Group Rows in Smartsheet: Sheets, Reports, and Views

Yes—Smartsheet lets you organize rows, but the right method depends on what you mean by grouping. In a sheet, indent rows beneath a parent row to create a collapsible hierarchy; in a report, use grouping to arrange records by shared column values without changing the source sheet.

What grouping means in Smartsheet

People often use “group rows” to describe two different tasks. The first is arranging related rows in a sheet so they appear under a parent row. This is Smartsheet’s hierarchy feature: indented rows become children, and the parent can be collapsed or expanded. It is useful for breaking a project into phases and tasks, or arranging a budget into categories and line items.

The second task is collecting rows that have the same value in a field, such as showing all work assigned to one person together. For that, a Smartsheet report can group records by a column. The report presents matching values as sections, while the underlying rows remain in their source sheets. This distinction matters: indentation changes the sheet’s row structure, whereas report grouping changes how records are displayed in the report.

Neither approach is the same as making a filtered view. A filter hides rows that do not meet criteria; it does not create parent-child relationships or section headings for every distinct value. Choose the feature based on whether you want hierarchy, grouped presentation, or a temporary subset of records.

Create a collapsible hierarchy in a sheet

Use hierarchy when one row represents a larger item and the rows below it represent components of that item. In the sheet’s grid, select the row or rows that should become children, then choose the Indent control in the toolbar. The selected row needs a suitable row above it to serve as its parent. To reverse the relationship, select the child row and choose Outdent.

Arrange the rows so the intended parent is immediately above the rows that belong to it.
Select the row or rows to place under that parent.
Choose Indent in the toolbar. Check that the rows are nested at the intended level.
Repeat for lower-level items if you need more than one level of detail.
Use the expand or collapse control beside a parent row to show or hide its children.

For example, a product launch sheet could have a parent row called “Launch preparation,” with child rows for design approval, inventory check, and campaign setup. Campaign setup might itself have child rows for drafting, review, and scheduling. A reader can collapse the parent to see the broader plan or expand it to inspect the work.

Indenting does not automatically create a separate record type, assign owners, or calculate a total. It establishes a visual and structural parent-child relationship. You still need to populate columns such as owner, status, dates, and cost. If you use formulas or dependencies, confirm that they work as intended with your sheet’s hierarchy and settings.

Group rows in a report by column values

Use a report when rows should be collected according to a field such as Status, Department, Region, or Assigned To. A row report can draw records from one or more sheets, subject to your access and report configuration. In the report, use the Group option in the toolbar or report builder, select the column to group by, and configure additional grouping levels if needed. The exact controls can differ slightly as Smartsheet updates its interface.

Suppose a team tracks requests in several department sheets and wants one view organized by status. A report can collect the relevant rows and place records with the same status together. This lets a coordinator scan the open work without adding parent rows to every source sheet. Grouping a report does not reorganize the source sheets; edits made through a report may affect source data when the user has the necessary permissions and the field is editable.

Reports can also offer summary options, depending on the report and available features, to display calculations for grouped records. A group heading alone is not a total: if you need counts or other summaries, configure the appropriate summary fields rather than assuming the group will calculate them. Preview the report and check that its source sheets, included columns, filters, and grouping fields produce the view you expect.

Choose between sheet hierarchy, report grouping, and filters

The best option depends on why the rows need to appear together. A useful rule is to keep stable work breakdowns in the sheet and create audience-specific groupings in reports.

Choose hierarchy when a parent-child relationship is part of the work itself, such as a project phase containing tasks or a category containing line items. People editing the sheet can expand and collapse that structure.
Choose report grouping when readers need records organized by a column value, especially when records come from multiple sheets or the same data needs different views for different teams.
Choose a filter when you simply need to show a subset, such as incomplete tasks or requests due this month, and do not need sectioned groups.
Choose sorting when the goal is a different row order, such as sorting by due date, rather than a collapsible outline or grouped report sections.

These methods can be combined. A project sheet might use indentation for phases and tasks, while a separate report groups selected tasks by owner. The hierarchy supports project planning; the report provides a view suited to workload review. Avoid building every possible view into one sheet if doing so makes the structure difficult to maintain.

Plan the row structure before indenting

It is easier to create a readable hierarchy when you decide on the outline before changing indentation. Identify which rows are true summary items and which are actionable tasks. A parent row such as “Website redesign” can contain work packages, while specific deliverables sit beneath the relevant work package. If every row becomes a parent, the outline may be technically nested but hard to scan.

