More customization of update request emails

I am looking to send more specific information or instructions with an update request. For example, if the sheet has 15 columns, and I send 10 columns out in an update request, I want to be able to add a column description or some form of instructions for each individual requested column update. As of now, the only info that seems to carry over into the update request is the column name (not even the column description goes out with the request). Any help is appreciated! Thanks

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Accepted answers

Andrée Starå

Hi Austin,

Great idea! That would be a great addition to Smartsheet features.

Please submit an Enhancement Request when you have a moment to have your vote added

As a workaround, you could add separate columns for the descriptions or if possible you could add the description in the cells that they should update.

Would that work?

I hope that helps!

Have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå

Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

✅Did my post help answer your question or solve your problem? Please help the Community by marking it as the accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

austinurbanSeagate

If anyone else ends up having this issue, for the above work-around I would suggest the following:

Reduce the number of Admin on the sheet to as few as many

Label the filler column "FORM INSTRUCTIONS" or something equivalent

Write out the detailed instructions desired in the first row's cell, copy the instructions down the entire column

Hide AND lock the column

By making people non-admins, the update request will lock the editing of the instructions cell and make it look like a header rather than a needs-to-be-updated cell.

All comments

Andrée Starå

Hi Austin,

Great idea! That would be a great addition to Smartsheet features.

Please submit an Enhancement Request when you have a moment to have your vote added

As a workaround, you could add separate columns for the descriptions or if possible you could add the description in the cells that they should update.

Would that work?

I hope that helps!

Have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå

Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

austinurbanSeagate

That is a good work around for now! Thanks for the help!

Andrée Starå

Excellent!

Happy to help!

✅Remember! Did my post help answer your question or solve your problem? Please help the Community by marking it as the accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

austinurbanSeagate

If anyone else ends up having this issue, for the above work-around I would suggest the following:

Reduce the number of Admin on the sheet to as few as many

Label the filler column "FORM INSTRUCTIONS" or something equivalent

Write out the detailed instructions desired in the first row's cell, copy the instructions down the entire column

Hide AND lock the column

By making people non-admins, the update request will lock the editing of the instructions cell and make it look like a header rather than a needs-to-be-updated cell.

Gordon

I have a different but related question. The help video for the update requests automation workflow and the approval workflow both very briefly show in the customize message space with curly braces around what appear to be column/field names. I don't see this explained anywhere in the help text.

Does anyone know if this is the way to get the field/column names to appear in the email message?

Andrée Starå

@Gordon,

Yes, you can get the column names in the email message, but if you want to use the placeholders, it has to be in the cell(s) of the column(s) on the row where you want to include it.

Make sense?

More info:

https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/2477796-dynamically-add-cell-data-in-the-subject-and-body-of-request-messages

Pro-tip. Use Placeholders to make it easy to change a specific text in the alert. Change once, and it updates in alls alerts that have the placeholder.

Gordon

Thank you! Very helpful.

Andrée Starå

@Gordon Happy to help! You're more than welcome!

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