Placeholders | Still batching Emails

Rob Kozak
Rob Kozak
edited 01/17/20 inFormulas and Functions

Hi team,

I'm using Placeholders in a workflow to generate individual emails for an update request. Although the same individual received the update, they will forward as needed, so I need to ensure each update request for the day doesn't 'batch'.

I've done a small test and had no issues, but when i moved into the live Smartsheet, the individuals receiving the emails still receive the batched version. The odd thing is, none of the language comes over either. Hoping someone can help point me to what I'm missing!

Screenshots:

Batched Email Example still being received:

email.JPG

Smartsheet Generating From

Smartsheet.JPG

Workflow Setup

Workflow2.JPG

Language in Workflow Update Request Email:

Subject: Foodworks Sales Update |{{Restaurant Partner}}on{{RP Date}}

Message: Please update the following Foodworks Restaurant Partner -{{Restaurant Partner}}- sales information from{{RP Date}}at{{Unit Name}}. Thank you!

Column names match, really at a loss for the issue, any help is appreciated!

Comments

  • Andrée Starå
    Andrée Starå ✭✭✭✭✭✭

    Hi Rob,

    For Placeholders to work you'll have to have theRun workflow: set to When triggered

    Was that the issue?

    I hope that helps!

    Have a fantastic weekend!

    Best,

    Andrée Starå

    Workflow Consultant / CEO @WORK BOLD

    ✅做我的帖子帮助回答你的问题或解决哟ur problem? Please help the Community bymarking it as the accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

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  • Ella
    Ella ✭✭✭

    I don't think you can unbatch the UR if the requests are going to same person unless you change the trigger for each UR in the sheet for example have them go out on a different date.

  • Hi everyone,

    Thanks for the responses.

    @Andrée StaråI do have the workflow set to run using a Trigger w/ a Condition. That part definitely works.

    Workflow3.JPG

    @Ella: The UR worked with the same trigger detailed above on my Test Smartsheet (sending the update alert to myself and came unbatched), but when it goes to others, it comes to them batched.

  • Andrée Starå
    Andrée Starå ✭✭✭✭✭✭

    @Rob Kozak

    Happy to help!

    The workflow is the issue it seems.

    You have to have it structured similar to the screenshot below.

    CleanShot 2020-01-17 at 15.47.42@2x.png

    Did that fix it?

    SMARTSHEET EXPERT CONSULTANT & PARTNER

    Andrée Starå| Workflow Consultant / CEO @WORK BOLD

    W:www.workbold.com| E:[email protected]| P: +46 (0) - 72 - 510 99 35

    Feel free to contact me about help with Smartsheet, integrations, general workflow advice, or something else entirely.

  • @Andrée Starå: My only hesitation using that approach versus mine (ran daily at a set time with conditions) was the end-users are looking to receive information at a specific time of day. I could do an IF to trigger a date match and UR, but I didn't see anything regarding time of day.

    That being said, I altered the email language to include a placeholder for the key column in the Smartsheet, and that did the trick.

    For whatever reason, when setting up automation for an UR w/ placeholders and using a time interval, the Key Column isKEY.

    Really appreciate the troubleshoot help!

  • Andrée Starå
    Andrée Starå ✭✭✭✭✭✭

    You're more than welcome!

    Interesting find! I'll have to research and see more in detail how it works.

    Excellent that you solved it!

    Please help the Community by marking the postthathelped answer your question or solve your problem withthe accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

    SMARTSHEET EXPERT CONSULTANT & PARTNER

    Andrée Starå| Workflow Consultant / CEO @WORK BOLD

    W:www.workbold.com| E:[email protected]| P: +46 (0) - 72 - 510 99 35

    Feel free to contact me about help with Smartsheet, integrations, general workflow advice, or something else entirely.

  • Well, new week same problem! I thought it resolved using the Key Column, but seems to be sporadic.

    As detailed above, the UR is generated a certain time daily using the placeholders to 'un-batch' emails if the same person is listed as the contact. What I'm finding is that two individuals are receiving the batches emails still, and everyone else receives the intended 'un-batched' emails.

