attachments correctly because even with a backup none of the attachments have markings to show what row they were attached to.
So yes, you may be able to restore the latest cell value, but you have lost so much.
This problem needs to be fixed, and is important, but has not been given the attention that it deserves. Please fix this Smartsheet.
Still a problem :(
I appreciate @Brad Jones staying on this topic for so many years and highlighting how vitally important it is. It is unfortunate we do not have a resolution yet.
How can we not have version history as we do on OneDrive or other cloud-based solutions? We have the ability to recover deleted sheets, but not recover previous versions of that sheet? The fact that you can irreversibly delete data from a sheet is INSANE to me.
The "solutions" so far have been to ask the user to spend more time setting up tedious redundancies, instead of fixing the actual problem. I don't see how Smartsheet can continue to develop expensive add-ons and sell their product successfully without fixing such a simple, yet glaring issues.
I love a lot of the functionality in Smartsheet but the amount of risk in storing data in this program is frankly unacceptable. It's only a matter of time before a big client is going to accidentally delete some very important data and have no way to get it back. This should be THE top priority for Smartsheet to fix, and if it can't be fixed, then I don't think the future of the company is very bright...
@Pierce Gonzalez
Thanks Pierce. I keep beating the drum, because they need to move on this topic!!!
Skeletal backups and poorly traced easily lost data are just a bad formula, and a major QA no-no.
As it stands, 7+ years and more than 43 separate forum threads in - and fully, completely, and unequivocally aware, Smartsheet still has the behavior that if someone can edit a single cell within a row of a sheet - they can delete the entire row! And, they can delete it without even getting a pop-up message to ask them if they're sure they want to delete it! (which is funny, because if they try to unlock it they get a pop-up - but if they try to delete it, they succeed without even being questioned)
And, as if it being absurdly easy to lose data wasn’t enough of a kick in the pants, they also still don’t have a true backup option available. Meaning, if you lose a sheet/row/etc – all they can provide you with is a flat excel sheet with a pile of unlinked attachments. All cell history, formatting, links, etc are gone gone gone.
Smartsheet: PLEASE do the following:
1. (stop-gap) IMMEDIATELY Implement a pop-up message whenever someone tries to delete a row. (this is already done for the 'unlock row' feature, and should be fast and easy enough to implement for 'delete row')
-zero impact on existing user rights, identical implementation across all user levels, minimal GUI impact
AND
2a. (solution) Implement a change to the software that will allow sheet owners to prohibit deleting any row that contains a locked cell/column.
OR
2b. (solution) Implement a new user level that is "Editor - safe" where the user has all the rights of an Editor but where the 'delete row' functionality is greyed out. (There is only one permission difference between 'Editor - cannot share' and 'Editor - can share', so the precedent is there.)
OR (new)
2c. Create a 'Contributor' user level that allows a person shared to the sheet to ADD (comments, attachments, cell notes) but not to SUBTRACT(delete) anything.
Here is my ongoing (and incomplete) list of how other Smartsheet users expressing their difficulties and concerns related to the inability to both allow easy collaboration and prevent data loss:
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/17346/adding-back-in-deleted-rows
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/27211/questions-from-new-user#comments
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/28431/retrieve-deleted-sheets
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/28546/how-to-avoid-deleting-a-row-column-in-smartsheet
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/29791/can-a-free-collaborator-delete-a-line
December 2018
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/37086/lock-or-pin-from-editing-and-deleting-even-by-admin
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/37871/deleted-rows/p1
January 2019
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/39286/delete-and-lock-row
July 2019
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/52766/deleted-content-in-a-row
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/52571/cannot-delete-a-locked-column-but-can-delete-the-row
December 2019
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/39376/deleting-rows-with-locked-columns
June 2020
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/68997/deleted-rows
September 2020
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/71757/is-it-possible-to-block-a-row-from-being-deleted-while-allowing-edit-to-specific-cells-in-that-row
December 2020
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/74402/prevent-users-from-deleting-rows
May 2021
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/79783/deleted-data
June 2021
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/80835/using-automation-to-create-copy-of-deleted-rows
September 2021
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/82988/approval-workflow
May 2022
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/90947/recover-deleted-rows
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/91157/can-one-undelete-a-full-row-once-it-has-been-deleted-and-then-the-sheet-saved
June 2022
https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/91973/how-can-i-track-deleted-rows
Hi @Brad Jones
I hope you're well and safe!
Great idea(s)! That would be a great addition to Smartsheet features.
Please submit this as a Product Feedback or Idea (If it hasn't been added already) when you have a moment.
I hope that helps!
Be safe and have a fantastic week!
Best,
Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD
✅Did my post(s) help or answer your question or solve your problem? Please support the Community by marking it Insightful/Vote Up, Awesome, or/and as the accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!
This is already something that I have submitted several times over the past 7 years.
With any luck, they will consider it.
@Brad Jones I believe the reason Smartsheet is not making these updates is 100% revenue. If you pay for their Dynamic View add-on or their Work Apps add-on (only on the enterprise account), you will get this functionality. They wouldn't even need access to the master sheet unlike when using reports to filter the data the user sees.
Users (excluding Owners & Admin) don't have the ability to delete rows from a Dynamic View. If enabled for the users (by the Owner or Admin), users are able to add new items, attach files, add comments, and clear contents/data in a row but not delete a row.
Please vote up!
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I have inly one user in my trial account. When I am trying to upgrade to PRO plan it is defaulting for 2 users and not allowing me to upgrade the plan for only one user. Please help.
How can I delete old sheets I no longer use from my account?
