Smartsheet Essential Features Every Team Should Know

Modern businesses face the constant challenge of managing projects, tasks, and collaboration with speed and precision. With workflows becoming increasingly complex, organizations require smarter ways to stay organized and keep the momentum. Smartsheet offers exactly that, a versatile platform trained with powerful tools to help teams manage projects of any scale, simplify processes, and encourage stronger collaboration, further leading to simplified project management, better teamwork, and greater overall productivity.

Whether you are a project manager, team leader, or individual contributor, Smartsheet offers a wide range of tools that can help you stay organized and meet your objectives. But with so many features available, it can be overwhelming to know where to start from. This blog post will walk you through key Smartsheet features that every team should know. From automating repetitive tasks to encouraging real-time collaboration, these features will help you increase Smartsheet’s potential and promote your team’s performance. 

Grid view

Smartsheet’s Grid View is the default and most commonly used view, providing a flexible, spreadsheet-like interface to manage and organize your data. It’s the groundwork for all your projects, letting you track tasks, deadlines, and key information in a customizable format.

Key Features

• Customizable Columns: Add several column types (text, date, checkbox, etc.) to structure your data.
• Hierarchical Structure: Create parent-child relationships to manage tasks and dependencies efficiently.
• Attachments & Links: Attach files or integrate links directly in the grid for easy access to project resources.
• Real-Time Collaboration: Leave comments, tag team members, and stay updated with changes in real time.
• Conditional Formatting: Use color-coding to highlight crucial tasks, milestones, or deadlines.

When to Use Grid View?

• Task and Project Management: Organize tasks, track deadlines, and manage project workflows.
• Data Organization: Manage bigger datasets and stay on top of key project details.
• Collaboration: Engage and collaborate directly within the sheet with your team.

Gantt view

Gantt View in Smartsheet offers a visual timeline for your project, perfect for tracking tasks, milestones, and dependencies. It’s commonly utilized in waterfall project management, but can be implemented in any project that needs a clear visual representation of task schedules.

Key Features of Gantt View

• Task Visualization: Tasks are displayed as horizontal bars, where the length shows task duration. Milestones are shown as diamond shapes.
• Dependencies: Easily view task relationships and dependencies, letting you identify critical paths and task overlaps.
• % Complete: Track progress by overlaying a % complete bar within each task.
• Hierarchies: Use row hierarchies to organize tasks into phases, with summary rows for parent tasks.
• Timescale: Adjust the timescale to zoom in from quarter, month, week, or day views.
• Critical Path: Recognize tasks that are significant to your project’s on-time completion.

Configuring Gantt View

• Settings: Adjust Project Settings to let dependencies, display % complete, and customize taskbars.
• Dependencies: Track task relationships and activate features such as the driving and summary paths to optimize scheduling.
• Baselines: Compare scheduled tasks with actual completion using baseline features.

Card view

Card View in Smartsheet is an interactive, visual workspace that enables teams to manage and prioritize tasks using drag-and-drop cards. It is perfect for teams that follow Agile methodologies or prefer visual task management to track and update projects in real-time.

Key Features 

• Visual Task Organization: Tasks are represented as cards and grouped into lanes by status, phase, assignee, or team, making it effortless to track progress visually.
• Drag-and-Drop: Quickly move cards across lanes to prioritize tasks, update statuses, and reflect changes in real time.
• Real-Time Collaboration: Team members can quickly add, remove, or update cards, ensuring smooth communication and alignment.
• Task Details at a Glance: View and edit task details directly on the card without opening individual items, simplifying the workflow.
• Customization: Card View supports dropdown lists, contact lists, and symbol columns to custom-made the view for specific requirements like status tracking or team assignments.
• Interactive Updates: Track progress as tasks move via phases and adjust priorities directly within the board.

Benefits 

• Simplified Organization: Visual lanes make it easy to categorize and track tasks.
• Better Collaboration: Teams can update and track tasks in real-time.
• Easy Prioritization: Quickly adjust task priorities with the drag-and-drop feature.

