Format form email?

Jamie567

Hello!

Can the formatting of an email that is sent by a form be customized, or even changed?

The email that is sent has all the form info of course but is incredibly difficult to read for the recipient.

Thanks!

Andrée Starå

Hi @Jamie567

I hope you're well and safe!

You could use the message-only option combined with the Placeholder feature.

More info: 

https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/2477796-dynamically-add-cell-data-in-the-subject-and-body-of-request-messages

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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Jamie567

Hi Andrée and thanks so much for replying!

Do you mean just send a message about the form content, directing them go into SmartSheet to view the information?

I was looking for a solution that allows them to simply view the form information in the email. Right now, it's really difficult to read and with any longer version of a form (with more information fields) the presentation is even more discouraging to read! I was hoping there was a way to format the form information so it is readable.

As a last resort, I was also thinking to make a report/dashboard of sorts where I can generate a presentation of the information from each individual form submittal/record. I was hoping there was a more direct way? any suggestions are welcome!

Jamie567

P.S. Perhaps I should spell out the process I'm hoping for here?

We are using a SmartSheet form to capture review comments. the form is long and has many fields.

Once done we submit the form and it's captured in a Sheet.

It would be lovely if we could simply cc the form via email to the recipient of the review, but this sends a difficult-to-read email.

Alternative? Set up a Dashboard (report) to output each review (record) info and then send that to the recipient (instead of an email of the form submission).

Jamie :)

Andrée Starå

@Jamie567

Happy to help!

No, the email would include information but in a nicer format.

Something like this.

Would that work?

Jamie567

Ah! I see the miscommunication!

So my goal is to send out the COMPLETED form information, not send the form for completion.

So, if you fill out a form, and at the end enter your email to send yourself a copy, that email is what I am trying to format: the output of the form submittal. Our review form is long and formatting makes a big difference for engagement and comprehension.

Thanks so much again for pursuing this with me Andree!!

Jamie :)

Andrée Starå

@Jamie567

You're more than welcome!

It would look like my example but with the information from the submitted form.

Make sense?

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Jamie567

Hi Andree!

Here's a screenshot of a short part of the completed form email that would be sent out. Again (I think I might be confusing?) this is the email that you can send out when you are completing the form, not to distribute a form link.

I've blurred out some content for privacy but marked up the areas that even the most basic formatting might address. These are inflexible (even with expanding the size of the email...) in the email that SmartSheet sends out.

This is the formatting I am seeking to influence (and change!).

I looked at your previous replies and I can't tell what you mean in terms of the suggested solution. I don't see any place where I can influence the layout of this email.

Again: I am not composing an email to distribute the form. I am seeking to send the form results (or completed form) to different people so they can see their reviews. I am convinced I am missing something because I can't understand how the software would have things like icons, but then not send the icons out in the forwarding of that information, but instead convert it to text! Crazy.

Thanks again so much and please do send a link or screenshot to the elements you are suggesting as something I can use to influence the layout of a completed form email.

Jamie

Jamie567

P.S. Do you know if there's a way to have the email of a submitted form NOT include fields that were not "used"? I have a rating system in the form that uses the color codes to implement a logic path. For example, If I select the green dot, it opens up the "positive" message, if I select the red dot, it populates the suggested improvement, and if I select the yellow dot it should do neither. Right now, if I select one of those, while I am completing the form it works fine. But when I send the form in the email at the bottom (the "Send me a copy of my responses" checkbox and added email) it doesn't matter which one I select for the output: the emailed copy sends all of them, and in the crappy to read formatting... As always, thanks so much! Jamie :)