Different drop down lists in each row?

Bill McMaster

i'm 2 hours into this experiment so please pardon my ignorance.  I'd like to create distinct dropdown lists for different rows in a worksheet.  So the column header is "Color" and the first row is for "Paper" and I have 20 colors to choose from.  The second row is for "Crayon" and I've got 100 completely different colors to choose from, etc.  I don't want to create  separate columns for paper colors and crayon colors because I've got 30+ rows.  I can't put every color for every row in a unified dropdown list because the dropdown would be 1000+ colors long and most of the selections from the monster dropdown list would not apply to that particular row.  

 

Thx for your time an expertise!

J. Craig Williams

I am having a hard time visualzing your data, but have you tried transposing it so "Paper" is the column and "Color" is the row?

You only have 30+ rows.

The limits are 200 columns and 5000 rows.

 

Again, I'm having a hard time visualizing it.

Is this already in a system you are trying to port to Smartsheet?

 

Craig

Bill McMaster

Thanks so much Craig.  I tried to simplify my question to make it easier to understand but it would seem that had the opposite effect.

 

I'm new to SS and am trying to use it to build a bathroom renovation cost estimating tool.  What I want to do is, in one sheet, have one row for vanity cabinets - first column is 'quantity', the next is 'column', 'SKU', then 'size', then 'wood species', then 'stain/paint color', then 'door style'.  Each one a new column with a dropdown list specific  to that row.

 

next row is for 'shower base' which would also have drop down list columns for size, color, material, (these lists would have different options than the vanity cabinet lists).

 

I had thought about using your suggested solution of using the column for the category (vanity cabinets)  but that column too would have different drop down lists.  As I type this I think I have talked myself into creating a separate worksheet for each category and then (trying to) link the outputs from each category's worksheet into one consolidated worksheet.  

 

Apologies if this is confusing but it's not easy (for me) to explain with text.

 

One more question for you.  You're so active here you are bound to have better insight into whay may be a difficult question to answer.  For what I want to build, VLOOKUP function is a very imporant tool.  I know SS does not support this today.  Do you have any sense for when this functionality may come to SS?  Weeks? Months? Never?  I have 'liked' others development requests on this topic.

 

 

J. Craig Williams

Bill,

 

Sorry for the delay weekend travel and deadlines sometimes get in the way. 

 

To your last (four LOL) questions, no I don't.

I'm not a Smartsheet employee. I do have some off-community conversations with Smartsheet people "in-the-know" but we haven't talked about VLOOKUP

As someone else mentioned on one of the threads, LOOKUP (V or H) is really not what a lot of people are asking for, though they have solved their problem that way in the past. If I have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Shoot me an email off line (jcwill23@gmail.com).

I've solved a few of my VLOOKUP problems without VLOOKUP.

 

Richard at Smarter Business Processes (www.smarterbusinessprocesses.com), whom I work with sometimes, has an Azuqua solution for drop down lists that is quite neat. 

I have my own opinions on Azuqua and automation costs that I won't go into here.

(That sounds ominious. it isn't - just long)

 

I'm going to think about your more detailed requirements as I travel around on the bus this afternoon.

 

Craig

 

 

Lance Manyin

They have a add-on application you buy that gives pivot table functionality

Andrée Starå

Hi Bill,

This might help!

Here is a workaround that gives you the possibility to use lists of information and choose from that list inside a sheet (doesn't work with mobile, only desktop)

I'm utilizing cell-linking for this workaround. The main sheet is linked to the dropdown/list sheet.

Please see the attached link/screenshot for more information.

Example of dropdown/list

I hope this can be helpful for you!

Best,

Andrée Starå

Workflow Consultant @ Get Done Consulting