Automating Smartsheet Dropdowns and Forms with Data Shuttle
Managing lists and dropdown options across multiple Smartsheet assets can quickly become time‑consuming, especially when several sheets and forms rely on the same data. Smartsheet’s Data Shuttle provides an elegant solution, enabling teams to sync information automatically and maintain consistent, up‑to‑date choices without manual intervention.
Why Data Shuttle Matters
For organisations working at scale, keeping dropdown lists current is essential for accuracy and user confidence. Product lists, service catalogues, team names, and other key data often appear in forms, dropdown menus, and reporting sheets. When these are updated manually, the process is slow, inconsistent, and prone to human error.
Data Shuttle removes these friction points. It enables teams to automatically upload and download data between Smartsheet and external sources such as Excel, ensuring that sheets and forms always reflect the latest information.
A Practical Example: Managing a Product Catalogue
As an example, a sales team is managing a defined range of catalogue products. As new items are introduced, the product list needs to update across:
- The main product-range sheet
- The sales entry sheet
- The sales submission form
In a manual process, each update would need repeating across every location, introducing delays and increasing the risk of mismatches.
With Data Shuttle, however, the moment the product sheet is updated, the new information can automatically flow through to dropdown fields elsewhere. This keeps every team aligned and confident that they are working with the latest data.
How Automation Enhances Consistency
When Data Shuttle runs, it can pull updated data from a chosen source and push it into the appropriate fields across Smartsheet. This means:
- Dropdown choices can refresh automatically
- Forms remain accurate without manual edits
- Dependent processes—such as task allocation, sales logging, or reporting—receive consistent inputs
- Teams no longer rely on individuals to remember to update lists
In the video example, a new product is added to the product sheet. Data Shuttle then detects the update, downloads the relevant values, and updates the dropdown lists across the sales sheets and forms—seamlessly and in seconds.
Working at Scale
Although the example uses a small number of products, this automation becomes exponentially more valuable for larger datasets or frequent updates. Any team managing product lines, service lists, workforce updates, locations, approval routes, or project metadata can benefit.
Using Data Shuttle ensures:
- Reduced maintenance time
- Fewer errors
- Faster onboarding of changes
- Stronger governance
- Increased efficiency across departments
For organisations on Smartsheet Advance plans, this functionality becomes an integral part of working smarter, not harder.
Driving Efficiency Through Automation
The demonstration highlights how Data Shuttle can:
- Keep data perfectly synchronised
- Trigger updates automatically
- Remove dependencies on individuals
- Improve accuracy across forms and sheets
- Support consistent reporting and decision‑making
When used alongside the wider Smartsheet ecosystem, Data Shuttle helps organisations scale their processes confidently and sustainably.
