Action blocks: Specify what automation is triggered

Choose what type of automation your workflow performs when triggered, with an action block.

Plans:

Smartsheet
Pro
Business
Enterprise

Permissions:

Owner
Admin
Editor

Find out if this capability is included in Smartsheet Regions or Smartsheet Gov.

There are four workflow types, and each has different action types. Use the following tables as references for the workflow action types.

Users with Editor-level permissions can only create, edit, or delete alerts or reminders for themselves. Learn about workflow permissions.

Notification action types

Use this type of alert or action	In this situation	Example(s)
Alert someone	Alert people about key changes in specific fields, or when they’re assigned to a new task Know when fields are set to a specific value	You created a workflow to receive alerts when a Status field is set to Blocked.
Alert a Microsoft Teams channel	Send field or sheet-row updates to a Microsoft Teams channel	You created a workflow to send alerts to your team’s Microsoft Teams channel when a new form entry is added to your sheet.
Alert a Slack channel	Send field or sheet-row updates to a Slack channel	You created a workflow to send alerts to your team’s Slack channel when a task is tagged as Urgent.

Update and approval requests action types

Use this type of alert or action	In this situation	Example(s)
Update request	Ask for information about a work item from the task owner when that item is past the deadline and isn’t marked as complete yet Seek the latest information from a work item’s assignee once a value changes in a specific field	Your manager created a workflow that requires task assignees to update the Start Date column when a row's status changes to In Progress.
Approval request	Ask a reviewer or a manager to review and approve a work item when a field meets a certain criteria	You created a workflow that asks the content reviewer to approve or decline the draft when it is tagged as Complete. The marketing team created a workflow to ask the finance team to review, approve, or decline the request when a work item’s cost exceeds the projected amount.

Use this type of alert or action

In this situation

Example(s)

Update request

Ask for information about a work item from the task owner when that item is past the deadline and isn’t marked as complete yet
Seek the latest information from a work item’s assignee once a value changes in a specific field

Your manager created a workflow that requires task assignees to update the Start Date column when a row's status changes to In Progress.

Approval request

Ask a reviewer or a manager to review and approve a work item when a field meets a certain criteria

You created a workflow that asks the content reviewer to approve or decline the draft when it is tagged as Complete.

The marketing team created a workflow to ask the finance team to review, approve, or decline the request when a work item’s cost exceeds the projected amount.

Sheet changes action types

Use this type of alert or action	In this situation	Example(s)
Assign people	Assign one or more people to a work item when a date is reached or when a row is added or changed.	You created a workflow to assign tasks to the escalation team when a work item is tagged as Urgent.
Change cell value	Change data in these columns when certain conditions are met: Text/Number Dropdown (Single Select) Dropdown (Multi Select) Checkbox	You set the sheet to select the Complete checkbox column when a user sets the Approval Status column to Approved.
Record a date	Record the current date in your chosen field when a workflow is triggered.	You set the sheet to record the current date when a task is marked as Complete.
Clear cell value	Remove the contents in a field when certain conditions are met.	You created a workflow to help you remove content.
Lock rows	Prevent further edits after an item has been approved or completed, or at a particular point in time.	You set the sheet to lock a row when the value in the Review Status column is set to In progress.
Unlock rows	Allow users to edit rows only when prerequisite steps are completed.	You set the sheet to unlock a row when the value in the Review Status column is set to Complete.

Sheet-to-sheet workflows action types

Use this type of alert or action	In this situation	Example(s)
Move rows	Move a row to another sheet when it is marked as Complete Route automatically incoming work items to different sheets based on characteristics	The e-learning team created a workflow to remove requests that shouldn’t be on their team’s intake sheet. If they receive requests for the marketing team, the workflow moves the task to that department’s intake sheet.
Copy rows	Create a copy of a row in another sheet when a field meets a certain criteria.	You have a sheet where all the completed tasks are recorded. To reduce manual work, you created a workflow to copy rows to that sheet when rows in your parent file are tagged as Complete.

You can change the action you selected by going to the Menu icon in the upper-right corner of the block.

Take into consideration that the following actions change the sheet automatically:

Move Row
Copy Row
Lock Row
Unlock Row
Approval Request
Record a Date
Assign People
Change Cell
Clear Cell
Generate document

Select your recipients

Configure the action block to ensure that alerts and requests are sent to the people involved in a specific work item. You can configure them to be sent out to:

People in a contact field for that row (for example: the assignee)
Everyone shared the sheet
People you manually specify
People in a channel in a third-party app such as Slack or Microsoft Teams.

Customize the alert message

You can customize the alert message so recipients receive only the information they need. In the Customize message section, you can control which fields appear and edit the subject and message.

I didn't receive the alerts I set up for myself

Your sheet notifications might be off. To fix this, turn on the notifications for sheet changes. Not sure how to do it? Read the Trigger Automated Workflows on the Changes You Make article.

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