Feature Request: Clean up Pending Update Requests

I would like a mechanism to quickly find and modify (delete or resend) Update Requests in a batch mode (click-click-click send)

Adding another column with check boxes in this dialog with options like in other dialogs would be a great place to start.

Older Update Requests that are pending but noone will know about (because the email is long gone or already used by someone else) are just clutter - visually and administratively.

Craig

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Comments

Kennedy Stomps

Hi Craig-- Thanks for this input! I've forwarded a link to this post on to our Development team with your feature request to help explain what you're looking for in an improvement to the Update Request feature. I agree, there could definitely be some changes made to this feature to make it more useful once lots of Update Requests have been sent on a sheet.

J. Craig Williams

Thanks Kennedy.

(and I wasn't following this one either - checking how far back the auto-follow problem goes)

Brad Jones

+1 vote from me on this one. It's a great idea for those of us trying to keep these requests managed.

Kennedy Stomps

Hi Brad-- I've added your vote!

Claire Diener

+1 from me too!

Thanks!

Kennedy Stomps

Hi Claire-- I've added your vote!

Josephine Salleh

I see this discussion from June 2016 and I have the same request. Has there been any development? What do I do to clean up this list in the meantime?

Taleb Alkhaja

+1 here too please!

There needs to be a feature where collaborators can change the status to complete (and/or add a response) within the Smartsheet itself rather than being limite to using the link in the email only.

Brad Jones

Agreed. For those of us who manage multiple projects and send out dozens of UR per week, we need improved ways of handling these UR. Currently, it's completely manual and thoroughly frustrating.

My way of 'reminding' users is to do a screenshot of it all and send them that. I also have to CC myself on every UR so that if they've lost the request I can re-send it. Just a big P.I.T.A.

Abbey Ntswana

Is there any update on this one. I am sitting with the same problem where I need to delete about 322 update requests. To delete them one by one will take time.

Andie Rosendin

I 33rd this request! Many of my constituents do not reply via the update request and simply email me back which requires me to clear each notification manually. Would love to be able to highlight the rows with updates and right click to clear all. Thank you!

Carolyn Schuchert

Please add my vote to add the ability to resend pending update requests directly

from the Update Requests Tab via the sheet.

With multiple sheets, some with hundreds of rows it is very time consuming trying to find the row with a pending update request and resend.

Update Request feature request.png

Laurie Schneider

I have the same issue as well. I need to delete pending update requests. Some requests I need to add or remove rows. Also when you click status to sort for the pending requests in the update request screen, then delete one of the pending requests the sort reverts back, thus you will have to click status to sort again to find the pending requests. A filter would be more helpful. A checkbox to select certain pending requests would also be helpful. And an option to identify the original update request and stop the recurring request would be great.

Brad Jones

We're working on something on the back end to try and do this with the API.

The Update Request feature is really cool... on paper. In reality it just does not work because it requires the users to follow a process. It may be a simple process, but it is still a process.

I would say that the 'success rate' of Update Requests in my user base is about 30% - and we've got training videos, a user manual, and the little link at the bottom of the UR email that makes it easy.

I know that from the designer's standpoint it looks easy, but clearly something just does not work with Update Requests because so many are complaining about them.

Here's another idea:

For any user who has an open UR on a row, lock that row from that user until they complete the pending UR. At least in that way they won't be able to ignore the email and just edit the sheet directly.

...Let's maintain a chain of custody for changes.

J. Craig Williams

Brad,

Unfortunately, the lock will be all or nothing.

But you could use the API to determine if there is a Pending UR (using the SentUpdateRequest object) and then lock the row(s) from the UR.