Hidden Columns in Reports - edit, print, send dialogues

DJB

Hi. i have built some reports off a large sheet where i have chosen to show only select columns related to the function of the report. I have also hidden some columns within the report. Yet when i use the Edit, Print, or Send dialogue boxes, all the columns from the main sheet are shown. Including the columns hidden in the report, even though the 'include hidden columns' box is not selected. When we edit, print or send from that report, we don't want to see the columns that are irrelevant to the function that the report was created for. Am i missing something, or does this simply not work currently?

Andrée Starå

Hi,

It’s the way it currently works because the report is rows collected from the sheets, and it shows everything from the sheets.

I agree that would be a great addition to Smartsheet features to have an option to select if it should show the information in the report only or everything from the sheet.

Please submit an Enhancement Request when you have a moment

A possible workaround and solution that could be perfect for this use-case is the premium add-on, Dynamic View. Is that an option?

More info: 

https://www.smartsheet.com/product/dynamic-view

I hope that helps!

Be safe and have a fantastic weekend!

Best,

Andrée Starå

Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

✅Did my post help or 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!

Andrée Starå

Hi,

It’s the way it currently works because the report is rows collected from the sheets, and it shows everything from the sheets.

I agree that would be a great addition to Smartsheet features to have an option to select if it should show the information in the report only or everything from the sheet.

Please submit an Enhancement Request when you have a moment

A possible workaround and solution that could be perfect for this use-case is the premium add-on, Dynamic View. Is that an option?

More info: 

https://www.smartsheet.com/product/dynamic-view

I hope that helps!

Be safe and have a fantastic weekend!

Best,

Andrée Starå

Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

✅Did my post help or 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!

DJB

Ok, thanks for the info. I've submitted the suggestion. I think the way i'll deal with it for now is to create an automated flow where it sends an email with just the desired columns when a specific cell is populated. The data can then be printed, stored or forwarded and I don't have to select the desired columns every time for sending. Printing is still not ideal. For editing the row we'll just have to wade through the irrelevant fields or edit in the table. In a sense having all the columns available in edit is a good thing. This process does create some extra steps so is a little less efficient. Might be helpful if we could automate an export...

Andrée Starå

Excellent!

You're more than welcome!

Nice workaround! 👍️

scott.parr83911

Note that the premium add on Dynamic View does not allow printing or exporting - which makes it pretty useless in many applications, including mine. But at least it is expensive...

Andrée Starå

Hi @scott.parr83911 & @DJB

I hope you're well and safe!

I recently developed a (what I call), Dynamic View Light. It's quite advanced, but in short, it's using cross-sheet formulas and INDEX/MATCH and a specific structure and method so it's only possible to show data that should be available.

My solution would work as a usual sheet, and allow printing and exporting.

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

✅Did my post(s) help or 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!

DJB

It's hard to say without digging into it. It seems like my previous workaround is effective for that situation, so i probably won't revisit it for a while. I've moved on to a bigger challenge - i wonder if 'dynamic view light' would work there. I'll post it here, but it's really a new thread so i don't necessarily expect a response.

The new situation is this:

I have a master sheet of data where new rows are added through a form.

There are 4 or 5 stakeholder groups that need to update fields in the sheet.

I've made truncated reports for each of the groups.

However, i cannot prevent the users from overriding each other's data. I can for one level (locked cells with admin access vs editor access) but no more. I also can't prevent them from finding the master sheet and making changes to other cells.

Additionally, Ideally i'd like one of the groups to be able to update their data without needing a smartsheet account - just a link in an email.

Andrée Starå

@DJB

Yes, I could probably tweak my solution to work for your situation, but it's pretty advanced.

Have you looked into using a process with a Workflow and automated update requests instead?

What Smartsheet plan do you have?