I've made a script that every few hours adds a new row to a Google Apps spreadsheet.
This is the function I've made to find the first empty row:
function getFirstEmptyRow() {
var spr = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var cell = spr.getRange('a1');
var ct = 0;
while ( cell.offset(ct, 0).getValue() != "" ) {
ct++;
}
return (ct);
}
It works fine, but when reaching about 100 rows, it gets really slow, even ten seconds.
I'm worried that when reaching thousands of rows, it will be too slow, maybe going in timeout or worse.
Is there a better way?
This question has now had more than 12K views - so it's time for an update, as the performance characteristics of New Sheets are different than when Serge ran his initial tests.
Good news: performance is much better across the board!
Fastest:
As in the first test, reading the sheet's data just once, then operating on the array, gave a huge performance benefit. Interestingly, Don's original function performed much better than the modified version that Serge tested. (It appears that while is faster than for, which isn't logical.)
The average execution time on the sample data is just 38ms, down from the previous 168ms.
// Don's array approach - checks first column only
// With added stopping condition & correct result.
// From answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/9102463/1677912
function getFirstEmptyRowByColumnArray() {
var spr = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var column = spr.getRange('A:A');
var values = column.getValues(); // get all data in one call
var ct = 0;
while ( values[ct] && values[ct][0] != "" ) {
ct++;
}
return (ct+1);
}
Test results:
Here are the results, summarized over 50 iterations in a spreadsheet with 100 rows x 3 columns (filled with Serge's test function).
The function names match the code in the script below.
"First empty row"
The original ask was to find the first empty row. None of the previous scripts actually deliver on that. Many check just one column, which means that they can give false positive results. Others only find the first row that follows all data, meaning that empty rows in non-contiguous data get missed.
Here's a function that does meet the spec. It was included in the tests, and while slower than the lightning-fast single-column checker, it came in at a respectable 68ms, a 50% premium for a correct answer!
/**
* Mogsdad's "whole row" checker.
*/
function getFirstEmptyRowWholeRow() {
var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
var range = sheet.getDataRange();
var values = range.getValues();
var row = 0;
for (var row=0; row<values.length; row++) {
if (!values[row].join("")) break;
}
return (row+1);
}
Complete script:
If you want to repeat the tests, or add your own function to the mix as a comparison, just take the whole script and use it in a spreadsheet.
/**
* Set up a menu option for ease of use.
*/
function onOpen() {
var menuEntries = [ {name: "Fill sheet", functionName: "fillSheet"},
{name: "test getFirstEmptyRow", functionName: "testTime"}
];
var sh = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
sh.addMenu("run tests",menuEntries);
}
/**
* Test an array of functions, timing execution of each over multiple iterations.
* Produce stats from the collected data, and present in a "Results" sheet.
*/
function testTime() {
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
ss.getSheets()[0].activate();
var iterations = parseInt(Browser.inputBox("Enter # of iterations, min 2:")) || 2;
var functions = ["getFirstEmptyRowByOffset", "getFirstEmptyRowByColumnArray", "getFirstEmptyRowByCell","getFirstEmptyRowUsingArray", "getFirstEmptyRowWholeRow"]
var results = [["Iteration"].concat(functions)];
for (var i=1; i<=iterations; i++) {
var row = [i];
for (var fn=0; fn<functions.length; fn++) {
var starttime = new Date().getTime();
eval(functions[fn]+"()");
var endtime = new Date().getTime();
row.push(endtime-starttime);
}
results.push(row);
}
Browser.msgBox('Test complete - see Results sheet');
var resultSheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActive().getSheetByName("Results");
if (!resultSheet) {
resultSheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActive().insertSheet("Results");
}
else {
resultSheet.activate();
resultSheet.clearContents();
}
resultSheet.getRange(1, 1, results.length, results[0].length).setValues(results);
// Add statistical calculations
var row = results.length+1;
var rangeA1 = "B2:B"+results.length;
resultSheet.getRange(row, 1, 3, 1).setValues([["Avg"],["Stddev"],["Trimmed\nMean"]]);
var formulas = resultSheet.getRange(row, 2, 3, 1);
formulas.setFormulas(
[[ "=AVERAGE("+rangeA1+")" ],
[ "=STDEV("+rangeA1+")" ],
[ "=AVERAGEIFS("+rangeA1+","+rangeA1+',"<"&B$'+row+"+3*B$"+(row+1)+","+rangeA1+',">"&B$'+row+"-3*B$"+(row+1)+")" ]]);
formulas.setNumberFormat("##########.");
for (var col=3; col<=results[0].length;col++) {
formulas.copyTo(resultSheet.getRange(row, col))
}
// Format for readability
for (var col=1;col<=results[0].length;col++) {
resultSheet.autoResizeColumn(col)
}
}
// Omiod's original function. Checks first column only
// Modified to give correct result.
