Automations: include attachments

Sebastien · 10/07/22

When selecting attachments for an Automation Workflow, we should have the option to include all the attachments in the notification email instead of sending only the last attachment if it was attached after the last save of the sheet.

Christine Adams · 01/26/23

Hello, I have run into issues repeatedly with our users when I send them an automated email letting them know a PDF attachment is ready for them they click the link then get lost on the sheet, they forget how to find and download the correct attachment. I would be really helpful if they could just get the automated email with the attachments from that row included as attachments to the email.

Also, I find that they cannot access the attachments without having a user ID and password and the forms we created were unrestricted to avoid having them need a user ID and password. So now I have to get them all set up just to access the attachment and download their itinerary.

Stella Marie Espedido · 02/14/23

I've noticed that only attachments added real-time were being added to the email alerts as automated emails.

However, if the attachments are being added or changed, days before the automation workflow trigger happens, it's not gonna get included on the email alert.

This feature should have no restrictions in the first place as attachments are an essential part of a documentation.

Sending it manually defeats the purpose of setting your automation workflow to alert someone when a criterion is met.

Hope you can consider this idea for future enhancement, thank you.

bialkow · 02/24/23

Hello,

I could repeat the same request as the colleagues in this post did to enable sending attachments when an automated workflow is executed regardless when attachment appeared there. Currently this function is not present that is a true pity. As as a workaround, Smartsheet could enable including in the workflow message at least a direct link to the attachment. How does it sound?

Regards!

Susan L. · 03/08/23

I'm having a similar issue. I'd like to include an attachment in an automated workflow when a particular status is changed, BUT, Smartsheet doesn't include attachments unless they are the triggering event (see screenshot below). I'd simply like to attach a file to a row and have that same attachment included as part of my automation message without having to make the physical act of attaching the file be the trigger. Note that the "Include attachments" options does not work in this scenario.

What happens now:

What I want to happen (sensitive information redacted):

MPound · 05/22/23

I agree, the ability to include attachments to automated emails is vital. I'm also finding colleagues are getting lost in the sheet when they click the link in the email. Its really slowing down one of our internal processes too as we need to forward on the detail collected in a form to another department that won't use the smartsheet to download the attachments so we then need to have the automated email sent to the requestor for them to add the attachments to send.

Marlana K. · 05/23/23

We use the Generate documents feature to generate a PDF that needs to be sent to another department to load into an application they use for tracking. The only way I have found that I can send this PDF is through an update request which requires them to open the request and download the PDF then upload into their system, creating additional steps for that department. What we are looking for is a way to just send the PDF attachment no links to the sheet.

Any suggestions or work arounds that anyone has would be greatly appreciated!

Donna Kesterson · 05/25/23

I have the exact same need. I need to send the attachment, nothing else. I also need to be able to send a single row at a time. We receive multiple requests at the same time, but need the requests to flow into our case queue for proper tracking and disbursement one at a time. Also looking for work arounds. If we could send just the attachment, we would send it directly to the requestor, instead of flowing through our case queue.

Andrée Starå · 05/26/23

Hi @Donna Kesterson and others,

I hope you're well and safe!

As a workaround, you can trigger an Update Request and include attachments, and it will always include the attachments.

I used this method recently in a client solution to include instructions for EV charging, and at the same time, we asked the customer for feedback on the work.

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe, and have a fantastic weekend!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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

phillipo · 06/01/23

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/377682#Comment_377682

Hi Andree,

(Sorry I do not know how to add an accent on my VM Windows machine!)

This kind of makes sense, but where are you housing the instructions for EV charging in your sheet? For context, we have a couple of attachments that we need to send out at various stages of the lifecycle of a hire. It would not make sense for every attachment to get sent out every time, because some are pertinent to hiring managers, while others are for the new hire. Do you have a workaround for this? Simply being able to attach a file would be much easier...

Thanks!

H Brian · 06/07/23

I am currently working on a sheet where there will be multiple attachments generated from each row - one or two will be internal-facing, one or two will be external, depending on the answers to the form. From the answers to this forum, it appears that the end-user will need to receive an Update Request to be able to download all the appropriate files until Smartsheet is able to correct this issue for developers. I was hopeful that a single email would be the solution so the employee would have access to the files easily in their inbox for future reference.

Terry P · 07/04/23

Hi There,

Just another 'vote' for the ability to simply attach a document held against a particular row to an update automation.

For me, I have a system that works through a series of approvals creating Documents along the way until the final approval is received and then a final Document (fillable PDF) generated. That final document needs to be circulated to a fairly wide non-Smartsheet using community.

As mentioned above, using the fudged 'update/link' creates a lot of confusion for those non-Smartsheet users, they just want the PDF.

Cheers

Terry

Nicktbss · 07/05/23

Hello everyone,

I discovered a type of work around that may assist others that want all attachments for a row to be sent out with an alert even when the attachments were linked to the row at different times by different users.

My workflow (automation) contains update requests that retrieve attachments from multiple users and once complete a document (PDF) is generated. I needed all the attachments + PDF to be sent to the affected users in (1) final email. We accomplished this by creating a 2nd sheet and once all the operations were complete on Sheet 1 we created an automation for when the last attachment was added (Generated PDF) it triggered the row to be copied to the 2nd sheet. Then on the 2nd sheet another automation was setup to be triggered upon attachment "added" and to alert users and include links to sheets (and attachments). It seems Smartsheets sees the copied row to sheet 2 as having new attachments and thus an email alert is sent including links to all attachments in the row! 😊

I hope this helps someone as it was frustrating for me while trying to design my Change Order work flow and not having the ability to include all row attachments in the alert if they were added at different times.

Have a great day!

KCPCA · 07/14/23

Hello, I am adding an additional request for being able to include a PDF attachment on automations. I have a workflow that generates documents that are individual certificates of completion. I then need to send these certificates out to different individuals, each on a distinct row with the corresponding attachment. I have tried to use the update request workaround but it is confusing to non-Smartsheet users, who are the majority of my recipients. The ability to simply include an attachment to an automated alert would be very useful.

Marco Moura · 07/26/23

I am facing the same issue.

So, 'vote' for the ability to attach all documents on notifications, no matter when they were added.

Thanks.

ker9 · 08/15/23

I vote for better attachment capabilities.

I'd like to be able to send just the attachment without sheet links in an alert. (Your request is completed, attached is what you need.)

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Automations: include attachments

On Radar · Last Updated 07/11/23

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