Warning and suggestion: Backup doesn't include links (URLs) to attached external files (GoogleDrive,

Hi,

Regular backup tool (https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/506499-backing-up-your-data) has severe data shortcoming since it doesn't include links (URLs) to attached external files (GoogleDrive, Evernote, etc.). So, users can't recover their full linked attachment based on Smartsheet backup.

a) The backup documentation (https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/506499-backing-up-your-data) doesn't mention it, as well as the backup UI, what could mislead inexperienced users that all their data is being backed up by Smartsheet, but it isn't.
SUGGESTION: Smartsheet should be more transparent on that, updating the documentation and the backup UI to make it clear to the user.

b) The only attachment included in the backups are those uploaded to Smartsheet cloud. It doesn't make sense to use Smartsheet storage just to have attachments in backups. Smartsheet claims handy connections with other apps, but neglects to backup those connections, which are attached as simple "URLs".
SUGGESTION: Smartsheet should implement a backup including links (URLs) to external connections (simple URLs, GoogleDrive, OneDrive, OneNote, etc.). It follows a short screencast with a simple suggestion that may be easy to implement since it follows the same logics of how comments are added to the backup:

https://goo.gl/505aWc

More related content in this other forum post:

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/how-include-attachments-links-exported-sheets

Best,
Carlos

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Comments

Jeremy Myers

Agreed. There are numerous community requests outstanding for a least a year to fix the backup routine which is extremely flimsy. Smartsheet are also abfuscating on this issue, so you don't know you are out of luck until you have a disaster and then find your 'backup' is nothing more than an Excel sheet. Restoring any notes / theads will have to be done by hand, one by one which could take quite a bit of time.

In the interim, for criticlal sheets, use the <save as> command from the tab of the sheet, include the date and time as part of the newly saved sheet name and stash it in a secrued workspace.

J. Craig Williams

Instead of a sheet, use a Template - does not count against your sheet limit.

Craig

Jeremy Myers

I'm pretty sure that use of a template for a backup will NOT include any of the following from your source sheet:

threads (i.e. notes), inbound / outbound links from other sheets, links to files on the account owner's cloud storage, links to any files uplodaded to Smartsheet servers, etc.

I like my backups as <save as> copies of the source sheets because I am getting a fully functioning image of the original.

Please verfiy my assumptions on this before you use either <save as> or <template save> as your backup mechanism. Safe not sorry...

Jeremy Myers

I'm pretty sure that use of a template for a backup will NOT include any of the following from your source sheet:

threads (i.e. notes), inbound / outbound links from other sheets, links to files on the account owner's cloud storage, links to any files uplodaded to Smartsheet servers, etc.

I like my backups as <save as> copies of the source sheets because I am getting a fully functioning image of the original.

Please verfiy my assumptions on this before you use either <save as> or <template save> as your backup mechanism. Safe not sorry...

J. Craig Williams

Jeremy,

Comments (notes/threads) are in the Template if you chose to have them (by default it is not selected).

Inbound/outbound links are a problem with either solution.

Existing sheets with links shown as >>

ShA >> ShB

ShB >> ShC

ShB >> ShA

For Templates, all links are lost, it is true.

Only incoming links are preserved when a copy is made, however.

If ShB is saved as a new sheet, only the link from ShA will remain.

This makes sense -- I can have one link in to my cell but can link out to multiple places. But trying to save the sheet with outbound link would violate that -- now two sheets would be trying to link to the same cell.

Templates don't lose anything that has not already been lost.

However, this does NOT function the same way for a workspace save-as-new. In this case, the links should be preserved AS LONG AS EVERYTHING IS INTERNAL TO THE WORKSPACE.

Very few of my solutions end up that way -- one workspace for workers, one for financial that are all linked together for example.

Craig

Jeremy Myers

Craig,

Thanks for your precision on the backup routine. I will slide your memo directly into my sys.admin manual.