Date Created System Columns

Hello! I'm in need of some help with something that seems so simple but I'm going in circles. I was using a form / sheet to track responses for a program that runs quarterly. Standing up a new form / sheet quarterly was becoming an issue so we moved to a database format - ie. every response on one form / sheet regardless of quarter. When transferring old quarterly data to this database, my Date Created 'system' column updates to the date the data was moved vs. the date the information was captured, and because it's a 'system' column I can't override this (unless changing to a text column, which will impede the future form submissions).

Is there a simple solution I'm missing?

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Accepted answers

Genevieve P.

Hi Brittany,

You're correct - moving rows over to new sheets will add in a different "Created" date because these system generated columns relate only to their specific sheet. A moved row is considered "new" in the new sheet.

I would suggest having the Submission Date be a field that gets filled out manually in the form. You could then have a helper column to ensure the date filled in by the user is correct, comparing it to the initial Date Created column... and set up an alert if the incorrect date was input, like so:

Screen Shot 2020-02-03 at 10.46.57 AM.png

Then when you move rows that manual date will stay the same. Just an idea!

Cheers,

Genevieve

All comments

Genevieve P.

Hi Brittany,

Then when you move rows that manual date will stay the same. Just an idea!

Cheers,

Genevieve

Brittany Flesher

Thank you, Genevieve! I will give this a try. I appreciate your help.

Cody Stevenson

Genevieve,

I don't think that this is correct. At minimum, I cannot replicate the action that you describe, "You're correct - moving rows over to new sheets will add in a different "Created" date because these system generated columns relate only to their specific sheet. A moved row is considered "new" in the new sheet."

Smartsheet states that all comments, attachments and history will be carried with the row to the new sheet. Also, any data that was derived by formula will be moved to the new sheet as its value, leaving the formula behind.

My goal is to be able to "log" the date of each move so that it can be used in formulas and/or conditional formatting in each sheet.

In other words, I would LIKE to have each sheet's Created Date to be unique to itself and be carried with it when it moves. So that, but the end of the workflow (in my example), there would be four unique CreateDates.

When I configure four sheets with the same five columns, but progressively move the System Column, I cannot use Workflow to move a row. When I move a row by right-click>move, the Created Date from the original sheet populates the new System-Generated column with the original Created Date.

Sheet A: Primary Column, SheetACreateDate (System Generated), SheetBCreateDate, SheetCCreateDate, SheetDCreateDate

Sheet B: Primary Column, SheetACreateDate, SheetBCreateDate (System Generated), SheetCCreateDate, SheetDCreateDate

Sheet C: Primary Column, SheetACreateDate, SheetBCreateDate, SheetCCreateDate (System Generated), SheetDCreateDate

Sheet D: Primary Column, SheetACreateDate, SheetBCreateDate, SheetCCreateDate, SheetDCreateDate (System Generated)

As I right-click move the row through these "progressive" sheets, the System-Generated Create Date remains constant from the initial, origin row.

If I try to configure a workflow to move the row for me, I receive the following error: "Rows can't be added to the destination sheet because a column has the same name as a system column on the source sheet."

I hope that this makes sense.

Genevieve P.

Hi @Cody Stevenson

My apologies! I'm not sure what happened there ... if there was an update released since I posted my initial comment, or if I just completely missed what has happening... but you are absolutely correct. I've tested and the Created date will retain the old historical date in the System Created column.

What you're describing sounds like a timestamp function, which currently is not a function in Smartsheet (please submit an enhancement request when you have a moment.)

Could you potentially use other aspects of the row for your formulas/conditional formatting (such as the triggers for the move in the first place?)

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