Auto-numbering for Sub-items / Hierarchical Relationships

Gerhard da Costa Pinto · 03/31/21

Good morning,

I would like to know if there are any plans for updating the Auto-numbering system to take account of hierarchical relationships, such as:

1.

1.1

1.1.1 ... and so on.

I have seen a few posts on this forum from years back which have requested this feature, with confirmation from Smartsheet employees that this was in the works (https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/8536/auto-numbering), so it I find it surprising that this still hasn't been done.

Further to this, is there a work-around I can implement in the interim in order to implement a numbering system that takes this into account? Any solution would be most welcome!

Kind regards,

Gerhard

Debbie Sawyer · 03/31/21

@Gerhard da Costa Pinto

This is an interesting thread. I followed the links that Andree put up and experiemented with that sheet. These are my results:

In my humble opinion, this solution doesn't work, the numbers are NOT what I would expect from a WBS. EDIT!!! After posting this I went back to the sheet where I took the above screen grab and it had saved and amended all the WBS code to a code that WAS Correct!! Weird that it saved like this first though!

The same parent list in my sheet comes out with these results:

APOLOGIES - I noticed my screen shot above has incorrect Level4 within the numeric only code, that is due to me only coding up to level 3 in that column! I only developed this as an exercise for myself! I went up to Level 4 in the Alpha and level 3 in the numeric. Have adapted the IF to state no level 4!

Happy to share you to the sheet if you'd like to see how this was achieved.

Kind regards

Debbie

Andrée Starå · 03/31/21

Hi @Gerhard da Costa Pinto

I hope you're well and safe!

Have a look here.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) - Column Formula Configuration

Tom Zylstra

Mar 30, 2021

Hello Everyone,
Recently myself and two fellow Smartsheet Sales Engineers, @Lea Gikas and @Dave Stanley got together to create a WBS solution powered by Column Formulas.
We wanted to provide the resulting configuration to the community in case some may find it helpful in executing project management solutions, this configuration supports up to ~2,300 tasks & metrics are built out through WBS Level 6.
The solution uses 7 hidden and locked column formulas, and optional Summary Sheet formulas that provide WBS related metrics.
https://us.v-cdn.net/6031209/uploads/9SMK88AK3HG8/cleanshot-2021-03-30-at-10-25-59.png
Here is a distribution link to create a copy in your account; start creating tasks and sub-tasks and the configuration will activate - https://app.smartsheet.com/b/launch?lx=AoXtVB0iMz0XS5D-MVU5jl2F3tjZfBYMXSEruozjq1E
We hope this is helpful and let us know if you have any questions.
Regards, Tom Zylstra, Lea Gikas, Dave Stanley

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

✅Did my post(s) help or answer your question or solve your problem? Please help the Community by marking it as the accepted answer/helpful. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

Debbie Sawyer · 03/31/21

I too have an example of a WBS Structure that works to level 4 including Alpha characters if you are interested.

Happy to share an example sheet with you. My email address is debbie.sawyer@Smarterbusinessprocesses.com

Kind regards

Debbie

Debbie Sawyer · 03/31/21

@Gerhard da Costa Pinto

This is an interesting thread. I followed the links that Andree put up and experiemented with that sheet. These are my results:

In my humble opinion, this solution doesn't work, the numbers are NOT what I would expect from a WBS. EDIT!!! After posting this I went back to the sheet where I took the above screen grab and it had saved and amended all the WBS code to a code that WAS Correct!! Weird that it saved like this first though!

The same parent list in my sheet comes out with these results:

APOLOGIES - I noticed my screen shot above has incorrect Level4 within the numeric only code, that is due to me only coding up to level 3 in that column! I only developed this as an exercise for myself! I went up to Level 4 in the Alpha and level 3 in the numeric. Have adapted the IF to state no level 4!

Happy to share you to the sheet if you'd like to see how this was achieved.

Kind regards

Debbie

Gerhard da Costa Pinto · 03/31/21

Debbie Sawyer

Mar 31, 2021

@Gerhard da Costa Pinto
This is an interesting thread. I followed the links that Andree put up and experiemented with that sheet. These are my results:
https://us.v-cdn.net/6031209/uploads/4XA76W777X2B/image.png
In my humble opinion, this solution doesn't work, the numbers are NOT what I would expect from a WBS.
The same parent list in my sheet comes out with these results:
https://us.v-cdn.net/6031209/uploads/N8F3I3U2LVYT/image.png
APOLOGIES - I noticed my screen shot above has incorrect Level4 within the numeric only code, that is due to me only coding up to level 3 in that column! I only developed this as an exercise for myself! I went up to Level 4 in the Alpha and level 3 in the numeric. Have adapted the IF to state no level 4!
https://us.v-cdn.net/6031209/uploads/S7M0R9U38OZA/image.png
Happy to share you to the sheet if you'd like to see how this was achieved.
Kind regards
Debbie

@Andrée Starå and @Debbie Sawyer,

Thank you so much to the both of you for taking the time to get back to me, and for your suggestions!

