@JeremiahHorstick

For a technology cutover plan which requires time level precision, I used this method to manage a 1,800 line plan. It worked - but I would not say it worked "well".

For tasks that had a defined start time, we created what we called "anchor rows" with fixed durations. The task that required a defined start time would be dependent on that "anchor row" so that it would reflect the correct start time. So for example, if a task needed to start at 1 PM, it would be dependent on a task with a 13h duration, assuming a 24 h day.

We inserted two columns with formulas to reflect the Start and End Times. Here's what that looked like for reference:

Start (and End) time formulas: =RIGHT([Start Date]@row + " ", LEN([Start Date]@row + " ") - 9)

You can see in my screenshot that "behind the scenes", SmartSheet is managing the times as you would expect. I am not manipulating the times at all - just exposing them exactly as SmartSheet is calculating them in the Start and End Date columns of a Project Enabled sheet.

Note this workaround approach does not rely on a 24 h day - we were a global team working around the clock which required all kinds of other considerations I'll save for another post. Here is an example with varying durations using a standard 8 Hour day, for those who are curious:

Funny side note: Smartsheet assumes an hour for lunch. :-) notice the First Task ends at 2 PM, and not 1 PM, which is 6h rather than 5h after the start.  

This anchor date workaround approach required checking and rechecking and triple-rechecking the times throughout the planning and execution process. We needed to ensure the workarounds did not have unexpected results. It also meant that the process was not as collaborative as it could have been because all plan updates needed to go through me - this is definitely an "advanced technique" not meant for casual users. Being able to directly enter start times would be a game-changer.

I also noticed this sheet was pretty slow - it seemed the formulas caused a bit of a drag.

Hi @JeremiahHorstick -

Unfortunately, I cannot share this sheet. 😕 The sheet has ~100 contact names from 4 different companies and other personally identifying details that would be difficult to scrub.

Hopefully the screenshots above give you ideas to get start and I am happy to answer specific questions.

Hello, I got de values from the sheet, but i cant change the time of te start column, i can change duration and date for example, but start time i can't. Have you ever been able to change this field?

Thanks.

Neither via API? It's really SAD, i just submitted this request lets wait.

I'm struggling to create a Clock punch for my team because there is no time column.

The idea is to have a form where the person select its name and if they are clocking in or out, and the rest should be automatic, without the chance of the person change the time manually.