Card View vs. Board View

While Card View emphasizes managing and tracking individual tasks with a visual interface, Board View offers a more all-encompassing, wide organizational method, categorizing tasks in lanes based on particular criteria like status, assignee, or team. You can smoothly switch between Card View and Board View based on your team’s needs.

Card View is a powerful, visual tool for teams seeking an interactive, easy-to-manage workspace. It simplifies task tracking, enhances collaboration, and enables quick updates, making it ideal for dynamic projects that require continuous adjustments and real-time transparency.

Calendar view

Calendar View offers an engaging, customizable way to track tasks and deadlines, letting teams project work on a calendar and even sync with external platforms such as Google Calendar or iCal in Outlook and Apple calendars.

Key Features

• Date-Based Tasks: Display tasks as per one or two date columns (start and end dates).
• Customization: Line up settings to display specific dates, date ranges, or tasks, and toggle the transparency of summary tasks.
• Real-Time Updates: Drag-and-drop functionality to adjust dates and task durations directly in the calendar.
• Reminder Icons: Display reminder notifications for future tasks.
• Print and Publish: Print calendar views or publish them to external calendars for easy sharing
• Editing & Configuration:
• Edit Dates: Modify task dates by dragging bars or using the Edit Row form.
• Timeframe Adjustment: Easily switch between different time units (day, week, month) using arrows at the top of the calendar.

Cell linking

Cell Linking allows you to link specific cells between sheets, automatically updating destination sheets when source data changes. This feature eradicates the requirement for manual copy-pasting and ensures continuous, real-time data across numerous sheets.

Key Features

• Inbound & Outbound Links: Inbound links gather data from a source sheet, while outbound links send data to destination sheets.
• Real-Time Updates: Linked cells automatically update when the source data changes.
• Quick Link Creation: Create links via the toolbar or use Paste Special to link multiple cells at once.
• Editing & Removal: Easily edit or remove links by right-clicking the linked cell.

Best Practices

• Data Consistency: Ensure up-to-date, consistent details across multiple sheets, like budgets or project timelines.
• Consolidation: Roll up data into summary sheets without manual entry.
• Cell Linking simplifies data sharing, ensuring real-time updates and eradicating the requirement for manual updates, making it right for maintaining consistency across several sheets.

Formulas

The Formula feature in Smartsheet enables you to execute calculations, automate tasks, and manipulate data within a sheet. With formulas, you can simplify data processing, maintain consistency, and keep your sheets dynamic.

Key Features

• Perform Calculations: Use functions like SUM, AVG, and IF for automated data processing.
• Column Formulas: Apply a formula across a whole column, ensuring consistency with new rows.
• Dynamic Updates: Formulas automatically update based on changes in underlying data.
• Flexible Cell References: Adjust how formulas apply using relative, absolute, and mixed references.
• Concatenate Text: Combine values from diverse cells for clear, readable formats.
• Symbol & Dropdown Automation: Automate changes to symbols and drop-down lists using formulas.

Best Practices

• Column Formulas: Use them to keep consistency across all rows in a column.
• Work with Ranges: Reference numerous cells or ranges for effective calculations.

Filters

The Filter feature allows you to show or hide specific data, making it effortless to emphasize what’s crucial. Whether you’re managing tasks, tracking deadlines, or tracking project progress, filters help you tailor the sheet to meet your requirements.

Key Features

• Show/Hide Information: Filters allow you to view data based on specific criteria, like tasks assigned to you, due dates, or workflow stages.
• Named vs. Unnamed Filters:’
• Unnamed Filters: Automatically track filter conditions, but can only be used once at a time.
• Named Filters: Save multiple filters for easy reuse and share them with others (available to Admins and Owners).
• Temporary Filters: In table, board, and timeline views, you can apply temporary filters to specify data for specific tasks or projects.
• Global Impact: Filters affect all views (Grid, Card, Calendar, and Gantt), ensuring a consistent experience across the sheet.
• Filter Sharing: Share named filters with team members to ensure uniformity in data views.

Best Practices:

• Organize Views: Use filters to emphasize specific data, making it easier to prioritize and monitor progress.
• Save Filters: Save and name filters for easy access and future use, especially for continual tasks or reports.
• Apply Across Views: Ensure consistency by using filters in all views (e.g., grid, card, or Gantt).

