Rows being removed

MikeG

Any update on this?  I can't believe permissions can't be set to allow updates to cells but not delete a row.

Simon Hill

If anybody from Smartsheet is reading this comment please respond to the question below:

When do you plan to fix the issue of editors being able to delete rows?

a) We are really sorry to have kept you all waiting, it's on our roadmap and will be fixed by dd/mm/yyyy

b) We understand this is causing much frustration but it's really difficult to fix but we are looking into it - we promise

c) We don't really care what are customers think

Sorry to put it so bluntly but you really need to pay attention to this

Brad Jones

I like Smartsheet, and use it every day.  I even recommend it to others, however…

Here we are just passing the 2.5 year anniversary of when this flaw (yes FLAW) was spotted.

In total - 26 - product updates have come and gone since the flaw was spotted.  Most were really neat enhancements or integrations, some actually damaged existing data layout or removed user features entirely. BUT, still no fix for this!?!?!

Situation since June 2015 (or perhaps earlier):

Anyone with edit access to a single column can delete every unlocked row in the sheet. 

All it takes is a new sharing level to solve this problem without modifying/removing any existing user functionality, but so far no visible action.  And you can try to restore your row from the backups, but this leads us to the next problem>>

There is NO REAL BACKUP system available for Smartsheet.  You can save an excel excerpt - but that is all it is - an excerpt. This excerpt does not save, and will not restore: 

Formulas, Cell Links, Hyperlinks, Cell history, Comment layout in thread, Attachment history ( or layout in thread), Conditional formatting rules, Notifications, Reminders, Update requests (existing and recurring), Sharing permissions, Recurring sheet send outs (from schedule ‘send sheet’), settings for locked columns and rows, publication settings settings, or forms.

If I lost one of my main sheets, just one, it would take me about a day to restore it to it's full functionality - and it still would not be the same as what I started with.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Smartsheet!!!

Give us sheet owners and system admins something wonderful for Christmas this year – a fix to this heinous flaw.  Either a new sharing level, a security setting, an honest to goodness backup system, or... even all three

Tanya Bauer

Plus side:- I take confort that I am not the only one exepreicing this as I thought I was going crazy!

Down side - doesnt look like there is a way forward anytime soon.

 

Sadly in the very near future smartsheet will lose the company I work for due to this.....

Kate_B

Travis: Is there any way that we can set it up so that either 1) the user has access to only edit specific rows in a sheet or 2) they can access to the update request link more than once? I'm trying to trouble shoot this, and we are not in a position that we want to send out a form, as we don't want to create new rows, but rather, edit existing ones. Thank you! 

Brad Jones

New April release coming out, but no mention of this problem being fixed yet.  Here are some of the existing forum entries related to this problem.  

WHEN WILL WE GET A FIX FOR THIS??  PLEASE!!

June 2015

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/rows-being-removed   

August 2015

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/revert-old-version-sheet

August 2015

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/avoid-shared-person-delete-my-row     

August 2015

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/conditional-lock

August 2015

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    

June 2016

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/delete-rows-employee-avoide-tasks-completion         

June 2016

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

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

Brad Jones

This is the 8th most popular post on the forum.  Surely it is relevant enough to warrant development of a FIX.

Chris Gambrell

Brad - One would think but apparently not.

Smartsheet staff monitoring the discussion posts - Do you care that this is such a prevalent complaint and is in need for a fix?  This chain alone began in June 2015 with more follow-up comments than I cared to count and that's not even following or counting the other similar topics that Brad shared above.

Ann Florkowski

Adding a vote for this. I have a related problem. Quite a few times, I've had editor users click a column header, selecting the entire column. Then, for some unknown reason, they hit Delete on the keyboard. Doesn't delete the column, but all the data in the column. They don't realize the column is blank for days so backups are no good.

I like to use it as a teaching lesson - whoever deleted it, get's to go back to the cell history and copy and paste the data they deleted.

Tammy Whorton

I'm having the opposite problem. As the sheet owner I can't seem to delete rows from reports anymore. Does anyone know how to delete rows from reports now?

Brad Jones

Tammy,

Please don't hijack the thread here.  This topic is about preventing rows from being removed and ensuring that data in the system is secure.  Your question is a "how-to" question about report functionality.  While it is valid, please put it into a different topic or open a new one.

 

Chris Gambrell

I received a survey from Smartsheet this morning and when prompted to explain my rating for how likely I would be to recommend Smartsheet I pointed to this issue and comment thread as why I rated it as low as I did.  Who knows, maybe that will be seen and some action finally taken on this issue.

Brad Jones

You know how they do those psychological experiments on rats to see how often the rat will push a button, even knowing that it will only provide food on a long and random interval?

I asked for 'food' (repairs), Smartsheet told me to 'push a button' (give feedback).  I kept pushing the button, but the food never came.  I pushed many different buttons, MANY MANY times, and the food did not come.

For good or ill, this 'rat' has learned a lesson.

Chris Gambrell

Right there with you.  Good analogy.

Simon Hill

Me too - great product with a major flaw. Even an acknowledgment of the issue with an explanation of why it is being ignored would be useful.