Functionality Question

Marc Raskinski

Hello,

I am more of an Excel guy who is attempting to wrap my head around Smartsheet.

I have a scenario and I am thinking it can be done, it seems like I almost find the answer but just not quite.

I have records which require attention, usually in contacting users and getting require, late training complete. There are a team of us hitting the SS.

I have a column which has a Harvey Ball which is color specific depending on the content in a Status drop down. Also, I have created one parent labeled Pending where all records sit and another parent for complete/reconciled records.

Questions:

Can Harvey Balls be additional colors than the RGYB in the example?

Can I move a child from from one parent to another on the same sheet based off of the aforementioned Status selection (or Harvey Ball state)?

Can the Harvey ball be locked so that another team member doesn't accidentally delete the formula? (I read in one post this is a "no").

One caveat is that we would like the Complete and Pending records on the same sheet.

Can anyone think of another way to look at this? If this was Excel, I'd have a better handle on this, however, we need the collaboration aspect.

Thanks

Debbie Sawyer

Hi Marc

I too came over to Smartsheet from being an Excel trainer. It took me a while to find the strengths of Smartsheet but I really like it now ;) Hopefully with time you will too!

So to answer some of your questions:

Can Harvey Balls be additional colors than the RGYB in the example? No, you only get the ones in the Symbols list to choose from

Can I move a child from from one parent to another on the same sheet based off of the aforementioned Status selection (or Harvey Ball state)? I don't know of a way to do this automatically (sadly) although you can move and copy records between sheets using an automated workflow

Can the Harvey ball be locked so that another team member doesn't accidentally delete the formula? (I read in one post this is a "no"). It depends on how you are sharing your sheet. If you use the Lock Column feature then this DOES indeed lock the column for all collaborators shared as either Viewer or Editor to the sheet. If the collaborator is shared as Admin then the lock doesn't effect them as their permissions can override the feature. However if they do inadvertantly delete/replace the formula the Activity Log can show the formula that was in place before it was overwritten and you can copy and paste from the activity log back into the sheet. (which could be useful!)

One caveat is that we would like the Complete and Pending records on the same sheet. - May I ask why?

If you had 2 sheets which were identical in design you could use the automated Move record to another sheet with the Harvey Ball as a trigger. You could use a Multisheet Report to view the records in both sheets at the same time. If you shared both the sheets and the report as Editor permission then ask your collaborators to concentrate their efforts on the report then it will look like all the data is in ONE place (the reports looks like a sheet) and you will get your automated move working too.

Good luck with Smartsheet - as an ex Microsoft user you will find that you sometimes need to adjust your way of thinking with this product, but its capabilities sometimes outweigh those of Excel - especially in the collaborative nature that it has.

I hope this helps

Kind regards

Debbie

Mary_A

You might want to consider doing this with two sheets, an automation, and a report. Have the users checking off the report. Like so:

The users can interact with the report or the pending sheet. When something is marked off, your automation moves it from the Pending Task to the Completed Task sheet. The report shows the entire list. If the order of tasks is important (and they usually are), create an autonumber system in the original Pending list that numbers each row and sort the report accordingly.

Mary_A

Users can edit the report to check off tasks as easily as the actual sheet --- in case that wasn't clear.

Debbie Sawyer

@Mary_A Great pictures! You and I have suggested the same thing! Mine in prose and yours in images :)

I think that will work well, but will Marc!?

Have a good day!

Kind regards

Debbie

Mary_A

Oh, hey, we must have passed in the ether @Debbie Sawyer --- I saw your post after a refresh.

Debbie Sawyer

😁

Debbie Sawyer

Hi Marc

I too came over to Smartsheet from being an Excel trainer. It took me a while to find the strengths of Smartsheet but I really like it now ;) Hopefully with time you will too!

So to answer some of your questions:

Can Harvey Balls be additional colors than the RGYB in the example? No, you only get the ones in the Symbols list to choose from

Can I move a child from from one parent to another on the same sheet based off of the aforementioned Status selection (or Harvey Ball state)? I don't know of a way to do this automatically (sadly) although you can move and copy records between sheets using an automated workflow

Can the Harvey ball be locked so that another team member doesn't accidentally delete the formula? (I read in one post this is a "no"). It depends on how you are sharing your sheet. If you use the Lock Column feature then this DOES indeed lock the column for all collaborators shared as either Viewer or Editor to the sheet. If the collaborator is shared as Admin then the lock doesn't effect them as their permissions can override the feature. However if they do inadvertantly delete/replace the formula the Activity Log can show the formula that was in place before it was overwritten and you can copy and paste from the activity log back into the sheet. (which could be useful!)

One caveat is that we would like the Complete and Pending records on the same sheet. - May I ask why?

If you had 2 sheets which were identical in design you could use the automated Move record to another sheet with the Harvey Ball as a trigger. You could use a Multisheet Report to view the records in both sheets at the same time. If you shared both the sheets and the report as Editor permission then ask your collaborators to concentrate their efforts on the report then it will look like all the data is in ONE place (the reports looks like a sheet) and you will get your automated move working too.

Good luck with Smartsheet - as an ex Microsoft user you will find that you sometimes need to adjust your way of thinking with this product, but its capabilities sometimes outweigh those of Excel - especially in the collaborative nature that it has.

I hope this helps

Kind regards

Debbie

Mary_A

You might want to consider doing this with two sheets, an automation, and a report. Have the users checking off the report. Like so:

The users can interact with the report or the pending sheet. When something is marked off, your automation moves it from the Pending Task to the Completed Task sheet. The report shows the entire list. If the order of tasks is important (and they usually are), create an autonumber system in the original Pending list that numbers each row and sort the report accordingly.

Mary_A

Users can edit the report to check off tasks as easily as the actual sheet --- in case that wasn't clear.

Debbie Sawyer

@Mary_A Great pictures! You and I have suggested the same thing! Mine in prose and yours in images :)

I think that will work well, but will Marc!?

Have a good day!

Kind regards

Debbie

Mary_A

Oh, hey, we must have passed in the ether @Debbie Sawyer --- I saw your post after a refresh.

Debbie Sawyer

😁