Applies to
- Pro
- Business
- Enterprise
Capabilities
Who can use this capability
You must be a licensed Smartsheet user with Owner, Admin, or Editor-level permission on the sheet to create workflows. Users with Editor-level permissions can only create, edit, or delete alerts or reminders with themselves as the recipient. Learn about workflow permissions.
The sheet Owner and Admins can add the Change cell action.
Change the value of a cell in an automated workflow
With the Change cell value action in automated workflows, you can input data to text/number, single-select dropdown, multi-select dropdown, and checkbox columns.
|
Cell type |
Values you can input |
|---|---|
|
Text/Number |
A text or number value with a 4,000-character limit. |
|
Checkbox |
Checked, unchecked, or a custom value. |
|
Single-select dropdown |
One of the dropdown list’s values OR a text or number value with a 100-character limit. |
|
Multi-select dropdown |
One or more of the dropdown list’s values AND/OR one or more text or number values. Each value has a 100-character limit. |
Get started with Change cell value action
To change the value of a cell when a workflow is triggered:
- Edit or create a workflow to add a Change cell value action in the Automation menu.
- In the workflow, choose + Add an action.
- Choose Change cell value.
- Select a column for the Change cell value action to update.
- Enter or select the new value. For multi-select dropdown columns, you can overwrite the existing value or append another value to the cell. In all other column types, the new value overwrites the existing one.
- If you want to change another cell value in the same row, click + Add another column and repeat steps 4 and 5.
- Click Save.
Keep the following tips in mind when adding the Change cell value action to your workflow:
- This action can only update values in sheet columns—not sheet summary fields.
- You can input new values in cells that contain cell formulas, but the workflow does not run if you convert a cell formula to a column formula.
- Cells that have a cell-link or cross-sheet formula do not trigger the Change cell value action.
- You must specify the exact value that you want to input in a cell. It is not possible to add a formula, reference another cell, or reference the value in a sheet summary field.
- Use the Clear cell action to clear a cell value.
- When you append one or more values to a cell in a multi-select dropdown column, the Change cell value action removes duplicates. List values are case sensitive.
- To prevent infinite approval loops, cells containing cross-sheet formulas or cell links do not trigger automations that automatically change the sheet (Move Row, Copy Row, Lock Row, Unlock Row, Approval Request, Record a Date, Assign People, Change Cell, Clear Cell). To work around this, consider using time-based automation or recurrence workflows.
- Update cell actions need time to update the sheet, especially if there are multiple workflows.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use the Change cell value action to update Date columns?
No. Use the Record a date action to automatically record the current date in Date columns. You can also turn on dependencies in Gantt view to easily update dates as your timeline shifts.
Can I use the Change cell value action to update Contact List columns?
No. Use the assign people action to automatically update Contact List columns.