Update Request emails not including message text?

Hello,

We're having an issue where, when update requests are sent, they don't include the message text that we set in the automation settings. Instead they have the default 'Please update my online sheet.' I've included images of the automation setting, as well as the email that gets sent:

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As these update requests can be sent to customers, we want them to be professional and include all pertinent information. Is there any way to fix this?

Thanks!

Best Answer

  • Genevieve P.
    Genevieve P. Employee
    Answer βœ“

    Hi @Margaret Wood

    Thank you for clarifying about the placeholders! That does change the behaviour, see the bullet points at the bottom of Help Article here: Dynamically Add Cell Data in the Subject and Body of Request Messages

    "When using placeholders with Alert or Update Request actions in change-based workflows, placeholders will generate separate notifications if six or fewer rows are triggered simultaneously. If seven or more rows are triggered at once, the custom subject and body will be removed."

    As long as you don't trigger more than 6 rows at one time for the Update Request, the custom message will be there. Is there a possibility you'll be sending more than 6 rows to the same person at one time?

    Genevieve

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Answers

  • Hi @Margaret Wood

    I'm unable to replicate what you're seeing, my Update Requests show the custom message. Is it possible that there's a second automation on your sheet with the same email Subject, but no custom body message, and that's the workflow that's being triggered?

    Can you try duplicating the workflow (see here) and deleting the previous version to see if that fixes the issue?

    If this doesn't resolve the email message, I would suggest reaching out to Smartsheet Support with full screen captures of the sheet, email, and the full workflow, along with the sheet URL, workflow ID and the last time that it ran. They'll be able to troubleshoot this with you in a private channel.

    Thanks!

    Genevieve

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  • Margaret Wood
    Margaret Wood ✭✭

    Hi Genevieve,

    Thank you, I tried your suggestion. It seems that, initially, there was only an issue with having the default message when multiple rows were triggering the automation. My guess is that was because we're using placeholders in the message body. Duplicating and deleting the old one seems to have fixed that, and now it sends a separate email for each row. Is this as good as we can hope for with the placeholders?

    Maggie

  • Genevieve P.
    Genevieve P. Employee
    Answer βœ“

    Hi @Margaret Wood

    Thank you for clarifying about the placeholders! That does change the behaviour, see the bullet points at the bottom of Help Article here: Dynamically Add Cell Data in the Subject and Body of Request Messages

    "When using placeholders with Alert or Update Request actions in change-based workflows, placeholders will generate separate notifications if six or fewer rows are triggered simultaneously. If seven or more rows are triggered at once, the custom subject and body will be removed."

    As long as you don't trigger more than 6 rows at one time for the Update Request, the custom message will be there. Is there a possibility you'll be sending more than 6 rows to the same person at one time?

    Genevieve

    Need more information? πŸ‘€ | Help and Learning Center

    こんにけは (Konnichiwa), Hallo, Hola, Bonjour, OlΓ‘, Ciao!πŸ‘‹ | Global Discussions

  • Margaret Wood
    Margaret Wood ✭✭

    Hi Genevieve,

    Yes, that must be the issue! There's easily a chance that on any given day more than 7 rows will trigger the notification. We may just need to construct a generic text body if that's the case.

    Thanks so much!

    Maggie

  • Hi @Margaret Wood

    No problem! I'm glad we could figure it out.

    I will note that the 7 rows can be triggered in the same day, just not at the same time (within about 2 min of each other). I hope that helps!

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  • Ann.Cracovaner
    Ann.Cracovaner ✭✭✭

    @Margaret Wood

    Is this still the case? I'm having the same issue with some automations and was wondering if there have been any fixes or workarounds developed in the past few years?

  • SSFeatures
    SSFeatures ✭✭✭✭✭✭

    Hi @Ann.Cracovaner, would you be willing to create a new thread and add some screenshots of your automations? I might be able to help!

    Nathan Braun (Founder of SSFeatures) (nathan@ssfeatures.com) (LinkedIn)

    SSFeatures makes Smartsheet way easier to use and it saves you hours of work every week. It adds essential features into Smartsheet to save you time. For example: β€” Auto Sorting β€” Sorting with Filters β€” Report PDF Generation β€” Copy and Paste Conditional Formats β€” Copy and Paste Automation Workflows β€” Column Manager β€” and so many more.

  • AndrΓ©e StarΓ₯
    AndrΓ©e StarΓ₯ Community Champion

    Hi,

    I hope you're well and safe!

    Yes, this is still true. What is your specific issue?

    I hope that helps!

    Be safe, and have a fantastic day!

    Best,

    AndrΓ©e StarΓ₯ | Smartsheet Expert Consultant & Partner / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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    SMARTSHEET EXPERT CONSULTANT & PARTNER

    AndrΓ©e StarΓ₯ | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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    Feel free to contact me for help with Smartsheet, integrations, general workflow advice, or anything else.

  • Ann.Cracovaner
    Ann.Cracovaner ✭✭✭

    Yes it is my issue. I was also wondering if there was a way to work around the 7 row threshold for update requests sending in one email? I have some folks who need to update 2 or 3 rows that were hoping to get one email instead of multiple. Is there anything to do about this?