Percentage increasing by 100

Gunn_Jack

Hi all,

I have an issue where, when inputting a percentage into the %Complete column which accompanies the Gantt, it multiplies this percentage by 100! I.e. it turns 1 into 100% and 100 into 10,000% - screwing with the sheet.

The strange thing is, this is only happening for one of my team. When i do it, in the exact same cell, 1 = 1 and 100 = 100. The only difference between us is a license but i havent come across this issue before so not sure thats the cause...any ideas? Checked personal settings of the individual etc and they are no different to mine.

Cheers

Jack

Jeff Reisman

Smartsheet calculates percentage as fractions of 1. So .25 = 25%, .75 = 75%, 1 =100%. So really the input method determines what happens. If the column is designated as a % column, and you enter 85 into the column manually, it shows at 85%. However if you're bringing numeric values in from another field they may get multiplied by 100.

So how are you entering data into those cells, and how is your teammate entering data into that field?

Gunn_Jack

Sat next to each other, manually typing them in but for me it does it one way, for him the other but i do get the fraction bit:

Colleague types '1', cell shows 100%

I type '1': cell shows 1%

In exactly the same cell. So although i take your point, i don't see how it is possibly different other than a glitch?

Thanks for your reply though,

Jack

Jeff Reisman

That is strange. Percent seems to function almost like a formatting feature.

@Andrée Starå @Paul Newcome - any ideas?

Paul Newcome

I'm not sure I follow exactly what you are running into?

Percentages are actually a percentage of 1. So 1 = 100%, .5 = 50%, etc etc. Following that logic, 3 would equal 300%. To get 3%, you would need .03.

Does that help explain any?

Gunn_Jack

@Paul Newcome

hey thanks for the reply. I agree, but what is happening is 1 turns into 100% for another user but 1 just stays as 1% for me....surely shouldn’t be different?

Paul Newcome

Are you entering into the same field? You mentioned two different fields in your screenshot.

Gunn_Jack

Yes I am, that screenshot wasn’t mine sorry, just an example from a community member. Thanks, Jack.

Jeff Reisman

@Paul Newcome Screenshot was just something from a test sheet of mine. Trying to see what's going on with percentage fields and help Jack with his issue.

When I enter an integer into a percent field, it shows as a percent. Enter 35, get 35%. When I copy an integer from another column that is not a percent field and paste it into the percent column, it just shows as 35, no percent. Then of course when I change the formatting back to percent, it becomes 3500%.

How can the % format stay sticky? Or do these columns always need to be entered manually or calculated via formula?

Paul Newcome

My apologies. I had that all mixed up. For some reason the thread kept opening to the screenshot as if that was the original post. Ugh. I need some coffee. 😴

When you are manually entering into a % field, it is assumed that you mean 1 instead of 100, but when you pull a number from another field, you are pulling THAT NUMBER in which case 3 would equal 300%.

So if you manually enter 35, it is assumed you mean .35 if you are in a % formatted column, but if the number is coming from elsewhere, then it is assumed you mean that number, so 35 is assumed to be 35 which equals 3500%.

Now... For manual entry into the same cell to provide different results between users (licensed or not)... That is odd for sure. I would suggest reaching out to support and seeing if they are able to shed any light on that side of things.