Finding “Next” Task in Smartsheet

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Today I was trying to get some energy and motivation by perusing the  Smartsheet Community and I ran across a question that helped with those. I will paraphrase the problem: A main task has a series of sub-tasks. The user want to check the status of each sub-task and return the status of the first non-completed taskRead more

Smartsheet: Secure Your Sheets with X-Sheet References

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A Common Request One of the common requests I see on the Smartsheet Community and hear from my customers is how can we make the data more secure? “I want to share only certain data to my _____” (vendor/customer/peer/team member) Repeat after me: Smartsheet is not a relational database. But it is getting closer toRead more

Smartsheet: Set up Update Requests to increase workflow velocity

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A Semi-Random Walk from Problem to Solution Warning: The Owner of the Sheet for this solution requires a Business or Enterprise Smartsheet license. This solution started in an odd place. Looking back on it, it doesn’t  seem so odd but at the time, I didn’t know where I would end up. I had a largeRead more

Smartsheet: Cross Sheet References (X-Sheet Ref) are here. Now what?

It has been a long time coming. I wasn’t sure if it would. I wasn’t sure if it should. But it is here, so we better get ready. (Warning: Personally, I’m not fully ready yet. Every time I look at a Sheet or Report, my mind spins with redesign possibilities. Or maybe it’s the meds.Read more

Smartsheet: Find & Replace in Hidden Columns as Admin

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Sometimes, all it takes is a talking out the problem. Or in this case, submitting a Smartsheet Enhancement Request. I wanted to do a Find & Replace All on some text. This isn’t it: but it demonstrates the problem. As an Admin, I can’t Replace All in hidden columns. So I whined and complained andRead more

Smartsheet: Update Multiple Sheets

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Updating a Sheet with new functionality takes time. This is true, despite what your supervisor may think. Updating 10 Sheets with the same functionality? More time. This post won’t show how to eliminate all of the time, but it should save some. A Simple Example I have a Project Master Sheet (I avoid using Smartsheet’sRead more

Smartsheet: I hate color (so hide them)

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re: “I hate color”. No, not me. And I don’t mean complicated Conditional Formatting Rules like this: although I have thoughts on that too. But I did hear something very close to that sentiment when talking to a customer recently. And like most comments from customers, it got me thinking. (Note to self: That’s why theyRead more

Smartsheet: Transposing Project Schedule

Occasionally, I run across a requirement to show the tasks or dates from a project schedule in a more horizontal view. That is, take something like this: and display (and use) it like this: What is shown is a simple example, only four columns to move over or link to the second Sheet, but I’veRead more

Smartsheet: Using Working Days without Dependencies

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Smartsheet allows the concept of working days, and by corollary non-working days (holidays, vacations, my birthday). This setting is on the sheet level, not for individual resources. A SysAdmin can set these working days for all new sheets, but not modify all existing ones at one go. On a sheet, when Project Dependencies are enabled, theseRead more

I’ve been invited to speak at ENGAGE 2017

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It is with pride and a sense of gratitude that I announce, that I have been invited to speak at ENGAGE, Smartsheet’s first user conference September 2017. I hope to see you there, to meet people I only know by e-mail and the Community, or customers I only know from tele-conferences. Here’s the link to theRead more