Creating an Automatic Document Generation Workflow in Smartsheet | Smartsheet Tutorial

[@trankimkhanh4050]

I am a beginner in smartsheet. Thank you.

[@SchoolofSheets]

Happy to help!

[@gejoli]

ok - I grew up in Brockton and I couldnt take my eyes off of the records with locations in Brockton, Abington and Avon! Small world!!!

[@SchoolofSheets]

Haha, small world!

[@Jc189815]

Here’s a good one for ya 😅 I’m struggling trying to come up with a workflow for an exception tracking/new account audit…. I have a “pretty” audit review form/checklist in pdf and xls versions, that I want to pre-populate about 7 columns per row, from a data set I will load onto the sheet. (customer name. Account # etc.) if I used document generator to create a fillable pdf don’t think it will work, because I need the checklist document that generates to be able to speak back to the sheet with the results… (we do have docusign and teams integration with smartsheet, if that helps.) so basically I’d have a list of criteria on the document with a checkbox and field for description of any errors that I need the results to populate onto the other columns of the row, that i will map to the respective field on the document. Or would it be better (or even possible) to build a smartsheet form from the sheet that is already partially populated with row data from a few columns and the remaining columns need to be collected so that it fills in on the sheet. If that’s possible… Would I then just automate an update request to the reviewer that sends a link to the form, for each line item? (The team doesn’t love smartsheet like I do, they prefer paper checklists or a fillable pdf but we need to automate this for better tracking.) thanks!

[@SchoolofSheets]

Watch our original Document Generator Tutorial video 1st as this video is a direct extension of that video! ▶ kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnOmaYyPibR4iJo Watch this video next to see how to automate sending out attachments! ▶ kzbin.info/www/bejne/nWrIkqNues95iqs

[@shannonvoges33]

Is there a way to setup automation to print once the document is generated?

[@SchoolofSheets]

There is no native automation to print a document, but it is likely possible with the API and/or using another tool.

[@dirkkemp9080]

Really great tutorial - thanks. Have you posted the follow up video you referred to yet?

[@SchoolofSheets]

Not yet! What would you like to see in a follow up?

[@dirkkemp9080]

@@SchoolofSheetsI was looking forward to the “Adding an Attachment to your Notifications” topic that you flagged in the previous video, but postponed (I.e. you ended the previous one saying you would deal with Adding Attachments to your Notifications” in a follow up video).

[@SchoolofSheets]

@@dirkkemp9080 Got it - recorded that yesterday actually now I just need to edit it!

[@Bryce-Power]

Is there a way to automate an attachment name using a cell/cells in Smartsheet? Let's say you wanted your document/attachment to automatically be named Client Name + Client Zip Code. Is there a way to do that in the document generator or within automation?

[@SchoolofSheets]

Yes! With document generator the name of the document itself is a field that can be mapped to a Smartsheet column. So you can make a column for your title, make it a column formula, and use that for your name. This is generally what I do as most documents need a unique name!

[@Ded9822]

Like and subbed

[@SchoolofSheets]

Thanks so much for the support! Please let me know if there are any topics you'd like to see covered. :)

[@cottagekeeper]

Is there a way to save all the previous versions of the document? For example: Original Client Contract, but down the road we have 3 or 4 change orders to that contract. We need to keep each iteration of the PDF as a historical record.

[@SchoolofSheets]

Yes! This is actually a built in feature. If you generate the same document multiple times in the same row it will have a V# and you can click that to open the history. See these resources for more info help.smartsheet.com/articles/2481651-generate-documents-from-sheet-data help.smartsheet.com/articles/518404-deleting-editing-versioning-attachments

[@CJ-gt2qi]

I have a sheet with 50 rows. I have 6 sections of rows with the same field titles but numbered to 6. Is there a way to have one document generated with fields that has something in them?

[@SchoolofSheets]

Hey there. The mapping is pre configured, so the fields you select to go into the PDF will always go in there. If any of those fields are blank the PDF will just be blank for those fields. If you want the PDF to adjust based on the fields that have data you would need to create separate mappings for each possibility and select the appropriate mapping to use.

[@CJ-gt2qi]

@@SchoolofSheets I have another question. Is there a way to send a automated Generated document via email automatically?

[@SchoolofSheets]

@@CJ-gt2qi Yep! Create a notification triggered by when an attachment changes. You can also follow the instructions in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/nWrIkqNues95iqs

[@priyankaawasthi9350]

Can you please help me with creating forms for scorecard

[@SchoolofSheets]

Sure - if this is a consulting request please head to schoolofsheets.com/workwithus to submit an inquiry. If not please elaborate on what you need and I'll offer whatever help I can!

[@HaydeeZ]

If you have a field with an email in that field can we send an email to that email for that row and info from that row..

[@SchoolofSheets]

Automations are always sent out with row specific data. When you create an automated workflow that gets sent to an email (e.g., notification, update request, approval workflow) there are a few options you can select from regarding who the email will be sent to. One of these is to send it to a contact in a cell, and this is what you would select to get the outcome you've requested. You also have the option to select what information from the row (which columns) to include. This is shown in a follow up video you can find at kzbin.info/www/bejne/nWrIkqNues95iqs

[@kyrabyron1416]

*Promo SM* 😪

[@SchoolofSheets]

What is Promo SM?