// question https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6882104
function getFirstEmptyRowByOffset() {
var spr = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var cell = spr.getRange('a1');
var ct = 0;
while ( cell.offset(ct, 0).getValue() != "" ) {
ct++;
}
return (ct+1);
}
// Don's array approach - checks first column only.
// With added stopping condition & correct result.
// From answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/9102463/1677912
function getFirstEmptyRowByColumnArray() {
var spr = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var column = spr.getRange('A:A');
var values = column.getValues(); // get all data in one call
var ct = 0;
while ( values[ct] && values[ct][0] != "" ) {
ct++;
}
return (ct+1);
}
// Serge's getFirstEmptyRow, adapted from Omiod's, but
// using getCell instead of offset. Checks first column only.
// Modified to give correct result.
// From answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/18319032/1677912
function getFirstEmptyRowByCell() {
var spr = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var ran = spr.getRange('A:A');
var arr = [];
for (var i=1; i<=ran.getLastRow(); i++){
if(!ran.getCell(i,1).getValue()){
break;
}
}
return i;
}
// Serges's adaptation of Don's array answer. Checks first column only.
// Modified to give correct result.
// From answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/18319032/1677912
function getFirstEmptyRowUsingArray() {
var sh = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var ss = sh.getActiveSheet();
var data = ss.getDataRange().getValues();
for(var n=0; n<data.length ; n++){
if(data[n][0]==''){n++;break}
}
return n+1;
}
/**
* Mogsdad's "whole row" checker.
*/
function getFirstEmptyRowWholeRow() {
var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
var range = sheet.getDataRange();
var values = range.getValues();
var row = 0;
for (var row=0; row<values.length; row++) {
if (!values[row].join("")) break;
}
return (row+1);
}
function fillSheet(){
var sh = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var ss = sh.getActiveSheet();
for(var r=1;r<1000;++r){
ss.appendRow(['filling values',r,'not important']);
}
}
// Function to test the value returned by each contender.
// Use fillSheet() first, then blank out random rows and
// compare results in debugger.
function compareResults() {
var a = getFirstEmptyRowByOffset(),
b = getFirstEmptyRowByColumnArray(),
c = getFirstEmptyRowByCell(),
d = getFirstEmptyRowUsingArray(),
e = getFirstEmptyRowWholeRow(),
f = getFirstEmptyRowWholeRow2();
debugger;
}
The Google Apps Script blog had a post on optimizing spreadsheet operations that talked about batching reads and writes that could really speed things up. I tried your code on a spreadsheet with 100 rows, and it took about seven seconds. By using Range.getValues(), the batch version takes one second.
function getFirstEmptyRow() {
var spr = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var column = spr.getRange('A:A');
var values = column.getValues(); // get all data in one call
var ct = 0;
while ( values[ct][0] != "" ) {
ct++;
}
return (ct);
}
If the spreadsheet gets big enough, you might need to grab the data in chunks of 100 or 1000 rows instead of grabbing the entire column.
It's already there as the getLastRow method on the Sheet.
var firstEmptyRow = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getLastRow() + 1;
Ref https://developers.google.com/apps-script/class_sheet#getLastRow
Seeing this old post with 5k views I first checked the 'best answer' and was quite surprised by its content... this was a very slow process indeed ! then I felt better when I saw Don Kirkby's answer, the array approach is indeed much more efficient !
