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Allow Gantt view to use Date columns with Column Formulas for Start/End

I'm kind of flabbergasted that this is not currently possible in a Sheet, and I'm struggling to explain to my users why.

It is already possible to populate a Date column with a Column Formula and then convert it to a Cell Formula, and then use that column as the Start/End for Gantt view / Project Settings, so the issue is not the formulas in the Date column. So why does converting it back to a Column Formula for some reason no longer work for this purpose? Given it works with Cell Formulas, I am entirely confused as to why this should not work with Column Formulas.

Please make Smartsheet smarter by enabling this functionality.

(I know that using a Report can be a workaround, but Reports have limited functionality and flexibility relative to Sheets, so this is a significant usability issue for us. Also, if it works in Reports, why can't it work in Sheets?)

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Idea Submitted · Last Updated

Comments

  • Date-related functions, e.g. Gantt or Timeline, don't accept columns that use formulas but have dates as the output. This limits the functionality and at times makes date-related formulas obsolete.

  • Rich Coles
    Rich Coles Community Champion
    edited 03/11/25

    If you have DataMesh, you can use this to populate those columns. It's not a fix, but it is a workaround as there are times when we need to do this… it's on my list to do a YouTube demo on when I get to it. But yes, would be good to be able to do this natively without needing to have to create a DataMesh. Same applies for the primary contact column used in Resource Management.

    Rich Coles

    Prodactive | Smartsheet-aligned Platinum partners

    Check out our Smartsheet-dedicated YouTube channel for tips, tricks and inspiration

  • Laura Ablasser
    edited 03/11/25

    Unfortunately, I find it difficult to justify spending extra to ensure a basic feature of the program works as it should.