"Record a Date" Automation to a Cell in a Hidden Column

I have lots of sheets for a reviewing process - each item to review has a new sheet from a template. Each sheet has about 30 rows and a summary sheet.

I have an automation that does the following:

When "status" cell changes, request an approval. (This is calculated in a summary sheet and written to a cell.)
Approval comes to me and I click to approve.
It then emails various people and…
… should record a date….

All works ok but step 4 seems unreliable.

The cell that it writes the date to is usually hidden - for a cleaner sheet when viewed - the crucial data is pulled into a Sheet Summary.

Question is - might it be a problem writing a date to a cell in a hidden column?
Thanks.

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Accepted answers

Andrée Starå

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/463208#Comment_463208

Excellent!

Happy to help!

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All comments

Paul Newcome

I set up record a date automations populating hidden columns A LOT and have never had any trouble with them. Are you able to provide some screenshots of the automation(s)?

delberto

SMartsheet automation Screenshot 2024-11-22 093046.jpg

SMartsheet automation Screenshot 2024-11-22 093046-2.jpg

Hi Paul, thanks for responding. I've attached a couple screenshots.
I didn't think that hidden columns should affect it but as I mentioned, it does sometimes work - so something odd is going on - or more likely I'm missing something.

Andrée Starå

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/463204#Comment_463204

Hi,

I hope you're well and safe!

Yes, that's strange. It should work just fine, and I double-checked and tested it.

One thing to try. Try copying the workflow and deactivating the original to see if it's just a glitch.

If that doesn't make any difference, and If you haven't already, I recommend submitting a support ticket through the new Smartsheet Support Portal.

Feel free to report back what the issue was.

I hope that helps!

Be safe, and have a fantastic day!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

✅ Did my comment(s) help/answer your question or solve your problem? Please support the Community and me by marking it - Insightful 💡- Vote Up ⬆️ - Aweseome ❤️ - or/and as the accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer! I appreciate it, thanks!

delberto

Hi @Andrée Starå . I'll try that - and then monitor it for a while, give it a few chances to fail.

Thanks for the help!

Andrée Starå

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/463208#Comment_463208

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