Best practice for formulas and rolling out templates

CycleBagEd · 01/13/22

Hi folks.

It strikes me that Smartsheet HAS to be set up right from the get-go, because if you get your template wrong and roll it out to your users, adjusting a formula, column name or any other duplicated variable is going to be a big pain to fix - you'd have to have all your users transfer their data onto your new "fixed" template - either a big pain for them, or for the administrator, especially in a big company.

What is best practice for this?

Is there a way of defining formulae outside a sheet and having them referred to indirectly so they can be fixed in a single go?

Is there a tool for transferring from old templates to new ones?

Is there a way to run copies of the templates as clones which adjust when the master template is adjusted?

I'm very mindful of rolling out and finding the next week I've found a problem in a formula, or have a request for a metric which hasn't been engineered into the template.

thanks in advance!

Andrée Starå · 01/13/22

Hi @CycleBagEd

I hope you're well and safe!

Smartsheet has a Premium app, Control Center, which is fantastic. With it, you can automatically create a project with all sheets, reports, dashboards, and names correctly + much more.

It also has a Global Update feature where you can update rolled-out projects formulas, add columns, and much more.

https://www.smartsheet.com/marketplace/premium-apps/control-center

Is that an option?

I hope that helps!

Be safe and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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Andrée Starå · 01/13/22

@CycleBagEd

I'm always happy to help!

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I promise!

Andrée Starå · 01/13/22