Smartsheet’s Filter feature is a potential tool for personalizing and managing your data, allowing for efficient project tracking, ensuring that the right information is front and center, and helping make team collaboration by sharing consistent views.

Baselines

The Baseline feature in Smartsheet assists you in comparing planned (baseline) and actual project start and end dates, allowing you to track progress and recognize delays or early completions.

Key Features

• Track Variance: Compare baseline and actual dates with the Variance column, showing how ahead or behind you are.
• Visual Gantt Bars: Baseline bars in Gantt View offer a clear visual of your project’s progress.
• Read-Only Data: Once set, baselines are non-editable to keep the integrity of your original schedule.
• Multiple Views: View baseline data in Gantt, reports, and dashboards (excluding baseline bars).
• Setup and Configuration:
• Enable Baselines: Add Start and End Date columns, switch to Gantt View, and activate baselines.
• Reset Baseline: You can reset baselines to seize new project dates.

Benefits

• Track Progress: Easily compare planned vs. actual dates.
• Preserve Accuracy: Baselines are read-only, ensuring the original schedule remains intact.
• Insights on Variance: Rapidly assess if your project is on schedule.

Limitations

• Modification Restrictions: Baseline data cannot be edited once set, but can be reset.
• Gantt View Display: Baseline bars are viewable in Gantt View but not in reports or dashboards.

Dependencies

The Dependencies feature helps manage task relationships by automatically adjusting dependent tasks when changes happen. It’s crucial for ensuring tasks are completed in the right order and helps keep the project flow.

Key Features

• Automatic Updates: Changes to a predecessor task (start or end date) automatically update dependent tasks.
• Task Relationships: Define dependencies like Finish-to-Start or Start-to-Start to control task sequencing.
• Critical Path: Place the critical path to track key tasks that must be completed on time.
• Milestones & Paths: Track milestones with zero duration and recognize driving and summary paths to see how tasks impact each other.

Benefits

• Effective Project Management: Automatically adjust schedules for a streamlined project flow.
• Improved Accuracy: Visualize how task delays affect the whole project.
• Proactive Adjustments: Use the critical path and driving paths to prioritize and avoid delays.

Setup

• Enable Dependencies: Activate dependencies in project settings and view them in Gantt View.
• Task Organization: Use hierarchies to group tasks and manage dependencies within phases.

Critical path

The Critical Path feature recognizes the sequence of tasks that directly impact your project’s completion date. By tracking these key tasks, you can ensure the project stays on schedule and prevent delays.

Key Features

• Project Milestones: The crucial path finds the longest sequence of tasks crucial for keeping the project on schedule.
• Visual Gantt Representation: In Gantt View, critical path tasks are highlighted in red for easy identification.
• Automatic Updates: Smartsheet updates and highlights the important path in real time when task dates or dependencies change.
• Dependencies Enabled: The critical path needs dependencies to be enabled in the project settings.

Setup and Configuration:

• Enable Dependencies: To use the critical path, enable task dependencies in the project settings and ensure your sheet is in Gantt View.
• View and Hide: The critical path can be displayed or hidden based on user preferences, allowing easy focus on key tasks.

Dashboards

Smartsheet Dashboards lets you summarize and display essential project data, status, and performance indicators in a visual format. These dashboards offer real-time updates, making it effortless to share project progress with stakeholders.

Key Features

• Customizable Widgets: Add chart, metric, and report widgets to display data from sheets or reports.
• Edit and Design: Owners and Admins can customize dashboards by changing themes, adding widgets, and adjusting layouts.
• Image Integration: Drag and drop images directly onto your dashboard or use an image widget for visual appeal.
• Auto-Refresh: Dashboards refresh automatically every 10 minutes for real-time data tracking (with customizable settings for individual views).
• Custom Colors: Customize dashboard colors using HEX or RGB values to match your branding or preferences.

Benefits

• Real-Time Data: Share up-to-date project status and key metrics with stakeholders.
• Enhanced Collaboration: Simplify communication by unifying data in one accessible location.
• Visual Clarity: Present complex data in an easy-to-understand format for improved decision-making.

