Refreshing Data after Form submission

CRL Planning

I have a sheet which is populated daily using forms. The data from this sheet feeds into a dashboard which displays the number of entries that day. This metric comes from a cell that uses the "COUNT" formula to record the number of daily entries.

Everything with this works fine but the problem I have is that when a new form arrives, the data feeding into the dashboard doesn't update and the metric on the dasboard is not showing the correct value. To get the data to refresh to the dashboard I have to open the sheet and hit the save icon or just close the sheet again and the metric in the dashboard is refreshed and shows the correct value.

My question is, is there any way of getting a sheet to refresh automatically when a new form entry arrives thus keeping the metrics in the live dashboard correct.

Murray (CRL PLanning)

CRL Planning

Ramzi and Andree

Thank you both for your advice on this issue. I have my dashboards set to refresh every 10 minutes so all is fine here.

The issue I have is that when a new form entry is received in the contributing sheet, the "daily entry total" doesnt seem to update until the sheet is accessed and saved. This is a formula set to count the number of entries received daily in the contributing sheet date column [=COUNTIF([Date of Check]:[Date of Check], =TODAY())]

Everything works perfectly and people do regularly access this sheet so it does update but it it just strange that the metrics in the dashboard can be reporting wrong values if the sheet is not accessed.

Hope I have made myself clear here and again thanks for your valued assistance

Murray (CRL Planning)

Ramzi K

@CRL Planning

Murray, unfortunately the scenario you described is a known limitation in Smartsheet. The TODAY() function is not "self aware" and does not automatically update until a sheet is opened and saved. So unfortunately you will need to open and save the sheet regularly or find another option for your formula.

Cheers,

Ramzi

Andrée Starå

@CRL Planning

Happy to help!

There are some 3rd party options/workarounds like Zapier and copy row combined with cross-sheet formulas (untested) could also work.

Would that work/help?

Ramzi K

@CRL Planning

Did you try refreshing the Dashboard itself after the form submission into the sheet?

You can also try the Auto Refresh Plugin for Chrome if you're using Chrome.

Cheers,

Ramzi

Andrée Starå

Hi @CRL Planning

To add to Ramzi's excellent advice/answer,

Depending on the specific use-case you could maybe use the automatic refresh instead.

More info

Configure How Often a Dashboard Automatically Refreshes

By default, a dashboard will refresh automatically once every 10 minutes.

To change the frequency of this or to disable the automatic refresh altogether, click the Settings button 

 in the upper-right corner of the dashboard window.

Keep the following in mind with automatic refresh:

• You can only change how a dashboard automatically refreshes when you’re viewing it. For example, if you disable the automatic refresh setting, it will remain enabled for other collaborators that are viewing the dashboard. A published dashboard will automatically refresh once every 10 minutes. This behavior cannot be customized or disabled.

Would that 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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CRL Planning

Ramzi and Andree

Thank you both for your advice on this issue. I have my dashboards set to refresh every 10 minutes so all is fine here.

The issue I have is that when a new form entry is received in the contributing sheet, the "daily entry total" doesnt seem to update until the sheet is accessed and saved. This is a formula set to count the number of entries received daily in the contributing sheet date column [=COUNTIF([Date of Check]:[Date of Check], =TODAY())]

Everything works perfectly and people do regularly access this sheet so it does update but it it just strange that the metrics in the dashboard can be reporting wrong values if the sheet is not accessed.

Hope I have made myself clear here and again thanks for your valued assistance

Murray (CRL Planning)

Ramzi K

@CRL Planning

Murray, unfortunately the scenario you described is a known limitation in Smartsheet. The TODAY() function is not "self aware" and does not automatically update until a sheet is opened and saved. So unfortunately you will need to open and save the sheet regularly or find another option for your formula.

Cheers,

Ramzi

Andrée Starå

@CRL Planning

Happy to help!

There are some 3rd party options/workarounds like Zapier and copy row combined with cross-sheet formulas (untested) could also work.

Would that work/help?