Import Users Without Generating Invitations?

Mark Salamon

I need to add several dozen users in my organization to our Smartsheet account so that I can populate those users into a task sheet. However, I do NOT want those users to be notified that they have been added to Smartsheet. I will do that later. Is there any way to bulk import users without triggering email invitations?

Genevieve P.

Hi @Mark Salamon

There currently isn't a way to disable or delay the Invitation email that is automatically sent when you add users as members of your company's plan.

However you could first add them as Contacts in a sheet, without them being a part of your plan. You can bulk-import contacts to your My Contacts list (see: Manage Contacts in the My Smartsheet Contacts List) and then assign rows to them in your sheet without them receiving an invitation email. Will that work for you? Let me know if I can clarify anything further or provide screen captures for clarity.

Cheers,

Genevieve

Heidi Larson

@Genevieve P., I have a similar question to that of @Mark Salamon above. I can add external users to my Smartsheet file without sending an invitation. I created a Contact column and can include these users in my workflows. However, these contacts never receive the emails generated to them until they sign up for an account.

If I do send the invite email, and they create a Smartsheet account, then I (Smartsheet) can connect with them.

These users have been whitelisted by my company, so they're recognized by Smartsheet, and they don't ever have to actually access the sheet. I just want to be able to contact them when materials are ready, for example, without them having to have to generate a login and password to Smartsheet.

Everything I read and watch seems to indicate that I should just be able to add contacts--no mention of them accepting invitations and creating accounts. Any thoughts? Is this an "Duh, of course they have to create an account" moment?

Thanks.

Genevieve P.

Hi @Heidi Larson

No, your users do not need to have a Smartsheet account in order to receive emails and alerts sent to their contact/email address.

The first thing I would check is your Automation Permissions for that sheet. Since these users do not have Smartsheet and they are not a part of your Smartsheet plan, you will want to set your Permissions to "Unrestricted":

See: Control Who Is Notified About Alerts and Requests

Let me know if this was the issue!

Cheers,

Genevieve

Heidi Larson

Thanks so much, @Genevieve P. I'm not able to select Unrestricted (apparently not allowed by my company), but I'll see if Limited does the trick. They have been whitelisted by the company, so maybe that qualifies as "In the same account." Fingers crossed, anyway. I'll let you know.

Genevieve P.

Hi @Heidi Larson

Ah, thank you for clarifying!

If your organization has turned off the ability to select Unrestricted, then actually your users will need to have a Smartsheet account. This is because "in the same account" means members of your Smartsheet plan.

These users/emails can be added as Free members (without a license) but a System Admin for your organization will need to add them to your plan (which creates a Smartsheet account) in order for for their emails to be accepted security-wise. Does that make sense?

Here's more information: Admin Center: Add, Edit, and Delete Individual Users with User Management