Assigned to column input control

F.A.B.

Hello,

At our company we are using SmartSheet to receive inputs from across the company on a task level for each project. For this, we have created sheets for each project.

In each sheet there is an "Assigned to" column, that we require project owners/managers to fill out on a monthly basis. However, our problem is as follows: Since not everyone at our company is a Smartsheet user, the inputs in this column are duplicated/wrong, since some people type only the first name, others type first and second name, and yet others type email of the same person. This makes it hard to do any sort of analytics on top of the input (e.g. resource loading).

Is there a simple way to restrict the input of the "Assigned to" columns to the users in our Windows Active Directory or Outlook Address list in our organization to ensure that the same naming convention is used to avoid duplicate/wrong entries?

If that's not possible, what other options are there to ensure a standardized and correct input of stakeholders in the sheets easily?

Thanks!

Paul Newcome

Create you table in another sheet. Then insert lets say a flag type column. Then you can use a formula to trigger the flag if the entry doesn't match anything within the reference sheet which in turn could trigger an update request to be sent to the project manager with instructions informing them of the correct way to enter someone.

F.A.B.

Thanks for your input. Unfortunately, that would require us to manually update that table continuously, which will be difficult given the amount of people filling in from our organization. Further, in each "assigned to" column, input-givers can write multiple stakeholders.

As such, any other suggestions are welcome!

Thanks :-)