Reports

Reports in Smartsheet let you gather data from multiple sheets into a single view, offering stakeholders an all-encompassing overview of key tasks, milestones, and performance metrics.

Key Features

• Bidirectional Data: Reports automatically sync with the rudimentary sheets, ensuring real-time updates across both.
• Row Reports: Aggregate row-level data from multiple sheets (e.g., tasks, deadlines).
• Sheet Summary Reports: Display high-level metrics from multiple sheets, ideal for portfolio-level insights.
• Customizable Filters & Grouping: Filter, group, and summarize data to highlight key details.
• Sharing and Publishing: Share reports with others without uncovering the underlying sheets, or publish them for external access.

Benefits

• Centralized View: Bring together key data from multiple sheets in one report.
• Real-Time Sync: Updates in the report automatically reflect in the source sheets, ensuring accuracy.
• Flexible Reporting: Personalize the data displayed and control access to high-level information for stakeholders.

Forms

Smartsheet Forms make it easy to gather data from anyone, anywhere. With the capability to build custom forms using conditional logic, you can ensure that the queries are relevant to every person filling out the form, making data gathering more effective and precise.

Key Features

• Conditional Logic: Tailor the form flow based on user responses to ensure they only see relevant questions.
• Custom Branding: Add your company’s branding to forms by including logos, background colors, images, and even GIFs.
• Mobile and Desktop Access: Share forms with colleagues, contractors, clients, or anyone, enabling them to access information and files from any device.
• Direct Integration with Sheets: Data gathered via forms is automatically saved to your sheet, simplifying your workflow and lessening errors.

Benefits

• Consistent, Error-Free Data: Collect standardized data from all stakeholders, ensuring quality and accuracy.
• Simplified Data Entry: Eliminate manual data entry and ensure that submissions go directly into your Smartsheet for easy action.
• Versatile Use Cases: Perfect for use in field ticket collection, request management, event registration, customer feedback, and more.

Work insights

Work Insights in Smartsheet offers a potential way to visualize and analyze project data. It automatically aggregates data and turns it into actionable insights, helping you track key trends, recognize bottlenecks, and make informed decisions quicker.

Key Features

• Data Visualization: Use Column Snapshots for row data, Time Series for tracking changes, and Burndown Charts to visualize project progress.
• Real-Time Data: Work Insights automatically updates to reflect the latest project changes.
• Custom Filters: Fine-tune your data with filters to emphasize key information.
• Chart Options: Customize data presentation with chart types like bar, line, pie, and donut.

Benefits 

• Improved Decision-Making: With visual data and real-time updates, you can quickly identify trends and bottlenecks, helping you make informed decisions.
• Streamlined Project Management: Visualizing complex data in a simple format allows you to track progress easily, ensuring your project stays on schedule.
• Optimized Workflow: By revealing key trends and performance insights, Work Insights helps you spot concerns early and take corrective actions.

Setup and Usage:

• Access Work Insights: Click on the Work Insights icon in the right feature bar to begin using this tool.
• Create and Customize Insights: Add insights like Column Snapshots, Time Series, or Burndown Charts, and adjust settings based on your project’s requirements.

Workload tracking

Workload Tracking allows you to manage resource allocation, track accessibility, and find over-allocations, ensuring team members aren’t overloaded.

Key Features

• Workload Heatmap: Visualizes resource availability, highlighting over-allocations in red.
• Workload Schedule: Offers a detailed view of resource assignments across projects.
• Custom Allocation: Adjust the Allocation % to specify time for tasks and optimize workloads.
• Integration with Resource Management: Syncs with Resource Management for a detailed view of resource availability.

Benefits

• Visual Resource Management: Easily track resource availability and avoid over-allocations.
• Real-Time Updates: Automatically indicate changes in assignments to keep resource data accurate.
• Efficient Planning: Helps distribute tasks effectively, preventing burnout and optimizing productivity.

Templates

Templates, as a Smartsheet’s essential feature, allow you to save time and maintain consistency by standardizing elements like column names, types, formatting, and automation. Templates are specifically useful for creating multiple sheets, reports, or dashboards, ensuring uniformity across projects and teams.

