Save time and keep stakeholders informed with alerts and reminders in Smart Sheet automated workflows.Workflows can be created from scratch.You can also customize workflow templates and add alerts and reminders to existing workflows.
Alerts and reminders send automation alerts via workflow
Both alerts and reminders are ways of providing information to designated stakeholders, and in a workflow"Alert Someone" , which is themed around notification actionIs used.
Differentiating between alerts and reminders
The difference between alerts and reminders ishow it is triggered It is in
Alerts are triggered reactively in response to changing conditions
The alert isTriggered after a change in sheet row valuesto notify stakeholders of important information updates.
So when you want to let someone know about an important change in a sheet, add it to your workflow and have the necessary stakeholders automatically notified.
For example, if someone changes the deadline date of a task, this change can affect other tasks that are linked to this task, so you need to inform the stakeholders of the change in status.
In such cases, it's a good idea to use an alert triggered by that change.
Reminders proactively trigger
Reminders are proactively triggered by a specified date or time to keep task owners informed of important deadlines.
So if you want to let stakeholders know when a certain time is approaching or coming, add them to your Reminders workflow to notify task owners and other stakeholders of important dates. can do.
Who you contact matters
Alerts and reminders only matter if they're sent to the right people.
Once you have selected the appropriate trigger for your workflow, from the actions listSend to specific users Select (alert someone) to set an alert or reminder.
one or more firstReceiverorContact fieldto contact the right person for each line.
Recipients are not limited to sheet sharers
You can also periodically send to multiple recipients, even if they haven't shared the sheet.
In the settings of the workflow, it is possible to limit the recipients of the notification to the most restrictive "users who have been shared with the sheet and have logged in to Smartsheet before", or unrestricted "Any email address referenced in the workflow" is also possible.
If you properly set the "what to contact" explained below, it is possible to automatically provide necessary information safely to users outside the account and to users with whom the sheet is shared.
What you communicate is also important
Especially when it comes to messages you send to customers or people outside your team.subject, message, fields to includeappropriatelyCustomizationIt is important to
Otherwise,message onlyis also an option.
You can include some or all fields along with links to sheets.
In the image below, the message field uses placeholders (e.g. {{responsibility}} {{main project}} ) to ensure that the message alone contains the necessary information.
The image below is the situation where the above customized message is received as an alert.
The name of the person in charge and the name of the project are assigned (inserted) to the placeholders, and the contents can be grasped to some extent only by the subject and the message.
Further down is the selected field, where you can see the actual data.
Combining various workflows
You can set alerts and reminders on their own, or as actions that are part of other workflows.
For example,Part of a larger workflow with multiple conditionscan also be set together asAlso, multiple actions can be combined in the same automated workflow.for example,Add multiple alerts if you need to tailor your message for each stakeholder and send an alert when someone's request is approvedcan.
Examples of using alerts
Alerts are notifications that are triggered based on certain conditions or events within Smartsheet. Typical uses for Smartsheet alerts include:
Task assignment: When a task is assigned to someone, you can trigger an alert to notify you of the new task.
task completion: When a task is completed, an alert can be triggered to notify relevant stakeholders that the task has been completed.
Data change: When data is added, updated, or deleted in Smartsheet, alerts can be triggered to notify stakeholders of the change.
Approval: When an approval request is submitted with no action after a certain period of time, an alert can be triggered to notify the approver that action is required.
expiration date: As the expiration date approaches, alerts can be triggered to notify stakeholders that the deadline needs to be renewed or extended.
Status change: When the status of a task, project, or other item in Smartsheet changes, you can trigger an alert to notify stakeholders of the update.
Smartsheet alerts can be used in this way to notify stakeholders of important events and changes.Stay up to date on tasks, approvals, data changes, and other important events with alerts so your team can collaborate more effectively and stay on top of work.