    Screenshot below: Brett and Anthony receive the batched update request. Everyone else receives individual.

    FW Ex2.JPG

    Any thoughts from the group? Anyone aware of a limit?

  • Andrée Starå
    Andrée Starå ✭✭✭✭✭✭

    @Rob Kozak

    Strange!

    I haven't had time to test this further.

    If you haven’t already, I would recommend that you reach out to the Smartsheet Support Team.Smartsheet Support Team

    SMARTSHEET EXPERT CONSULTANT & PARTNER

    Andrée Starå| Workflow Consultant / CEO @WORK BOLD

    W:www.workbold.com| E:[email protected]| P: +46 (0) - 72 - 510 99 35

    Feel free to contact me about help with Smartsheet, integrations, general workflow advice, or something else entirely.

  • @Andrée Starå

    Meant to post back, I figured out that if a recipient receives more than 6 Update Requests from a trigger, even if using Placeholders, it will batch the emails regardless.

    I used a combo of formulas/lookups to ensure recipients of timed triggered update requests don't exceed 6, cloned my automated workflows with added conditions looking for one of the distinct counts, and everything is functioning.

    All this so I can set the trigger at a certain time!

  • Ella
    Ella ✭✭✭

    Thanks for sharing your fix@Rob Kozak! Good to know about the limit of 6.

  • Andrée Starå
    Andrée Starå ✭✭✭✭✭✭

    @Rob KozakThanks for sharing! Great to know about that limit!

    Please help the Community by marking your postwiththe accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

    SMARTSHEET EXPERT CONSULTANT & PARTNER

    Andrée Starå| Workflow Consultant / CEO @WORK BOLD

    W:www.workbold.com| E:[email protected]| P: +46 (0) - 72 - 510 99 35

    Feel free to contact me about help with Smartsheet, integrations, general workflow advice, or something else entirely.

Help Article Resources

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If I understand correctly, this may help.<\/p>

=AVERAGEIF({date of request}, MONTH(@cell) = 2, {Ack SLA})<\/p>"}]}},"status":{"statusID":3,"name":"Accepted","state":"closed","recordType":"discussion","recordSubType":"question"},"bookmarked":false,"unread":false,"category":{"categoryID":322,"name":"Formulas and Functions","url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/categories\/formulas-and-functions","allowedDiscussionTypes":[]},"reactions":[{"tagID":3,"urlcode":"Promote","name":"Promote","class":"Positive","hasReacted":false,"reactionValue":5,"count":0},{"tagID":5,"urlcode":"Insightful","name":"Insightful","class":"Positive","hasReacted":false,"reactionValue":1,"count":0},{"tagID":11,"urlcode":"Up","name":"Vote Up","class":"Positive","hasReacted":false,"reactionValue":1,"count":0},{"tagID":13,"urlcode":"Awesome","name":"Awesome","class":"Positive","hasReacted":false,"reactionValue":1,"count":0}],"tags":[{"tagID":254,"urlcode":"Formulas","name":"Formulas"}]},{"discussionID":107112,"type":"question","name":"How to we exclude a specific name from a DISTINCT LIST USER formula","excerpt":"I would like to exclude a specific user name from this formula. The formula is working fine, and it is returning a distinct list of user names. However, we need to exclude certain users, that are no longer in the group. For example, how do I say to exclude user \"Joe Black\" from this list? =IFERROR(INDEX(DISTINCT({Trial…","snippet":"I would like to exclude a specific user name from this formula. The formula is working fine, and it is returning a distinct list of user names. However, we need to exclude certain…","categoryID":322,"dateInserted":"2023-06-29T22:30:22+00:00","dateUpdated":"2023-06-29T22:33:31+00:00","dateLastComment":"2023-06-30T18:15:30+00:00","insertUserID":157974,"insertUser":{"userID":157974,"name":"Filippo","url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/profile\/Filippo","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6031209\/uploads\/defaultavatar\/nWRMFRX6I99I6.jpg","dateLastActive":"2023-06-30T14:54:34+00:00","banned":0,"punished":0,"private":false,"label":"✭✭"},"updateUserID":157974,"lastUserID":45516,"lastUser":{"userID":45516,"name":"Paul Newcome","title":"","url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/profile\/Paul%20Newcome","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6031209\/uploads\/userpics\/082\/nQPUTVFKKWDJ2.jpg","dateLastActive":"2023-06-30T18:13:40+00:00","banned":0,"punished":0,"private":false,"label":"✭✭✭✭✭✭"},"pinned":false,"pinLocation":null,"closed":false,"sink":false,"countComments":6,"countViews":69,"score":null,"hot":3376230352,"url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/discussion\/107112\/how-to-we-exclude-a-specific-name-from-a-distinct-list-user-formula","canonicalUrl":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/discussion\/107112\/how-to-we-exclude-a-specific-name-from-a-distinct-list-user-formula","format":"Rich","lastPost":{"discussionID":107112,"commentID":383379,"name":"Re: How to we exclude a specific name from a DISTINCT LIST USER formula","url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/discussion\/comment\/383379#Comment_383379","dateInserted":"2023-06-30T18:15:30+00:00","insertUserID":45516,"insertUser":{"userID":45516,"name":"Paul Newcome","title":"","url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/profile\/Paul%20Newcome","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6031209\/uploads\/userpics\/082\/nQPUTVFKKWDJ2.jpg","dateLastActive":"2023-06-30T18:13:40+00:00","banned":0,"punished":0,"private":false,"label":"✭✭✭✭✭✭"}},"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Home","url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/"},{"name":"Formulas and Functions","url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/categories\/formulas-and-functions"}],"groupID":null,"statusID":3,"attributes":{"question":{"status":"accepted","dateAccepted":"2023-06-30T13:43:49+00:00","dateAnswered":"2023-06-30T12:01:20+00:00","acceptedAnswers":[{"commentID":383296,"body":"

