Pulling a List of Names to a Preferred Contact List

I need to maintain hundreds of log sheets. On the sheet, we use a Contact List column with a preferred contact list. On the form, we use radio buttons to easily select from the list.

While this system works well, I've come across a limitation: when we have personnel changes, I need to change the preferred contact list on every sheet to update every form.

Is there any way I can link a preferred contact list (stored on a separate sheet) so I can just point each of the log sheets to the same source?

Note: I cannot set it to add the current user since we will add things on behalf of another team member. We need to be able to select from a short list of preferred contacts.

Find more posts tagged with

Forms

Contacts

Accepted answers

Paul Newcome

Technically it is available to all users, but it can have a huge learning curve for those that are not experienced with it. If you do not already have experience with APIs, you may need to reach out to a development team if you have access to one at your employer's.

https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/1072100-smartsheet-api-faqs

https://developers.smartsheet.com/

https://developers.smartsheet.com/api/smartsheet/introduction

All comments

Paul Newcome

You would need to leverage Data Shuttle, the API, the premium add-on Bridge, or some other similar third party app. What you are basically looking for is a dropdown manager.

We at 10xViz do offer a dropdown manager for a low yearly subscription if the above options are not feasible.

S.Stone

@Paul Newcome thanks so much for your comment. Unfortunately, I don't get paid the big bucks to make financial decisions, so I need a built-in solution with the Smartsheet tools we've already got.

Paul Newcome

Do you already have access to Data Shuttle? All users on Business and Enterprise plans should have access to the API, but that is definitely the more complicated route.

S.Stone

@Paul Newcome we do not have access to Data Shuttle, but I am on a business plan. I haven't done anything with the API though. Is that something that a regular user like me could use, or is that something only our admins in our company could use?

If I can use it, I'm all for it!

Paul Newcome

https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/1072100-smartsheet-api-faqs

https://developers.smartsheet.com/

https://developers.smartsheet.com/api/smartsheet/introduction

S.Stone

@Paul Newcome thanks so much for the links! I'll look into this!

Paul Newcome

Happy to help. 👍️

Darren Mullen

@S.Stone

Paul's comments are all correct of course. Being you don't have access to Data Shuttle or Smartsheet's Bridge, there are a couple options we have to alleviate your need for custom API development.

If you solution is architected with all your log sheets in a folder or workspace we can have the contact list update new sheets without having to touch the configuration. Here's a demo:

https://smartsheetguru.com/smartsheet-dropdown-list-from-another-sheet/

Vivien Chong

@S.Stone we do have a smart drop down solution that enable you to update your drop down list from a central sheet. Do reach out to us if you wishes to find out more. Thanks.

S.Stone

Hi @Vivien Chong , thanks for your message. I believe transparency is key in support channels like this. If you have something valuable to offer, it would be more helpful to share it openly here rather than asking people to reach out privately. That way, everyone can benefit from the information and decide if it’s relevant to their needs. I’d appreciate it if we could keep the conversation public and focused on support rather than solicitation. Thanks!

Vivien Chong

@S.Stone Sorry that I did not make it clear in my earlier message. Ours is a paid 3rd party integration. Similar to what Darren is sharing. I am not sure if his is a paid add-on or complimentary.

Sign in to join the conversation!

Quick Links

Component react.discussion.discussions had an error.

ref must be one of: categoryID, siteSectionID, category, category/categoryID, category/name, category/description, category/url, category/allowedDiscussionTypes, locale, siteSection, siteSection/basePath, siteSection/contentLocale, siteSection/sectionGroup, siteSection/sectionID, siteSection/name, siteSection/description, siteSection/apps, siteSection/attributes, layoutViewType, discussionID, commentID, page, sort, discussion, discussion/name, tags, breadcrumbs, discussionApiParams, serverDraftID, serverDraft.