@Debbie Sawyer, thank you also for the screenshots above, I agree that the solution in the thread shared by Andrée does not match what I would expect from a WBS. I will take you up on your kind offer for a sample of the sheet you're currently using, as it looks to be exactly what I was hoping for.

Many thanks once again and best wishes to you both!

Kind regards,

Gerhard

Debbie Sawyer · 03/31/21

@Gerhard da Costa Pinto

If you email me your Smartsheet login ID I will share the sheet to you and you can take a copy of it.

My email is debbie.sawyer@smarterbusinessprocesses.com

Kind regards

Debbie

PS - I made an edit to my reply. The template that Andree shared did work eventually, it just went through a strange set of numbers before saving the correct code... Just wanted to point that out! :D

Oliver David Krieg · 07/13/21

Hello,

as helpful as the workarounds shown here are, I'm really wondering if this isn't a function that Smartsheet can integrate? It's been talked about for a couple of years already! We are using one of the workarounds on a 1000-line long sheet and it's making it extremely slow in updating the formulas...

Melissa Torrez · 04/27/23

Debbie Sawyer

Mar 31, 2021

@Gerhard da Costa Pinto
This is an interesting thread. I followed the links that Andree put up and experiemented with that sheet. These are my results:
https://us.v-cdn.net/6031209/uploads/4XA76W777X2B/image.png
In my humble opinion, this solution doesn't work, the numbers are NOT what I would expect from a WBS. EDIT!!! After posting this I went back to the sheet where I took the above screen grab and it had saved and amended all the WBS code to a code that WAS Correct!! Weird that it saved like this first though!
The same parent list in my sheet comes out with these results:
https://us.v-cdn.net/6031209/uploads/N8F3I3U2LVYT/image.png
APOLOGIES - I noticed my screen shot above has incorrect Level4 within the numeric only code, that is due to me only coding up to level 3 in that column! I only developed this as an exercise for myself! I went up to Level 4 in the Alpha and level 3 in the numeric. Have adapted the IF to state no level 4!
https://us.v-cdn.net/6031209/uploads/S7M0R9U38OZA/image.png
Happy to share you to the sheet if you'd like to see how this was achieved.
Kind regards
Debbie

@Debbie Sawyer I found this thread in Smartsheet community and was wondering if you still had the sample sheet available to share? I am trying to create something similar and would like to incorporate letters as you have shown here. Thank you.

Debbie Sawyer · 04/27/23

@Melissa Torrez

HI Melissa, yes, email me on debbie.sawyer@smarterbusinessprocesses.com with the email address that you want me to share the sheet to and you can have a copy of it 😊

Kind regards

Debbie

smartshaay · 08/03/23

@Debbie Sawyer Hey there! Like Melissa, I found this thread and was hoping you could please share your sheet with me (shaayann_khalid@teamhealth.com). Thank you!!

Debbie Sawyer · 08/04/23

@smartshaay

Thank you for the email. I have shared the sheet with you. Good luck with it! 😉

Kind regards

Debbie

Sean D1 · 09/08/23

Hi @Debbie Sawyer Can you please share your genius with me as well?

Debbie Sawyer · 09/11/23

@Sean D1

Of course, but you'll need to send me your email address, so that I share the sheet to it :D

Mine is in my profile data.

Kind regards

Debbie

MazU · 05/16/24

Hi Everyone,

can someone help me understand the purpose of WBS?

What is the benefit of implementing it? I creates programmes with rows and hierarchies so wondering how I can make use WBS..

Debbie Sawyer · 05/16/24

Hi Maz

WBS is just a name for listing your tasks out in a sheet. It is the Work Breakdown Structure. i.e. you are structuring your work to allow you to track its progress. This thread is detailing how the rows are numbered automatically to allow you to reference tasks within the sheet.

You are most probably already implementing a WBS in your Project Sheet without realising it! If you have something like a phase heading followed by all the tasks that you need to complete with that phase of work, then you indeed have a work breakdown structure in your sheet.

The numbering is simply for reference purposes.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards

Debbie

SusanG · 07/09/24

@Debbie Sawyer Can you also share this with me? sgrossman@enterprisecommunity.com

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Auto-numbering for Sub-items / Hierarchical Relationships

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Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) - Column Formula Configuration

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