CONTACTS NAME TO APPEAR IN CELL NOT THE EMAIL

BILLY SMITH

I am trying to run an automation workflow "ASSIGN PEOPLE":

Trigger = when rows are changed/TASKS(column)/Changes to/any value/when triggered

Condition=TASKS(column)/is not blank

Action-Assign people=EXPEDITOR(column)/a contact

The expeditor column is set up for contacts. When I run the automation it pulls up their email not their name.

Is there a way to force it to show the name of the contact not the email.

Also when I put the contact in manual with a drop down it pulls up their name not the email. Go figure.

Brett Wyrick

Hey BILLY! Your post in ALL CAPS caught my attention 😁

This is happening because Smartsheet considers the email address as the "value" of the cell, whereas the user's Display Name is considered the "displayValue" of the cell.

Without going into something complex like getting into the API or using a third-party tool like Power Automate or Zapier, here's what I'd recommend:

• Create a column with the Column Type "Text/Number".
• Name this new column "Contact Name".
• Go to any cell in the "Contact Name" column and copy/paste in this formula (adjust the "Assigned to" text as needed if your column is named something different like "Assignee", "Owner", etc.)

=[Assigned to]@row

• Right-click that cell, then within the menu, select "Convert to Column Formula".

Now when you need to reference the person's name, you can do so in Automations by using {{Contact Name}}. For example, you could say {{Item Name}} has been assigned to {{Contact Name}} by {{Modified by}}. Please note that "Modified by" will always be an email address.