Applies to

Smartsheet
Smartsheet Advance Package

For more information about plan types and included capabilities, see the Smartsheet Plans page.

Control Center Global Updates: Columns

Use Control Center Global Updates to make column changes to sheet templates and roll those changes out across all existing projects.

Who can use this?

Plans:

  • Smartsheet
  • Smartsheet Advance Package

With Global Updates in Control Center, you can make column-level changes to your project sheets and templates with options to Add new column or Modify existing column.

Add a new column

There are two ways to use Global Updates to add a new column. You can create a new column or use an existing one from the template.

Option 1: Create a new column

Use Global Updates to create and add new columns to a template. Run the Global Update to update existing projects.

  1. Go to Control Center > Manage Program in the upper-right corner
  2. Select Global Updates
Global updates option
  1. Select New Update in the upper-right corner
  2. Select Add New Column > Next
Add new column global update
  1. Name your update and select the blueprint and template you want to use
Basic information window global update add column
  1. Select Create a new column (default). 
Create new column option
  1. Fill in the Column Title field and select the Column Type.
Column title global update new column
  1. Optional: Select Advanced to access Column State, Column Styles, Format, and Column Position options.
  2. Be sure to test and validate your changes before applying the Global Update.

Option 2: Use an existing column from the template

Use this option if you manually added a new column to your source template, and you want to push the new column to already provisioned projects in your Control Center portfolio.

Use this method to apply a column property (such as currency or decimal places) to an existing column.

  1. Add the new column to your template and configure it as desired
  2. Navigate to Control Center > Manage Program > Global Updates > New Update
  3. Select Add New Column > Next
Add new column global update
  1. Name your update and select the blueprint and template you want to use
  2. Select Use an existing column from the template
Use an existing column global update
  1. Select the column you created from the Add Column dropdown. If you don’t see the new column, select Refresh.
  2. Optional: Select Advanced to access Column State, Column Styles, Format, and Column Position options.
  3. Be sure to test and validate your changes before applying the Global Update.

Modify an existing column

You can use Global Updates to modify existing data in active projects, like adjusting column formatting, updating a dropdown column, and adjusting references in a formula

To make a change:

  1. Navigate to Control Center > Manage Program > Global Updates > New Update
  2. Select Modify Existing Column > Next
Modify existing column global update
  1. Name your update and select the blueprint and template you want to use.
  2. Select the column you want to update. 
Select a column to edit global update
  1. Select one (or both) of the options:
  • Change column properties (name, type, options, index)
  • Change column cell data
  1. Enter the details for your update
Modify column global update details
  1. Optional: Select Advanced to access Column State, Column Styles, Format, and Column Position options.
  2. Be sure to test and validate your changes before applying the Global Update.

To implement a column formula with a Modify Existing Column Global Update, add the column formula to your template sheet first. Once the source column has a column formula, that column formula can be applied to existing projects.

You can't modify Auto-Number columns with a Modify Existing Column Global Update.

Modifying column data

InYou can use Global Updates to modify existing data in active projects, add new data, or update column values. To apply Global Updates:

  • Create a Modify Existing Column update.
  • Choose the option to Change column cell data.
  • Select a value from the desired column.
  • Select Add New Change.
  • Enter a new static value or use a formula.

When using formulas in Global Updates, apply @row notation for row-level references.

Limitations of Advanced options

Keep the following in mind when using Advanced options:

  • When you adjust the column position, you can't immediately add a column between the Primary column and the column to its right. This is because this is where profile data name and value pairs are stored.
  • Conditional formatting rules aren't copied to the project sheets.
  • Certain formatting options aren't available in Advanced options. These include:
    • Currency
    • Percentage
    • Thousands separator
    • Decimal places
    • Date format

If you want to apply any of the above changes to your projects, update your source templates. The new formatting is included in all newly provisioned projects. After updating source templates, use the Use an existing column option to update existing projects.

 

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