Hi @Filippo<\/a> <\/p>

You can use a COLLECT Function<\/a> to filter results, for example:<\/p>

=IFERROR(INDEX(DISTINCT(COLLECT(<\/strong>{Trial Lead}, {Trial Lead}, <> \"Joe Black\")<\/strong>), [Unique Row ID]@row, 0), \"//www.santa-greenland.com/community/discussion/comment/\")<\/p>

An alternative would be to use a Report and Group by the Trial Lead column, ignoring out the users you don't want by adding them to the filter criteria in the Report.<\/p>

Cheers,<\/p>

Genevieve<\/p>"}]}},"status":{"statusID":3,"name":"Accepted","state":"closed","recordType":"discussion","recordSubType":"question"},"bookmarked":false,"unread":false,"category":{"categoryID":322,"name":"Formulas and Functions","url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/categories\/formulas-and-functions","allowedDiscussionTypes":[]},"reactions":[{"tagID":3,"urlcode":"Promote","name":"Promote","class":"Positive","hasReacted":false,"reactionValue":5,"count":0},{"tagID":5,"urlcode":"Insightful","name":"Insightful","class":"Positive","hasReacted":false,"reactionValue":1,"count":0},{"tagID":11,"urlcode":"Up","name":"Vote Up","class":"Positive","hasReacted":false,"reactionValue":1,"count":0},{"tagID":13,"urlcode":"Awesome","name":"Awesome","class":"Positive","hasReacted":false,"reactionValue":1,"count":0}],"tags":[]},{"discussionID":107116,"type":"question","name":"I'd like to create a column formula that references a specific cell with acceptable syntax","excerpt":"I have a sheet that has a column of dates that autofill based on another date. Specifically, each row has target end dates based on weeks ahead of the date that I want to reference. This is to make sure tasks are started on time in relation to the overall start date. My formula is currently: =[Target End Date]1 - ([Task…","snippet":"I have a sheet that has a column of dates that autofill based on another date. Specifically, each row has target end dates based on weeks ahead of the date that I want to…","categoryID":322,"dateInserted":"2023-06-29T23:48:12+00:00","dateUpdated":null,"dateLastComment":"2023-06-30T15:52:22+00:00","insertUserID":163028,"insertUser":{"userID":163028,"name":"jcabaniss","url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/profile\/jcabaniss","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6031209\/uploads\/defaultavatar\/nWRMFRX6I99I6.jpg","dateLastActive":"2023-06-30T16:38:03+00:00","banned":0,"punished":0,"private":false,"label":"✭"},"updateUserID":null,"lastUserID":163028,"lastUser":{"userID":163028,"name":"jcabaniss","url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/profile\/jcabaniss","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6031209\/uploads\/defaultavatar\/nWRMFRX6I99I6.jpg","dateLastActive":"2023-06-30T16:38:03+00:00","banned":0,"punished":0,"private":false,"label":"✭"},"pinned":false,"pinLocation":null,"closed":false,"sink":false,"countComments":2,"countViews":28,"score":null,"hot":3376224034,"url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/discussion\/107116\/id-like-to-create-a-column-formula-that-references-a-specific-cell-with-acceptable-syntax","canonicalUrl":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/discussion\/107116\/id-like-to-create-a-column-formula-that-references-a-specific-cell-with-acceptable-syntax","format":"Rich","lastPost":{"discussionID":107116,"commentID":383347,"name":"Re: I'd like to create a column formula that references a specific cell with acceptable syntax","url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/discussion\/comment\/383347#Comment_383347","dateInserted":"2023-06-30T15:52:22+00:00","insertUserID":163028,"insertUser":{"userID":163028,"name":"jcabaniss","url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/profile\/jcabaniss","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6031209\/uploads\/defaultavatar\/nWRMFRX6I99I6.jpg","dateLastActive":"2023-06-30T16:38:03+00:00","banned":0,"punished":0,"private":false,"label":"✭"}},"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Home","url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/"},{"name":"Formulas and Functions","url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/categories\/formulas-and-functions"}],"groupID":null,"statusID":3,"attributes":{"question":{"status":"accepted","dateAccepted":"2023-06-30T15:52:25+00:00","dateAnswered":"2023-06-30T00:15:36+00:00","acceptedAnswers":[{"commentID":383245,"body":"

@jcabaniss<\/a> , swap out this:<\/p>

=[Target End Date]1<\/p>

with this:<\/p>

=Index([Target End Date]:[Target End Date], 1)<\/p>

the second value in an index function is the row—usually we make this a MATCH lookup function but it can also be a number.<\/p>"}]}},"status":{"statusID":3,"name":"Accepted","state":"closed","recordType":"discussion","recordSubType":"question"},"bookmarked":false,"unread":false,"category":{"categoryID":322,"name":"Formulas and Functions","url":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/categories\/formulas-and-functions","allowedDiscussionTypes":[]},"reactions":[{"tagID":3,"urlcode":"Promote","name":"Promote","class":"Positive","hasReacted":false,"reactionValue":5,"count":0},{"tagID":5,"urlcode":"Insightful","name":"Insightful","class":"Positive","hasReacted":false,"reactionValue":1,"count":0},{"tagID":11,"urlcode":"Up","name":"Vote Up","class":"Positive","hasReacted":false,"reactionValue":1,"count":0},{"tagID":13,"urlcode":"Awesome","name":"Awesome","class":"Positive","hasReacted":false,"reactionValue":1,"count":0}],"tags":[]}],"initialPaging":{"nextURL":"https:\/\/community.smartsheet.com\/api\/v2\/discussions?page=2&categoryID=322&includeChildCategories=1&type%5B0%5D=Question&excludeHiddenCategories=1&sort=-hot&limit=3&expand%5B0%5D=all&expand%5B1%5D=-body&expand%5B2%5D=insertUser&expand%5B3%5D=lastUser&status=accepted","prevURL":null,"currentPage":1,"total":10000,"limit":3},"title":"Trending in Formulas and Functions ","subtitle":null,"description":null,"noCheckboxes":true,"containerOptions":[],"discussionOptions":[]}">

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