SmartSheet: How to Add a Parent Row
Instructions
To add a parent row in SmartSheet, follow these instructions:
- Open the sheet in SmartSheet.
- Click on the child row.
- Click the Indent button in the toolbar.
Now, the row you clicked on will be the child row, and the row above it will be the parent row.
To remove the parent row, click on the child row and then click the Outdent button in the toolbar.
Example
In this example, the Employees sheet tracks monthly expenses for managers and non-managers. Managers will be parent rows, and non-managers will be child rows. Alice is the manager for Bob and Carol, so we'll make Alice the parent row and Bob and Carol the child rows.
- Select Bob and Carol's rows.
- Click the Indent button in the toolbar.
Grandparent and Ancestor Rows
Parent rows can have other parent rows above them, called "Ancestor" rows.
- Click on a parent row that has another row above it.
- Click the Indent button in the toolbar.
In this example, we made Alice the ancestor, Dave the parent, and Elaine the child.
Important Functions
If you use parent rows, there are three functions to know about.
CHILDREN Function
The CHILDREN function lets you reference the child rows from a parent row.
For example, use this formula to make Alice's Monthly Expenses the SUM of all of the children's Monthly Expenses:
=SUM(CHILDREN())
PARENT Function
The PARENT function lets you reference the parent row from a child row.
For example, use this formula to make Bob's Monthly Expenses the same as his parent's Monthly Expenses:
=PARENT()
ANCESTORS Function
The ANCESTORS function lets you reference all of the ancestors of a child row.
For example, use this function to make Elaine's Monthly Expenses the SUM of all of her ancestors' Monthly Expenses
=SUM(ANCESTORS())
More Methods to Inherit Data From Child and Parent Cells
To learn more about the CHILDREN, PARENT, and ANCESTORS function, and to learn more about sharing data between parent and child cells, see How to Inherit From Child and Parent Cells
Additional Resources
