Send from triggering user

JenaW
JenaW ✭✭
edited 05/31/24 in Smartsheet Basics

Whose name gets populated in this email? Is it the person who has the sheet created?

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Answers

  • Ray Lindstrom
    Ray Lindstrom ✭✭✭✭✭✭

    Hi @JenaW,

    The triggering user is the user who entered the data that causes the automation to happen/trigger. If John Doe goes into your sheet, and adds a new line or does whatever causes the automation to run; John Doe's name will be listed as the sender of the email.

    BRgds,

    -Ray

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  • JenaW
    JenaW ✭✭

    @Ray Lindstrom

    I am a bit confused. So, different people will be filling out the form. A bunch of different automations are set up. If it is sent from triggering user, doesn't this mean it comes from me since I created the sheet?

    image.png


    I tested it out and it looks like this:

    image.png


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  • Ray Lindstrom
    Ray Lindstrom ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    edited 10/24/23

    @JenaW,

    You being the sheet owner does not make you the triggering user. In the example you provided you are both the sheet owner and the triggering user.

    The triggers are (the options you have when you setup your automation which states when the automation should run):

    • When rows are added or changed
    • When rows are changed
    • When rows are added (this won't trigger for changes in existing rows)
    • When a date is reached

    The triggering user is the person who "triggers" (causes) the associated automation to run.

    For example: If a row is changed or added, then the automation will appear to be from the user who changed or added the row.

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  • Martin_M
    Martin_M ✭✭✭✭

    Here's something else that might be helpful:

    If the person, that's filling out a form, does not have their name entered in their Profile Settings, then Smartsheet (as hard as it may try) is not able to determine the triggering user (at least that's what I noticed).

    Everybody, that either is filling out smartsheet forms already or potentially will fill one out in the future will have to have their name entered in the Personal Settings.
    Only then Smartsheet is able to determine the name of the triggering user.
    My guess is, that the person also would need to be registered and have a valid email address entered for any automation to properly function.

    Smartsheet_Personal_Settings.png
    Smartsheet_Profile_Settings.png

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  • Ray Lindstrom
    Ray Lindstrom ✭✭✭✭✭✭

    @Martin_M,

    First off, when submitting a Form Smartsheet records the user's email address as the "Submitted by" user whether or not the user has their name populated in their account.

    Secondly about triggering users. When speaking of triggering users, that's automation. Smartsheet defaults to using the email address of the triggering user when the user's name is not populated in their profile. Here's a sample of what it looks like.

    image.png

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  • Martin_M
    Martin_M ✭✭✭✭
    https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/438626#Comment_438626

    Hi Ray,

    in our case, the automation for "triggering user" did NOT work if the person did not have their name populated in their settings. Once everybody had entered their name, the automation for "triggering user" worked fine and as expected.

    Also, in our case, smartsheet did NOT default to use the "triggering user's" email address because they did not have their name entered in their settings. Smartsheet defaulted to the sheet owner's email address (person that created the sheet) in those cases. Again, once every user had their name entered in the settings, everything worked find and as expected.

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  • Ray Lindstrom
    Ray Lindstrom ✭✭✭✭✭✭

    @Martin_M

    Interesting… I've got many users who do not have their names populated, and have never experienced what you're explaining.

    The email address is the unique ID for the user. Smartsheet uses first and last names when it can to make things prettier, but defaults back to the email when the name isn't present.

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  • Martin_M
    Martin_M ✭✭✭✭

    I'm happy that worked for you and your users.
    In our case it did not and having every user put in their name fixed it – at least initially...

    Additional information I received just today points toward Microsoft Outlook for Mac, version 16.84.2, causing this issue, when receiving emails from a smartsheet, that were generated via automation.

    When our users initially entered their name in their profile settings, everything seemed to work. A few days later, when those automation generated emails arrived in Outlook, sporadically it again did not work.

    This example here shows, that the same person with initials LK submitted the form yesterday 4x between 12.50pm and 4.12pm. Two times, Outlook had my name and initials instead of LK and the person's name that submitted the form.

    Screen Shot 2024-05-31 at 11.02.35 AM.png


    Today, a coworker told me, that the same happened with an email where smartsheet was not at all involved so that points to an issue with Outlook for Mac, version 16.84.2, I'm thinking.

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  • PCarlton
    PCarlton ✭✭

    Is there a workaround for this? It seems like it's something in the Blueprint as the name changes with each new Smartsheet Owner, which is the department manager in our case.

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