Select which columns to copy or move from one sheet to another

This would also be helpful for our uses. A row is created when an applicant fills out an application form. That applicant is then the primary column for all subsequent sheets. We use the sheets to track the workflows through different phases of the project: intake, contract, construction, close out. We move a row to the next phase sheet using automations. Every time a row is moved, it moves all of the information collected from the initial application form AND all of the previous workflow tracking columns along with it. By the time we get to the last phase, I have to hide many more columns than I'm showing. I really only want to move a few items from phase to phase (applicant name and maybe a few other things). Then, we have other sheets that track other items like payment. I copy a row to the payment tracker and EVERYTHING else is copied with it. All I need is the name and the estimate amount, really. If our processes were any more complicated, we would absolutely run into the column limit and all of this excess information is bound to bog down the process. It already takes multiple seconds (which feels like a long time when everything else works instantly) for automations to trigger.

I love how a Smartsheet report allows you to pick and choose what you need, can the same be made available when we copy a row from one Sheet to another?

Recently I have taken over the ownership of a lot of Sheets originally created and owned by another department for better interdepartmental visibility and data accessibility. However when the source and destination Sheets both have more than 50 columns, the destination Sheet ends with 100+ columns. Thank you!

Would love to see this implemented. Just ran into it today. Our specific use case is our IT ticketing system.

We have a single form that helps the user drill down to the specific request/need. Some of these requests include starting up a new process. (For example, opening a new client portal account to our file server). Our main IT ticket sheet is large as it handles many different types of requests. Some requests only live in the ticket sheet until resolved. Some (like our file server access) get copied over to that sheet and is handled there.

But now, my file server sheet (listing active/inactive accounts, expiration dates, owner, etc) which only needs to be about 5 columns has about 30 extra columns from the IT ticket system that I have to 'hide'. Not an elegant solution. And whenever I want to add a new workflow in that sheet, I have to wade through all the extra columns to get to the 5 I actually need.

So yes, this would be a huge benefit.

As for implementation, it could be a simple as a checkbox in the automation that asks "create new columns in destination sheet if they do not exist?", or as granular as "select columns to copy".

FWIW, our IT intake sheet would not need to have so many columns, but its kind of a function of how smartsheet forms work. Because the help text prompt may vary based on what has been selected, or because I may not want to show ALL of the drop down options based on prior selections, I end up with columns that are variations of the same thing (helper columns) that all get copied over into the main description field. That is a request for another day.

Thanks!

is there a simple way to copy columns from one sheet to another similar to excel without such complicated instructions? Does Smartsheet has a simple way of doing simple tasks?

@Mary Anne If you do have DataMesh on your account, that's what I'd recommend for that! If you use the "Copy and Add" mode in DataMesh it can essentially do an INDEX/MATCH that pulls in new unique IDs as well, so you don't already need to have the value in the sheet to look up against. It's essentially the Data Shuttle tool for when you want to bring data from one sheet (or report) to another sheet (instead of from a CSV/XLSX file to a sheet).

Hi @Mary Anne - you will still need to have a Lookup Column selected in both the source and target but you don't need to have those 'keys' already populated into the target sheet, if that makes sense. For example, in this config, I have Lookup Columns selected (which I need to have) and the columns that I want to map over. BUT, when I run this, even if my "Time Submission" target sheet is totally blank before I run the DataMesh config, upon running the config, the target sheet will populate with all of the values for those three columns (if I didn't want all of the Email Addresses to come over, I could first make a report to filter out the values I didn't care about bringing over). It works in this way specifically because I have "Copy and Add Data" selected as the Data Mapping Format.

If you do have DataMesh access, I'd recommend reaching out to your CSM for some help getting started or booking a Pro Desk session if you have Pro Support.

I'm truly surprised the Smartsheet development team has not added the ability to select specific columns when "Copy Row" is a choice within the Automation process because I've seen multiple cases where users are asking for this. I submitted it as a suggestion, but it can't come soon enough for my organization's needs to share a specific sheets with only the a limited number of columns from a master sheet after a "new row" trigger has occurred. Yes, there are workarounds, but they are cumbersome.