Feature Suggestion - Webform

Jenn Pestalozzi

Hi Team,

I have a Smartsheet that has custom forms for each team member. Some team members choose to use the forms, and some choose to enter into the Smartsheet directly. What would be really great is to be able to ID WHICH form the line was entered from. Right now it just says "web-form@smartsheet.com" but can we tag it with a unique ID or something to distinguish Ben's form submissions from Lexy's? That would allow me to eliminate redundant columns (agent vs created by).

Andrée Starå

No, it's not a dropdown list.

It's called URL Query Strings, and it specifies the default values in the form and is included in the URL of the form.

They could be formatted to include the name of the submitter and easily be updated to have a unique one for each employee.

More info:

https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/2478871-url-query-string-form-default-values

Would that help/work?

Andrée Starå

Hi Jenn,

If you set the form that the submitter has to be logged in, it will be logged automatically who the submitter was.

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/helpful. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer! 

Jenn Pestalozzi

Thanks Andrée. What if they do not have a Smartsheet account? Like if I have a team of 35 sales reps and most don't have accounts.

Andrée Starå

Happy to help!

You could either add them as users or add a hidden field in the forms to indicate who the submitter was.

Would that work?

Jenn Pestalozzi

Hi Andrée,

Thanks for your quick replies.

This is what I am doing now but it is hard to maintain as my team grows: "add a hidden field in the forms to indicate who the submitter was"

How is this different from having an account? And how does the form know which user is submitting the form (unless users also require login?)? "You could either add them as users"

Andrée Starå

Ok.

Yes, the second option would require that they have an account.

A third option and probably the best one would be to have the user information already in the URL with the help of query fields.

Would that work?

Jenn Pestalozzi

Hi Andrée, I am not sure what this means: have the user information already in the URL with the help of query fields.

Does this mean have a dropdown for them to select who they are?

Andrée Starå

No, it's not a dropdown list.

It's called URL Query Strings, and it specifies the default values in the form and is included in the URL of the form.

They could be formatted to include the name of the submitter and easily be updated to have a unique one for each employee.

More info:

https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/2478871-url-query-string-form-default-values

Would that help/work?

Jenn Pestalozzi

Cool! I can certainly try this out :) Thank you!

Andrée Starå

Excellent!

I'm always happy to help!

Let me know how it works out!

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

Jenn Pestalozzi

Hi Andree,

I came across a problem with this method: ?Rep=FN%20LN

I have selected in my form this option:

When I submit the form, it does not maintain this part of the code: ?Rep=FN%20LN

Example:

First pass:

and then when I submit, the FN LN part is REMOVED from my URL, which means new entries come in with blank Rep field.

Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks!

Kindly,

Jenn

Andrée Starå

@Jenn Pestalozzi

It's because it reloads the original form URL without the added form query.

You'll have to use the Send the user to this URL instead and add the URL there. (see below)

Did that work?

Jenn Pestalozzi

Hi Andrée,

Does that mean I need a separate form for each person since each person has their own URL and the FN LN will be different for each person?

Andrée Starå

Yes, unfortunately. Could you get the users to log in to Smartsheet instead, or doesn't they have accounts?

That would be the most straightforward method, if possible.

Jenn Pestalozzi

Thanks for your help Andrée. I will evaluate my 3 potential solutions and try to ID the best path for us:

1. each user has their own smartsheet account so the form is smart enough to know who it came from
2. create a unique form & URL for each user
3. add a "contact" drop down in the form itself

Have a great day!

Andrée Starå

You're more than welcome!

Let me know how it goes!

Be safe and have a fantastic weekend!