I'd like to.....

Kellie Cahill

Hi all, I need to give a lot of people the option of selecting a date/time for something. There will be about 25 date options and only person can select one of those dates/times offered. I would like to use Forms for this if possible and would also like to avoid "sharing" the sheet with these people, as I do not want to give them all editing rights to the sheet. Any suggestions for the best way to accomplish this?

Thanks!

Kimberly Loveless

You can use a dropdown column type with all of the date/time options you would like to offer, and then include them in a form. The one thing to keep in mind with this is you would lose any of the functionality that requires the date field (ie Gantt View and Calendar).

As for sharing you can simply share the form URL to collect responses.

You also do have the option to share the sheet to them as a viewer only, this would allow them to see all of the details/responses without being about to make any changes.

Trish Kernen

Hi Kellie,

It looks like you had a similar question to the below thread. See if this solution helps.

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/51736/form-calendar-integrati

Kimberly Loveless

You can use a dropdown column type with all of the date/time options you would like to offer, and then include them in a form. The one thing to keep in mind with this is you would lose any of the functionality that requires the date field (ie Gantt View and Calendar).

As for sharing you can simply share the form URL to collect responses.

You also do have the option to share the sheet to them as a viewer only, this would allow them to see all of the details/responses without being about to make any changes.

Trish Kernen

Hi Kellie,

It looks like you had a similar question to the below thread. See if this solution helps.

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/51736/form-calendar-integrati

Genevieve P.

Hi @Kellie Cahill

This wouldn't be possible to do through a Form, since a Form will show all 25 date options to each person, even if the date has been selected by someone else previously.

As an alternative, I would set up a separate sheet you can use as your "form". This sheet can have all the possible dates set up in one locked column and a Contact List column next to each date for your users to fill out.

Then once someone has selected a date, that row could automatically be moved to a second "Confirmed Booking" sheet (by using an automated workflow once there's content saved in the Contact List column).

This way the sheet will only display the available dates and you can use it like a form. You can let users know if there's no date in the column then that date in unavailable. Since the column is locked, they won't be able to add in any additional dates.

You can Publish this sheet link and provide it to users with the ability to Edit so they can input their information, but they won't have access to your other sheets.

An alternative would be to use a Form but have it embedded in a Dashboard where users can see what dates have already been selected and are unavailable.

You would do this by having the form submit to your underlying sheet (that they're not shared to), but use a cross-sheet formula in a separate sheet in Calendar View to show what dates have been selected. Something like this:

Let me know if you would like to set up either of these options and if you need help with any of the steps (such as the cross-sheet formula).

Cheers,

Genevieve