Ideas on transition between annual project tracker sheets

abrawley

Hello,

 

I am looking for a way to "connect" two Smartsheets that track a variety of projects (one for 2019, one for 2020). Curious to see if anyone has done this, recognizing that some work may extend into the next year, and if there are any lessons learned / pro-tips in creating and maintaining such a concept.

Thanks for your time.

 

--Andrew

Isaac Jose

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for your post! One option that immediately presents itself to me is "Archive Sheets." Although there isn't technically an archive feature, it is certainly possible to create a sheet called "2018 Projects Archive" or "2019 Projects Archive" then move projects from your live sheet to the appropriate archive sheet upon completion of the project using the Move Row feature (Move Rows to Another Sheet).

Assuming you're currently using one sheet to track your current projects, here's my suggestion:

1. Create a copy of your sheet with Save As New and uncheck the "Sheet data and formatting" checkbox under Data & Formatting Options. This copy will have all the same columns as your current sheet, but the grid will be a blank slate. Name this new copy "2019 Projects Archive"
2. As projects in your sheet are completed, use the Move Row feature to move those projects to the 2019 Projects Archive sheet
3. At the start of 2020, repeat step 1 and name the new copy "2020 Project Archive"
4. Again, as projects in your live sheet are completed, use the Move Row feature to move these projects into the 2020 Projects Archive sheet

As the years march on, you'll continue to use a single, ongoing, live sheet to track current projects, while completed projects will be archived in their respective archive sheets based on the dates that these projects were completed.

As needed, you can create Reports to see data across multiple sheets, and you can create Dashboards and Portals to visualize that data in a meaningful and intuitive way.

I hope this helps!

Isaac J

Smartsheet Support