Allow Approvals and Update Requests to be completed by individuals not shared on SS

Mitchell Heinen

Hi SS Community. Smartsheet automations are great for collecting information from others! One problem I have been experiencing is wanting certain individuals to approve/decline requests. As it is, you are only able to approve/decline if you are added to the sheet. I work within a company with 20,000+ employees, my department having 600 of those employees. Adding every single individual to a sheet is unrealistic. Having a way for the 600 employees on free accounts to approve/decline and submit update requests without being shared the sheet would be helpful for bigger organizations who require data from individuals across departments. Additionally, sharing sheets outside an immediate team could compromise certain information. Thank you.

Andrée Starå

Hi @Mitchell Heinen

I hope you're well and safe!

You don't need to add them to the sheet. You only have to add them to a cell so Smartsheet knows where it should send the request or Approval.

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Have a fantastic week & Happy New Year!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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Genevieve P.

Hi @Mitchell Heinen

I agree with @Andrée Starå!

If you're finding you cannot send Approvals to users who are not shared to the sheet, check two things:

• Your sheet level Automation Controls to make sure you've set this to Unrestricted

https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/2476586-control-who-is-notified-about-alerts-and-requests

• Your organization's restrictions around automations

https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/1159581-global-account-settings-team-business-enterprise

Cheers,

Genevieve

Mitchell Heinen

Thank you for getting back to me. My organization will not allow us to be in unrestricted as we have to comply with HIPPA. My workflows are set in the "Limited" setting, which should be sufficient. Everyone in my organization should be able to approve or decline requests, but they are unable to do so. The request emails are sent to the appropriate people, but when the link is used, the drop downs or whatever is included within the update does not display any options for these individuals to select. They are unable to submit any information.

Please advise.

Genevieve P.

Hi @Mitchell Heinen

Thank you for clarifying, that's a slightly different situation. It sounds like they're receiving the request as expected, but the fields are locked.

If you're using an Update Request specifically, then what people can fill out will depend on how your columns are configured. For example, if you lock a column in a sheet then the field will be locked in the Update Request unless the person receiving the request is an Admin shared on the sheet (since Admins can edit locked fields). Does that explain what you're experiencing?

Here's more information: Read-only fields in update requests

Cheers,

Genevieve

Mitchell Heinen

Hi @Genevieve P.

I think that might have been my problem! I did not know that locking the column would also lock the spaces on request forms. I thought locking it meant it cannot be edited in the grid.

Thank you for the help! :)

Mitchell

Genevieve P.

No problem! I'm glad we could get to the bottom of it 🙂