Automated Notification with Contact List

Sherry Fox

I have a sheet that is populated via a form. Many of the fields are automated based on what the user selects. For example, the user selects a Workstream, and individuals are selected from multiple dropdown menus (names, not contact lists). We are now in the stage of collecting data, so the form is being filled out. I would like to create an automated notification to advise individuals when their name has been selected for a field. Is there a way to do this for multiple people, or is it necessary to convert this field to a contact list. And as a contact list, can it be a dropdown for my initial automation?

Andrée Starå

Hi @Sherry Fox

I hope you're well and safe!

I'd recommend making them Contact Columns, and then you can select one or multiple contacts and have a workflow or multiple workflows with alerts.

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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Sherry Fox

@Andrée Starå ,

Thanks for the quick response. I am somewhat new to Smartsheet, so I may not be doing this right. I did convert my list to a contact list like you recommended. I then attempted to create my workflow based on this criteria:

New record added, alert person who is in the Program Manager filed. Note: that field has 6 names, and have now been converted to a contact list like you recommended.

I am using the "Alert someone when specified criteria are met" workflow. The problem now is that it only gives me Created By & Modified By as fields to choose from (see screenshot). What did I do wrong?

Andrée Starå

@Sherry Fox

Happy to help!

Strange!

When you changed the column, did you make sure that the contacts also have an email?

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Sherry Fox

@Andrée Starå ,

When I went to change the drop down names to contacts columns that broke all my other automation for my for (based on selection of 1 field, 5 other name fields are filled in so user doesn't have to). I recreated those fields, as they were a dealbreaker not to have. Then I opted to add additional workflows based on the user I wanted to notify. It may have been the long way around, but considering I had to fix 36 workflows due to the contacts, it was not something I was ready to do again. Appreciate your help!