Examples of using reminders
Smartsheet reminders can be used in a variety of ways to improve project management and increase productivity.Here are some examples:
meeting reminder: Use Smartsheet to schedule and automate reminders for upcoming meetings.This ensures that everyone is prepared and punctual for important discussions.
task reminder: Set automatic reminders for specific tasks and deadlines.This keeps team members on track and hitting project milestones.
request reminder: Set automatic reminders for requests that require follow-up or approval.By setting this reminder, you can prevent requests from being missed and process requests in a timely manner.
status update reminder: Automate regular status update reminders using Smartsheet.This keeps everyone informed and allows you to track project progress and communicate effectively.
Document review reminder: Set automatic reminders for document review and approval.This helps ensure that all necessary stakeholders have reviewed and approved critical documents before they are finalized.
Automating important tasks and milestone reminders like this can keep your team on track and ensure nothing is left out.
Smartsheet Administrative Important Alerts
Deleting rows and changing sharing are significant administrative events in Smartsheet.
Delete line
First of all, when it comes to deleting rows, those who give editing authority on the sheet potentially have the authority to delete all rows including those in their own charge.
For this reason, granting editing privileges should be done with caution and, if necessary, locked rows, not shared sheets, andForminput byUpdate requestEdited bydynamic viewto allow you to edit only the information you need.
If the line is deleted,backup,Activity logAtSnapshot requestwill try to recover, but cell history, formatting, links, etc. are not recoverable.
Send alert to user if row is deleted template
For all of the above reasons, row deletion is an important administrative event in Smartsheet, so the ability to alert users when a row is deleted is useful.Add to workflow templateIt is done.
Alerts when rows are deleted aren't decisive for sheet management, but they at least give you a chance to minimize the damage.
Examples of uses for this template:
- Monitor important sheet row deletion
How to use this template:
- Trigger: Send an alert when a sheet row is deleted.
- Actions: Select who to send the alert to: a specific user, everyone the sheet is shared with, a Slack channel, or a Microsoft Teams channel.
XNUMX above.It's interesting that I don't have the cell's contact in the alert destination because once the row is deleted, the contact on that row is gone too.
Deleting a line affects various parties, so I think it's good to spread the mailing address.
Change sharing
Sharing changes are also important sheet management events.
From the point of view of information management and sheet management, it is necessary to carefully determine who can view and edit the information on the sheet. (As mentioned above, granting edit privileges carries the risk of deleting rows.)
Therefore,Share as little as possibleis a Smartsheet administrative best practice.
Send alert to user when sharing changes template
Examples of uses for this template:
- Monitor important or high-impact sheet sharing activity
- Know when archived or outdated sheets are shared and direct users to the latest version
XNUMX.The usage is quite interesting, and it is assumed that if a certain work is migrated to a new version of the sheet, setting this workflow will prevent the user from continuing to work on the old sheet with the same name. It seems that there is.
How to use this template:
- Triggers: Send an alert when a sheet is shared with additional collaborators or when existing sharing permissions are changed.
- Actions: Select who to send the alert to: a specific user, everyone the sheet is shared with, a Slack channel, or a Microsoft Teams channel.
XNUMX above.The reason why there is no cell contact in the destination of the alert is that sharing is done in units of sheets or workspaces, so it makes no sense to do it in units of rows. It's not done, but I don't think there's a scene where you want to notify the cell contacts of the sharing change, but I think it's a good idea.
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Below is the original help article, but I have rewritten the original headlines and other things that are difficult to understand, taking into consideration the intention.Also, detailed restrictions (The "Introduction" part of the original article was too detailed, so I moved it to the back.)
Trigger automations in bulk at regular intervals, such as daily, when row values change
Change-based workflow frequency,Hourly,every day, ま た はWeeklycan be set to
For example, if a project's health changes to a risky state (red), it could be used to alert stakeholders hourly or daily to take action about this risk.
Create date-based automated workflows
In a date-based automated workflow trigger block, (in the sheetDatecolumn) date fieldor manuallyDateBy selecting the specifiedDateActions can be triggered before, after, or on the current day.
