How to handle a very long list of (multiple select) choices in a form
I am new to Smartsheet and using it to replace old InfoPath forms. One thing I cannot find an elegant solution for is expanding fields/sections. Basically, I want to send an instructor a form that asks which courses they would like to teach next semester. There are hundreds of courses. I will eventually want to use this to copy/link to another sheet where I can see all instructors who have selected a specific course.
Right now I have a form with 6 questions, each of which lists several courses that they can multiple select. For instance, the 'ACC-ART' dropdown has the choices "ART 100, ART 101, ART 102. etc". The issue there is that in my sheet, there is an ACC-ART column with many selections in one cell.
Is there a formula to break them out on a new sheet, in a relational style? So that
Dysert, Kris ART 100, ART 101
becomes
Dysert, Kris ART 100
Dysert, Kris ART 101
? Or is there a better way to handle this? All I can think of is a big horrible form with every course listed and a yes/no checkbox next to each... I would have them type in the courses in text boxes, if data validation were possible.
Any help is much appreciated!
Comments
-
There are multiple ways of doing this.
The simplest, based on your request to store the data as:
Dysert, Kris ART 100
Dysert, Kris ART 101
Would be to turn off multi-select. Then have the teacher fill out the form once for each class they're teaching. -
Thanks, but asking each instructor to fill out 20+ forms is not an option.
-
Hi Kris,
As a possible workaround, you could use a third-party form service that integrates with Smartsheet. Something like Google Forms or similar.
https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/1850129-smartsheet-sync-add-on-for-google-forms
Would that work?
I hope that helps!
Have a fantastic weekend!
Best,
Andrée Starå
Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD
SMARTSHEET EXPERT CONSULTANT & PARTNER
Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD
W: www.workbold.com | E:andree@workbold.com | P: +46 (0) - 72 - 510 99 35
Feel free to contact me for help with Smartsheet, integrations, general workflow advice, or anything else.
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