We love organizing data and information – and since Smartsheet is flexible and customizable, you have the freedom to set up your work however you choose. Today we’re going to roll out of the sheets and step into another feature that is helpful for organizing your data: reports.
Reports give you the ability to quickly look across multiple sheets for certain 
criteria. For example, use a report to find all the items that are assigned to you or anything that isn’t complete. Once you’ve created your report, you can share it with others, just like a sheet.
Some Quick Reporting Basics
- To create a new report, click the “New” tab near the top of your screen, then select ‘Blank Report.’ The Report Builder form will appear. Use this form to customize your report.
- After you’ve created your report, it automatically runs each time you open it. To trigger the report yourself, click the Run button in the Report Builder.
- You can share reports with others just like you share sheets.
- In order for collaborators to access your reports, they must be shared the source sheet, too.
Rockstar Tip:We frequently recommend to customers that they use the Reporting feature when they need to review and edit rows from multiple sheets in one central spot. Handy!
Reports can be used for more than just consolidating certain data in one spot. There are no limits to the number of reports you can create – so configure away! Here are two different scenarios get help jumpstart your thinking about creative ways to use reports.
Reports to Sort Info
As an alternative to sorting columns within your sheets, use reports to set sort criteria. Once you’ve set up the sort just so, each time you run the report, the rows will be automatically sorted based on your criteria. This includes new data that has been changed or added to your sheets since the last time the report ran.
This report will help you to see all the most important elements across all of your sheets. You’ll also be able to review the sorted data in your report without affecting the order of rows in your actual sheets.
Let’s go through an example. Say I want to sort a ‘Priority’ column in descending alphabetical order. Each time the report is run, the Urgent tasks will be listed right at the top of the report.
As a first step, create and run a report – then you’ll see the option to Sort to rows in your sheet.
After this first time you run your report, you’ll see Not Sorted at the top of the Report Builder.
Click Not Sorted to select a column from your sheet to sort by. Then, the report will automatically run and sort itself after you select the sort criteria. In this example, we’re sorting columns by ‘Priority,’ shown below:
Reports to Customize Columns for Different Collaborators
Within a sheet, you can choose to hide or display columns. Hidden columns are hidden from all collaborators – and displayed columns displayed to everyone. It’s helpful to hide columns when you want to consolidate the information displayed to your collaborators.
Want to tailor the view of information more specifically than this “all or nothing”?
Reports are a great tool to use when you want to display different information to different collaborators.
Here's an example. Executives may only be interested in a task name and the date it’s completed. The project manager may want to see tasks that aren’t assigned to team members so that they can be assigned an owner. Team members working on all tasks will need to be able to see all of the columns in a sheet so they have a full picture of what everyone is working on and where progress needs to be made.
In this scenario, you wouldn’t want to hide columns in your sheet from team members and different stakeholders.
Start by pulling up the Report Builder. Then use the Columns button to select which columns from the sheet(s) you’d like included in the report.
Create as many reports as necessary to distill different views of your sheet information to share with various team members and stakeholders.
Rockstar Tip: Send your report to recipients as an Attachment on an automated, recurring basis. Regular reminders make it even easier to regularly check in on data.
You can also use this method to send yourself regular snapshots of your data and projects as an offline resource. Learn more about Sharing and Sending Reports.
Take some time to toss around different ways to use reports to work with your data – you’re sure to discover other time saving techniques and organizational approaches.
Til next week, dig in and explore!
- Support Team