For example, the image below on the right is an example of a workflow trigger that performs a notification action 31 days before the due date of January 3st.
note:
- Manually selecting a date will trigger the workflow simultaneously for all rows in the sheet that meet the criteria you set. (For example, you can use an alert to notify you to take action on all rows that have not been assigned an owner by a specified date.)
- of the workflowdate fieldIf you select , the sheet will check each day for rows that should be included in that day's workflow.If no rows match the date and time for that day, or if no rows meet the criteria for the workflow, the workflow will not run for any rows.Rows without dates are never included in date field-based workflows.
- You can also adjust the time the workflow is triggered.By default, it will be at the beginning of the next hour after you start editing the workflow.
- Trigger's timezone is always the same as the sheet owner's timezoneIt will be.
Ensure continuous project execution with recurrence settings for date-based automation
Set daily, weekly, etc. reminder recurrences in date-based automations,for matching rowsA workflow can be scheduled to run on a regular basis.for example,Notify assigned team members of overdue tasksevery dayrequest an update ofTo do.or,Send daily reminders to task owners until important deadlinesYou can also think of how to use it.
To create a recurring automated workflow in Sheets:
- From the menu [Automation] Click to create a new workflow or edit an existing workflow. (For more information on creating and editing workflows, seeSave time and work faster with automated workflows).
- In the workflow trigger block,[if the date is reached] Choose.
- Run Once > Custom Click.
- In the Custom recurrence pattern form, select the desired frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly) for triggering the workflow.
Tip: You can also terminate a workflow after a certain date or a certain amount of executions.
- [completion] Click.
Restrictions
Here are some restrictions on setting workflow frequency:
Hourly, daily or weekly workflowsThen there are actions that cannot be performed
workflow frequency,Hourly,every day, ま た はWeeklyIf set to , the following types of actions will not be possible:
- Sheet change
- Clear Cell Values, Assign Users, Record Dates, Lock Rows, Unlock Rows
- Inter-sheet workflow
- move line, copy line
- Approval request
If the workflow contains any action types,Hourly,every day, ま た はWeeklyand save, you will be prompted to perform one of the following tasks:
- the workflow [When triggered] save in settings
- Back to Edit Workflow
Workflows that run hourly, daily, or weeklyto thePlaceholdercannot be used.
"if approved" or "if rejected"” workflow cannot be set repeatedly
With the action types "Notify", "Update", and "Approval Request",Only in workflows with no "if approved" or "if rejected" actions,"Hourly", "Daily", and "Weekly" recurrence settingsAvailable
Workflow runs on all rows that meet trigger conditions
This behavior is triggered when someone saves changes to multiple rows of a sheet within the workflow execution frequency.
All recipients of that workflow will receive one notification with up to 100 rows in grid format.
When the workflow runs
The scheduling of workflows and alert messages depends on the configured workflow frequency.
| Workflow execution frequency | every day | Weekly |
|---|---|---|
| Workflow runs and sees sheet changes | 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM | Friday 12:00 AM to Thursday 11:59 PM |
| Deliver alert messages from workflows | 12:00 AM to 4:00 AM (the day after the workflow was run) | Next Friday from 12:00 AM to 4:00 AM |
weekly workflowI'll show you how it works with an example.If a weekly workflow is created on Wednesday, March 2022, 3, it will run between Friday, March 16, 2022 and Thursday, March 3, 18 and Evaluate sheet changes.Once the seat change is confirmed, a seat change alert message will be delivered on Friday, March 2022, 3.
To set the workflow run frequency
- [trigger] in the block,[trigger] Make sure the field is set to one of the following:
- if a row is added or changed,if a row is added,if the row is changed
The Trigger block is [if the date is reached] is set to[Hourly],[every day],[Weekly] No options are displayed.
custom recurrence pattern
However, even if you set "When the date is reached", you can select the "Custom" menu by date and set the repeat setting with date-based triggers.
- one of the following Run Workflow Select an option.
- Hourly,daily, weekly
Set the trigger to run one hour before the action runs.This prevents actions from being executed on time due to technical issues.