Can I use a form to generate multiple rows in sheet?

Craige Mazur

Hi @Andrée Starå and @Jeana Thanks for all the insights on this! If I understand this correctly, the first form collects one set of field data, the 2nd form collects another set. Is there any way to carry data from the first form (or row data behind the scenes) to subsequent rows without having to re-type in the second form?

I would like to use this form flow idea but many users can be entering data at any time so there must be a way to link header data with line-items.

Any ideas (or corrections to my understanding your workflow) are appreciated!

Jeana

Hi Craige,

That's one of the side effects that I have discovered about this and I don't have an answer yet. In my scenario in the PRIMARY form I capture Project and Project Lead, etc. In the SECONDARY form I capture information about a second request related to that Project and for the Project Lead. In my Source sheet the second row generated by the SECONDARY request does not contain the Project and Project Lead info.

I'm very interested in finding out how automate the filling in of these fields as well.

Jeana

Craige Mazur

@Jeana Thanks for confirming the same dilemma.

I am going to make this work with a manual step:

1. Any of thousands of users at my university can fill out the main form. Form requires login. I am storing auto-number/system... Created By and Created Date fields
2. Secondary form captures line items in addition to same auto-number/system fields
3. Manual process when ready to process orders: sort on Created By and Created Date -> manual copy main form details to line item rows. After sorting, it is quite obvious where header and line items are related.

I wish the manual step was not required but at least this works for now.

Cheers!

Andrée Starå

@Craige Mazur

@Jeana

In my solution, I separate them with conditional formatting, which makes it easy to change them to children/parents if needed.

Katharine Beisner

@Andrée Starå

Here's what I have gathered on this thread. I am tracking a task and its sub tasks. I can have linked forms - no data can flow, but it keeps the user from having multiple bookmarks. I can use conditional formatting in the destination sheet to color code the tasks based on some common attribute like project id - I'd have to update that manually for every new project. I can manually create parent child relationships or copy data between the rows.

Is there more that I am missing?

About my project, I want a row for the task to create a proposal and (children) rows for tracking the tasks included in the proposal. Ideally I'd have a form to request a proposal for tasks A, B and C, and I'd get four rows in the sheet: one for the proposal creation and one each for tasks A, B and C.

Thank you for your guidance!

Katharine

Andrée Starå

Hi @Katharine Beisner

I have an idea using the form solution and have a so-called helper sheet with a set structure of rows (parent/children) that would automatically copy over to the main sheet.

Make sense?

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe and have a fantastic weekend!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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Jeana

@Andrée Starå I would be very interesting in hearing more about your solution using the Form feature. Could you share that here?

Jeana Rogers

Andrée Starå

@Jeana

I'd be happy to share an example. 

Please send me an email at andree@workbold.com, and I'll share it with you.

Robert Gallegos

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/246193#Comment_246193

Andree,

I have a form that intakes the general info on wafer that need testing for SEM. The general form will collect info like, Name, Date, Number of samples, Date Needed.

The subform will need to collect info for each wafer (~18). Each of the 18 may have different column values (Example Center, edge, R/2. etc...) How my I populate each 18 rows from One Form?

Andrée Starå

Hi @Robert Gallegos

I hope you're well and safe!

Here's a possible workaround or workarounds

• Send the main form and then a form for each wafer (send me an email if you want me to share an example of this one)
• An idea that I haven't had time to explore in detail. In short. Send the main form in a so-called helper sheet and then trigger a copy row workflow including a parent and, for example, 18 rows (children) to the main sheet. Make sense?

Would any of those options work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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Stephanie J

@Jeana and @Andrée Starå - this thread has been very helpful. I'm fairly new to Smartsheet and (I think) I understand this all at the conceptual level, though I'm very uncertain of implementing it. I'm going to try but if anyone has examples, that would help greatly.

What I'm trying to do: we install different energy saving items in homes and need to track what is installed where, with some specific info for different things. I have it set up using conditional logic so if Item A is chosen, the correct info pops up to complete.

What I was hoping was to have an option within the form for installing another item or closing the form. Sounds like the best way to get all this info in one form with separate rows per install item is to have a "project info" form that populates a row and then sends the user to the "installs" form, which reloads for every item installed and gives us a new row for each item.

I think the login option will help prevent issues with multiple users submitting simultaneously - or I create a form for each one, though that has different issues.

And then I need to learn about the workflow automation that uses the info on the first sheet to create a sheet that autofills the project info (ex columns A-D) for each item installed with the item info in columns E-G and one row per item. And then I'll be building Dashboards to summarize things.

This should be fun...

Andrée Starå

Hi @Stephanie J

I hope you're well and safe!

Glad to hear that it was helpful!

Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions or if I can help in any way!

Be safe and have a fantastic weekend!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

✅Did my post(s) help or answer your question or solve your problem? Please support the Community by marking it Insightful/Vote Up or/and as the accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

Cynthia Wolf

@Andrée Starå I would appreciate your guidance on your solution as it seems it would fit what I need as I have some core details however there are containers where I need to create a line per container and currently they have to create a form for each carrier.

Agata OKeeffe

Hi @Jeana I am wondering if you may help me..I noticed on your form the Part1 fields get auto-copied to their rows as seen on below red highlighted, correct?

Now, when I try Andree's solution, I get those repatead Part1 rows blank...with only the first high level entry available...

Do you know how I can achieve the rows to auto populate too?

Thank you!!!

Mike McNamara

I too tried out the suggestions here and basically the second form just adds rows with incomplete data. Cannot really figure out a way that you could auto populate any data from a previous row entry. Visually you can see the last main entry and the data could be copied manually. I sent that to my requestor to see if that would work, but it not very elegant.