Key Features 

• Create and Save Templates: Save existing sheets as templates, keeping columns, data, formatting, and workflows.
• Pre-Built Templates: Access customizable templates from the Template Gallery, including sheets, forms, automation, and dashboards.
• Consistency: Ensure uniformity across projects with standardized structures and data formats, making it effortless to add reports and dashboards.
• Customizable: Edit templates by aligning data, column types, attachments, and workflows; automated workflows may need manual email updates.

How to Use Templates?

• Create a Template: From an existing sheet, go to File > Save as Template, name it, and select the elements to include, like data, formatting, and workflows.
• Use a Template: Browse or search for a template in your workspace, then create a new sheet based on it. You can rename it and customize it for your current project.
• Share Templates: Share templates by moving them into a shared workspace or inviting collaborators when creating a new template.

Benefits 

• Time-Saving: Templates eradicate the need to recreate similar sheets or projects, saving time on setup.
• Ensure Consistency: Templates standardize column names, types, and workflows, ensuring uniformity across multiple projects.
• Easier Collaboration: Using templates streamlines team collaboration by maintaining a consistent structure and data format.

A key tool that helps with simplifying workflows, saving time, and ensuring consistency across projects. By using or creating templates, you can improve collaboration and enhance efficiency in project management.

Custom branding

Custom Branding allows you to personalize your projects, forms, and templates to reflect your company’s branding, ensuring to improve your work setting by adding your logo, adjusting colors, and integrating personalized visual elements.

Key Features

• Brand Forms: Tailor forms with your logo, background colors, and images or GIFs to match your company’s brand identity.
• Personalized Templates: Adjust templates with custom colors, fonts, and logos to create a consistent branded experience across your projects.
• Visual Customization: Alter sheet layouts, charts, and reports with company colors or style preferences, ensuring consistency in all visual outputs.

Benefits 

• Professional Appearance: Present a consistent, professional look for all your projects, forms, and reports.
• Improved User Experience: Align your work surroundings with your brand, creating a more united experience for team members and stakeholders.
• Enhanced Brand Recognition: Reinforce brand identity by combining visual elements like logos and color schemes across your Smartsheet environment.

Publish

The Publish feature in Smartsheet helps with sharing sheets, reports, and dashboards with anyone, even if they don’t have a Smartsheet account. Published items are accessible through a unique URL or integrated into a website, while maintaining real-time updates.

Key Features

• Dynamic Sharing: Published items are automatically updated, ensuring that viewers always see the most up-to-date data.
• Access Control: Choose who can access your published link; options include open access, limited access to Smartsheet plan users, or specific users shared on the item.
• Custom Views: Customize the published view (e.g., Grid, Gantt, Calendar) and allow viewers to switch between views.
• Website Embedding: Use iframe code to embed sheets, reports, or dashboards directly into a webpage.

How to Publish?

• Publish Sheets, Reports, and Dashboards: Turn on the publish option from the Smartsheet interface, choose access controls and view settings, then share the link or embed code.
• Control Visibility: Set access permissions based on Smartsheet plan or shared user access.

Benefits

• Easy Sharing: Share data with external stakeholders without needing Smartsheet accounts.
• Real-Time Updates: Published content refreshes automatically, keeping everyone up-to-date.
• Customizable Views: Personalize how your published items are displayed for your audience.

Veridian Solutions: Your Partner for Smartsheet Consultation

Implementing Smartsheet efficiently goes beyond just knowing its features; it takes the right strategy, customization, and support to align the platform with your specific business requirements. That’s where Veridian Solutions comes in. As a certified Smartsheet Gold Partner with 20,000+ hours of consulting experience, Veridian specializes in building personalized solutions that simplify workflows, enhance collaboration, and increase the value of Smartsheet for your organization. Supported by core values of innovation, adaptability, and collaboration, their team works closely with clients to build intuitive systems and ensure teams feel positive using them. Whether you’re just beginning with Smartsheet or looking to scale its influence across your enterprise, Veridian is the reliable partner to help you reveal Smartsheet’s complete potential.