Keep the meaning of each level consistent. For instance, use the first level for project phases, the second for work packages, and the third for tasks. Add owners and due dates to the rows that people are expected to act on. A parent label is not a substitute for clear task names, and a collapsed section can hide overdue work from a casual scan. Teams should agree on how they will use expand and collapse controls during reviews.

Before changing a large sheet, consider testing the structure on a small set of rows. Check whether the parent-child relationships are intuitive, whether the intended rows collapse together, and whether collaborators can still find the information they need. If you move rows or change the outline later, review the nesting afterward so tasks have not ended up under the wrong parent.

Common problems and misconceptions

“I want to group repeated values in a sheet.” Indentation is not automatic grouping by value. It requires you to create a hierarchy, and it does not gather every row with the same owner or status into a section. Use a report for value-based sections, or use sorting and filters if a grouped display is unnecessary.

“I indented a row, but it went under the wrong item.” Check the row immediately above it and the existing hierarchy. Indent makes a row a child in the current outline, so the surrounding row structure affects where it belongs. Outdent the misplaced row and indent it again only after positioning it beneath the intended parent.

“The report grouping did not change my source sheet.” That is expected. Grouping is a report presentation feature, not a command to rewrite or indent source rows. If you need a permanent hierarchy in the sheet, edit the sheet’s row structure.

“I cannot see the expected grouping controls.” Confirm that you are working in a report rather than a sheet, and that you have permission to use or edit that report. The available interface and capabilities can depend on the Smartsheet experience, plan, and account configuration. If the option is unavailable, check current Smartsheet help or ask an account administrator rather than assuming a sheet has the same controls as a report.

Another common misconception is that collapsing a parent deletes or deactivates its children. Collapse only changes what is shown in the outline. The child rows remain part of the sheet. Similarly, grouping a report does not create copies of the source records; it organizes the report’s presentation.

Keep grouped views useful for collaborators

Structure and naming are especially important in shared sheets. Use parent labels that explain the section, and avoid relying on color alone to show which rows belong together. A user who opens a sheet with sections collapsed may not immediately notice hidden tasks, so include a clear title and useful status or date fields in the visible parent or nearby rows where appropriate.

For reports, use clear group fields with consistent values. If one team enters “In progress,” another enters “In Progress,” and a third uses “Started,” the report can show separate groups even if people consider them equivalent. Standardizing dropdown values and other shared data conventions helps keep groups coherent. Also check that the report includes the records and columns its audience needs, and share it with the appropriate access settings.

Consider the reader’s job when deciding what to expose. A project manager may want an owner-based report to balance workloads; an executive may need a status-based report with concise summaries; an individual contributor may need a filtered list of their own tasks. These can be separate reports using the same source information, rather than competing structures in one sheet.

Alternatives when grouping is not the right fit

If the aim is to see work on a calendar, timeline, or board, a different Smartsheet view may be clearer than grouped rows, depending on the sheet’s data and the views available in your account. A calendar is useful for date-oriented work; a board-style view can make stages and movement between stages more visible. Those views do not replace a well-designed row structure when people need a detailed grid, but they can be better for a particular review.

For a one-time review, sort or filter the sheet rather than rebuilding its hierarchy. For recurring cross-sheet analysis, a report is usually more maintainable than copying rows into a separate sheet by hand. If a report must group records but a desired grouping field is inconsistent or absent, improve the source data first. A clean field makes the resulting view more reliable than trying to compensate with increasingly complex row arrangements.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you group rows directly in a Smartsheet sheet?
You can create collapsible parent and child rows by indenting rows in the sheet. For automatically organizing rows into sections based on matching column values, use a report rather than treating indentation as value-based grouping.

How do I ungroup or unindent rows in Smartsheet?
Select the child row or rows and choose Outdent in the toolbar. This removes that level of nesting; it does not delete the row. Check the outline afterward to confirm the row now belongs at the intended level.

Can a Smartsheet report group rows from multiple sheets?
A row report can include data from multiple sheets when configured to use those sources and when the account and user permissions allow it. You can then group the report by a shared column, provided the records contain consistent values in that field.

Does collapsing a parent row hide its data permanently?
No. Collapsing a parent hides its child rows from the current expanded view; it does not remove them. Expand the parent to show the rows again.

Should I use a report or indent rows for tasks by owner?
Use a report grouped by owner when you want a view that collects tasks by the value in an owner column. Use indentation when the tasks genuinely belong beneath parent items, such as project phases. You can use both if the sheet outline and the owner-focused report serve different needs.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

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