The need for Forms to update an existing row and not send a request

I see the constant request to have Forms update an existing row and yet it hasn't come to fruition yet? I'm facing the same issue with the need to have users, in this case mechanics, update a Form to reflect anything they may have worked on a regarding parts to a manufacturing/production line and have it done as close to Real-Time as possible. Naturally a Request Form or anything of the sort is a no-go.

Pulling the columns from an extensive working sheet into a report was what I intended and did, but I was advised that by the department manager in the engineering/mechanics area that if we were to consider the effort of having mechanics enter data on smartsheet rather than on paper forms, it would need to be in a Form format. I actually agree after having put together a very intuitive Form that would help capture the new Columns I added to the existing Production/Planning Schedule worksheet.

Well I did that so that it would be easy to then just pull up these Forms on their smartphones but after running a test, I noticed that the updates do not update the existing row but simply add a new row towards the top or bottom of the worksheet.

I can't imagine how this isn't feature when there are so many requests for it and it makes so much sense for being efficient. Would seem natural to want to work in this fashion for many I imagine.

Is there any update to this and if not, are there any videos for helping with a workaround.

Thanks

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Genevieve P.

Hi @VinceA

The way to update a row through a form is to use Update Requests (either manually sent per-row or through an automation). See: Automatically Request Updates on Tasks and Manually Send an Update Request.

In regards to your specific scenario where the entries are happening via Smartphone, I would actually suggest that having the data set up in a Sheet for them to add in to would be the best way to proceed. (You could have filters set on the sheet to quickly filter by row-type if it's a large sheet).

You can adjust the view on your phone so that each row looks like a form, in the Mobile View:

Then you can have the rows show as "collapsed" so it just has the Primary Column detail showing, until your users find the row they're looking to update:

Once they've found the row, if they click the dropdown arrow it will open up the details of that row in a form-like fashion for them to update:

Screen Shot 2022-01-25 at 12.16.31 PM.png

Here's more details on working within Mobile views:

Smartsheet for iOS: View and Update Your Work from the Mobile App

Smartsheet for Android: View and Update Your Work from the Mobile App

If this wouldn't work for you, an alternative would be to have an Intake Sheet where you have a form set up to create new rows. Then you could use cross-sheet formulas to update a Master Sheet with the newest information, or use a Report to only pull the most recently submitted rows.

I hope this helps!

Genevieve

VinceA

Thanks Genevieve for the reply.

Update Requests won't work because they aren't requests being made of and to the mechanics. The Form needs to act as a simple reporting mechanism in real-time from a tablet or smartphone so that when a mechanic sees an issue and works on a fix, he logs the time spent on that fix for any one of the components that could break down on a production line. The many mechanical components are represented in numerous columns amongst other columns on the main worksheet for a host of scheduled product runs.

The only solution here would be a simple Form that translates the data directly onto the existing row on the main worksheet and not as an added row.

The other solution is using a Report to pull only the components representing the production line they are working on and access that report from a phone. This involves a few steps for mechanic to the retrieve a FORM format to work from, which isn't ideal due to possibility of accidentally editing other and different fields that need to be in their Report that help them recognize the current job running.

Genevieve P.

Thank you for the additional information @VinceA. It would be helpful if the Product team could hear your feedback as well to understand more about your use-case. Here is the form if you have a moment.

Thanks,

Genevieve

VinceA

Thanks Genevieve .... I did provide that feedback yesterday and hope to see that the Coding/Tech Team make this a consideration.

Thanks

allegerm

Hi Genevieve, has this been solved? can a submitted form be updated in an easy way?

Genevieve P.

Hi @allegerm

The way to update a row through a form is still to use Update Requests. (Automatically Request Updates on Tasks / Manually Send an Update Request)

Cheers,
Genevieve

allegerm

@Genevieve P. this is not a great solution, is not user friendly.... please consider this use case:

I want to submit an intake, with a bunch of tech questions, where I may not have all answers, so I want to submit [store] what I know, go back to the team, seek for those answers then I want to be able to go back and edit what was missing or update some fields.

thoughts?

Genevieve P.

Hi @allegerm

In this instance, you could set up a checkbox in the form that asks if your user wants to receive a follow-up editable version of what they've submitted.

Then if that checkbox is checked, it could sent that specific person the Update Requests, so the fields they've already submitted are fillable again.

It would require them to either sign in to Smartsheet before accessing the form so they have an email address associated with the submission, or fill out a Contact field with their email so the Update Requests knows where it should go.

If this does not work for you, please create an Idea Post in the Smartsheet Product Feedback and Ideas topic here in the Community. The top-voted posts are reviewed by the Product team and it will allow other users to vote on your enhancement idea.

Cheers,

Genevieve

allegerm

Hi @Genevieve P. thanks for the proposal, is not ideal, it works, but not the best, I will post the proposal in the link you shared.

kcollins

@Genevieve P. this sounds fine in theory, but the perk of using forms is the explanation they can provide (as well as additional formatting options and logic). Am I missing the ability to include this in an update request? I need the person being sent the update request (ideally form) to have an explanation for each column (typically a one sentence question) that is much longer than the column limit. Suggestions?

Genevieve P.

Hey @kcollins

You're correct, there currently isn't a way to customize an Update Request with descriptions like you can do in Forms.

Here's a link to the specific Product Idea request that's been posted by another member for you to add your voice and vote on: Update Request Customization - descriptions and headers like a Form

Cheers,

Genevieve

kcollins

Perfect, thank you I was looking for this @Genevieve P.

RBro79

I use dynamic view for this very reason. Updating rows is done via a form. The logic is a little different than a regular intake form, but works well.

Ryan Catling

Hi @Genevieve P. not sure if you're still here but you were providing some good work-araounds so I was wondering if you could help with my use case:

We have a master contacts list for all our contractors, suppliers, financial backers, etc. But for privacy reasons we only want clients to see contacts for others working on the same project, not the entire master list.

Genevieve P.

Hi @Ryan Catling

The easiest way to do this would be to use Dynamic View, if your plan purchased it as an add-on.

If not, and if your clients only need to view content, I would create Reports from that underlying source sheet and display them as a Report Widget on a Dashboard (perhaps with links out to other pertinent resources?)

If that doesn't help, I would suggest creating a new Question here in the Community that outlines exactly your needs/specifications to hear what other users have done in similar situations! 🙂

Cheers,
Genevieve

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