Requirement: Auto-generation and completion of a Google doc based on selections made by filtering options in Google sheets
Step-by-step:
There are x options listed in a spreadsheet.
I reduce them to the number I need via filtering.
I then have these options + the expanded details automatically added to a google doc template I've designed.
As an unexperienced programmer, it's very likely that the most convenient way to do something like this is by using Google Apps Script as it has services that help to extend Google Sheets and Google Docs among other Google apps. This service use JavaScript as programming language and it's possible to create and manage the script by using a web browser.
Experienced programmers that don't want to invest too much time on doing this might also find convenient to use Google Apps Script, but they might prefer to use the tools used for other projects might use CLASP or the Google Apps Script API.
Besides using Google Apps Script this could be done by using Google Docs API, Google Sheets API, Google Drive API and Google Cloud.
Related
Question:
Can I add the authorization part of my google sheets add-on into my add-on's code or does it need to be a separate thing? What would that code look like? If adding the authorization process into the google app script isn't an option, what would be the next best option and what would that look like?
Premise:
I'm very new to coding or working with an API, google app script, and google cloud platform. I have looked over Google's documentation a dozen times and I'm still unsure how to actually implement the authorization process. Using the HTTP/REST option looks like the best option but I'm really not sure. I've gotten the clientID, secret, URI, etc... that would be required but I don't know where I put that information. Does the code need to be on my website? If so, what would that look like or where can I go to learn more about it?
Thank you in advance!
Approach
When using Apps Script you won't need to insert your credentials anywhere. The Auth flow is managed by the Apps Script environment. Every time you will need extra permissions to run your script, the environment will prompt for your authorization. This will generally require a normal login to the google account you want to use to authorize your script.
Using Google APIs on Apps Script can be done using two different patterns:
Pattern 1: Built-in Google Services
You can use the Apps Script scaffold G Suite Apps classes to work on G Suite Documents, Sheets, Forms, Slides and more. This will feel like programming with native classes and interfaces than using an over-the-internet API.
Pattern 2: Advanced Google Services
Advanced services are essentially thin wrappers around the Google APIs. They You must enable an advanced service before you can use it in a script. To enable the Advanced Services visit the guide here
References:
Built-in Google Services
Advanced Google Services
I have a Rest API available which I would like to make available via an Google sheet for less tech oriented people. I was wondering if it is possible to hide the google script from the sheet if I share it with people? I have some sensitive information in the code like the authentication etc which I would like to hide. Moreover, it would be nice if they can't infer with the code. Is this possible?
The only secure way is to create an add-on.
Related
How to protect the Apps Script code in a Google spreadsheet?
I've use Google Apps Script before, but haven't bene programming for oabout a year now.
For a new project I would like to know if I should continue using Google Apps script or switch to HTMLService.
So first question is if Google Apps Script still is and well be supported by Google.
Second question is what are the main differences between HTMLService and Google Apps Script that make it worth switching.
If you mean should you use HTMLService or UIService within Google Apps Script, it would probably be best to use HTMLService as UIService is deprecated.
UIService will appear in auto-complete until 30th June, but not after.
https://developers.google.com/apps-script/sunset?utm_campaign=htmlser-1214&utm_source=gadbc&utm_medium=blog
http://googleappsdeveloper.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/speeding-up-htmlservice.html
https://developers.google.com/apps-script/guides/html/
For first Question: Yes, The Google app script used to make google products as custom like google spread sheet , google docs and we can insert the script into google sites so that we can share output through website.
For second Question: In Google app script the ClassUIApp is deprecated in that place we can using HTML services
https://developers.google.com/apps-script/reference/ui/ui-app
In the beginning Google App Script, all the code was written in one file one with .gs extension which included the code for User Interface, styling and business logic which made it complex as the application moved from small scale to enterprise level.
Also there was a restriction that you have to use the UI components from App Script (UiApp) which was not welcomed by the existing community of web developers as it was limited and needed to be learned and could not offer all the features a programmer may require.
Therefore in order to make it popular among existing community of developers App Script gave the ability of writing HTML pages as part of the project which was very helpful as it is widely used for designing all kinds of UI.
So, as you can see here that Google has made a shift, and hence HTMLservice is the future.
Google Apps Script was design for interact with google apps, so, if you are working with google drive, calendar, maps. You must use apps script, It's is easy and fast to implement.
But if you don't need use Google Apps may be is better use another software because how I told you before, Apps Script was created for interact with Google Apps and works awesome.
Google say: "The HTML service lets you serve web pages that can interact with server-side Apps Script functions. It is particularly useful for building web apps or adding custom user interfaces in Google Docs, Sheets, and Forms. You can even use it to generate the body of an email."
https://developers.google.com/apps-script/guides/html/
The purpose is different, what do you want to do?
Been following updates from Google in regard to GAS for over 6 months now. Google is putting a lot of resource into GAS and I don't think there should be any concern about it being deprecated.
And HTMLService is a class that can be called from inside the script editor so I don't know why one would need to choose one or the other.
Just go into the script editor and press control + space bar at the same time and you'll see all the classes available to you in alphabetical order. Scroll down to H and you'll see HTMLService. I haven't used it yet but it's there to work with.
HTMLService is a service to serve HTML pages through Google Apps Script. You can use HtmlService as a normal web page.
I have been looking for a way to interact with my google sheets (and other services) from Excel (and other desktop applications).
For example:
I get a report from a work system and my boss asks me to update the information in the google sheets so that our site is up to date with the latest information.
What would be great (and easy for me) would be to use a VBA script in my spreadsheet to turn all my data in http requests and then do the heavy lifting with Google Apps Script in the cloud and finally updating the Google Sheets with the associated API.
When I look at the oAuth2 playground I can't find a way to enable Google Apps script, as I have successfully done so with other APIs.
(to be clear, I don't want to do oAuth2 with in GAS - which is a lot of the other questions that get raised)
Is this a hard problem or is there a solution?
There is currently no way of calling a Google Apps Script from an external program. You do have a few other options:
Import the relevant data into Google Sheets manually and use Google Apps Script to process it as needed, possibly making use of time-based triggers to handle the processing automatically.
Use the Google Spreadsheets API. Unlike Apps Script, this API is built to be called from other programs and can manipulate Google Sheets. However, it is a bit more difficult to use than Apps Script. Once data has been moved into a Google Sheet, a separate Apps Script can be used to manipulate it.
I am considering using Google Spreadsheets and Google Apps Scripts for our business rules, given that Spreadsheets will make the business rules available and editable to non-technical employees.
My concern is about all the quotas that apply to Google Apps Scripts, as these also might change in the future, and there is no way to upgrade to a "premium" with more liberal quotas.
As a fall-back I am considering using the Google Spreadsheets API, and I assume that there are also quotas on this API, but I cannot find them anywhere. Does anyone know them? Or has anyone hit these quotas?
I am also trying to get some sort of idea of whether it is indeed a good idea to put the business rules in Google Spreadsheets in my question here.
There is an Apps Script Dashboard which identifies any service disruptions, as well as a tab for a breakdown of quotas, based on your Google Apps account type.
Google Apps Script Dashboard
From a quick skim of your posting on StackExchange, one thing to be mindful of is the email quota (1500 total recipients per account each day). You may be able to offset this hurdle (if applicable) using Google Groups, either by creating predefined groups, or programmatically building groups using Advanced Google service in Apps Script (at least for internal communications; direct add accounts for external addresses require a welcome message).
I'm not familiar with Ultradox, but using Apps Script, you can populate Google Doc "Template" files, convert them to PDF, and attach in Gmail (or provide the share link), right from Apps Script.