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Complex dynamic dropdown set up

RayB

Hi Community

Have a situation that appears quite common across this group and wanted to get some feedback/ideas/guidance before I begin building. An internal client has set the challenge of building a basic 'visit log' tracker. I see two complexities; one is that there are three levels of information to reach the final data field (category, sub category, sub-sub category, sub-sub-sub category), with each selection requiring a dynamic dropdown for the next level. So, selecting category presents a dynamic dropdown based on that selection. The next selection presents the dynamic dropdown based on that selection etc. The other complexity is the size of the dataset - there are 10 categories, 6 sub categories, 53 sub-sub categories and approx 1200 sub-sub-sub categories (obviously the dropdowns at each stage would be much smaller than these numbers indicate as each selection reduces the number of sub-sub-sub categories that meet the selection criteria). If you were faced with this challenge, what approach would you adopt?

Note that the dataset is dynamic and changes over time. It is pulled as an excel sheet from a different system and is straight forward to upload into smartsheet.

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dynamic dropdowns

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Adrien Leduc

I'd be curious to know too if there is a way to do that somewhat easily.

Here's my thought on the subject so far:

It's probably doable with Bridge if you're not using forms, just a sheet, but it wouldn't be immediate (you would have to wait after entering one category that the next one fills) and it would be a big configuration and testing. I can also think of issues already but I won't get into details.
An alternative without premium app:
1. When the first category is selected, the row is moved to another sheet, made specifically for that category. In there the dropdown of the sub-category are tailored for that category. (It can be a dynamic list thanks to the new dynamic dropdown in the new table view). Then keep doing that until you reach the last level. It will require a lot of sheets to be created and configured (1200?), as well as all the automations.
2. I've not tested so I don't know how well it would work, but you can put all the sheets in one report so instead of users moving from sheet to sheet, they would only have to reload the report to do the next sub-category. Or perhaps it doesn't work well because all the dropdown are different? The alternative would be to send a notification to the user every time the row gets on another sheet. (at least you could do an update request so they do 3-4 update request and then they're done.
Perhaps it's a long shot but make sure your need is communicated through the feedback form. I've had a meeting myself with a product manager last year to talk about dynamic drop down and I did mention this capability would be great to have. The more people share this need the likelier it is they'll develop it.

Adrien Leduc

I've given it a bit more thought as I think it's an interesting use case. How about using a numbered taxonomy to make the selection easier on the user instead of over-engineering it on the tech side?

Make a table with all your categories and matching sub categories with numbers or references in front of them, like so:

Then when a user has to enter a category they know what reference to start typing to enter their sub category:

You can make it better then mine so they wouldn't see 01 of other categories of course.

RayB

Thanks - giving food for thought. I did build a PoC form using conditional logic that works great but only on a subset of the data. I would definitely exceed the system limits to build the whole thing in one form 😂. One area I'm looking at is to define the 'highest' data level I can reach and still use conditional logic in forms (looks like you can only find these limits by building testing your solution). The conditional logic in forms is simple to set up and I am keen to follow KISS principles 😁. Once I understand how high up the data relationship tree I can go I can build the process above this point in another system (power apps ?) to deliver the correct Smartsheet form url.

Paul Newcome

There may be a different form application that would allow the dynamics you need that could then be integrated with Smartsheet after submission.

RayB

Thanks for the steer - found a number of form-specific apps on the web and am testing one called Jotform. This has a native integration with Smartsheet and can have 100's of dynamic dropdowns in any one form (depending on how much you want to pay 😅) so has the capacity for my use case. Looks like you control which fields are displayed or hidden based on input choices so should be fun working out the logic to make sure it works and displays correctly - like the old days of powerpoint animations 😂

Paul Newcome

I remember looking at jotform some time ago. I remember the integration was relatively straightforward, so I hope it helps get you where you need to be with your solution.

Adrien Leduc

Let us know what you end up doing please :)

RayB

OK - so technically it would be feasible using jotform. It would be complex to set up but doable. The issue then becomes the administration of the dropdowns in a very complex conditional logic tree. Unfortunately I have not been able to find a way to automate updates to the dropdown data other than by manual edits - not a task I would relish. The data pool is large and dynamic, where changes come in bursts before relatively calm periods.

Time for some creative thinking with the client to see if we can reframe their original requirement 😁

Thanks Adrien and Paul for your time thinking about this challenge 👍️

James Harris

Hi,

I'm a bit late to the party here, but in case you're still after a form that can build the dynamic dropdowns on the fly, keeping up to date with changes to the underlying lists, we could do that with our Smarter Forms app. Drop me a line if you'd like a quick demo.

Thanks,

James

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