But how much more efficient ?
So I wrote this little test code on a spreadsheet with 1000 rows and here are the results : (not bad !... no need to tell which one is which...)
and here is the code I used :
function onOpen() {
var menuEntries = [ {name: "test method 1", functionName: "getFirstEmptyRow"},
{name: "test method 2 (array)", functionName: "getFirstEmptyRowUsingArray"}
];
var sh = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
sh.addMenu("run tests",menuEntries);
}
function getFirstEmptyRow() {
var time = new Date().getTime();
var spr = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var ran = spr.getRange('A:A');
for (var i= ran.getLastRow(); i>0; i--){
if(ran.getCell(i,1).getValue()){
break;
}
}
Browser.msgBox('lastRow = '+Number(i+1)+' duration = '+Number(new Date().getTime()-time)+' mS');
}
function getFirstEmptyRowUsingArray() {
var time = new Date().getTime();
var sh = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var ss = sh.getActiveSheet();
var data = ss.getDataRange().getValues();
for(var n =data.length ; n<0 ; n--){
if(data[n][0]!=''){n++;break}
}
Browser.msgBox('lastRow = '+n+' duration = '+Number(new Date().getTime()-time)+' mS');
}
function fillSheet(){
var sh = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var ss = sh.getActiveSheet();
for(var r=1;r<1000;++r){
ss.appendRow(['filling values',r,'not important']);
}
}
And the test spreadsheet to try it yourself :-)
EDIT :
Following Mogsdad's comment, I should mention that these function names are indeed a bad choice... It should have been something like getLastNonEmptyCellInColumnAWithPlentyOfSpaceBelow() which is not very elegant (is it ?) but more accurate and coherent with what it actually returns.
Comment :
Anyway, my point was to show the speed of execution of both approaches, and it obviously did it (didn't it ? ;-)
I know this is an old thread and there have been some very clever approaches here.
I use the script
var firstEmptyRow = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getLastRow() + 1;
if I need the first completely empty row.
If I need the first empty cell in a column I do the following.
My first row is usually a title row.
My 2nd row is a hidden row and each cell has the formula
=COUNTA(A3:A)
Where A is replaced with the column letter.
My script just reads this value. This updates pretty quickly compared to script approaches.
There is one time this does not work and that is when I allow empty cells to break up the column. I have not needed a fix for this yet, I suspect one may be derived from COUNTIF, or a combined function or one of the many other inbuilt ones.
EDIT: COUNTA does cope with blank cells within a range, so the concern about the "one time this does not work" is not really a concern. (This might be a new behavior with "new Sheets".)
And why don't use appendRow?
var spreadsheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
spreadsheet.appendRow(['this is in column A', 'column B']);
I have a similar issue. Right now it's a table with many hundreds of rows, and I'm expecting it to grow to many many thousands. (I haven't seen whether a Google spreadsheet will handle tens of thousands of rows, but I'll get there eventually.)
Here's what I'm doing.
Step forward through the column by hundreds, stop when I'm on an empty row.
Step backward through the column by tens, looking for the first non-empty row.
Step forward through the column by ones, looking for the first empty row.
Return the result.
This depends of course on having contiguous content. Can't have any random blank lines in there. Or at least, if you do, results will be sub-optimal. And you can tune the increments if you think it's important. These work for me, and I find that the difference in duration between steps of 50 and steps of 100 are negligible.
function lastValueRow() {
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var r = ss.getRange('A1:A');
// Step forwards by hundreds
for (var i = 0; r.getCell(i,1).getValue() > 1; i += 100) { }
// Step backwards by tens
for ( ; r.getCell(i,1).getValue() > 1; i -= 10) { }
// Step forwards by ones
for ( ; r.getCell(i,1).getValue() == 0; i--) { }
return i;
}
This is much faster than inspecting every cell from the top. And if you happen to have some other columns that extend your worksheet, it may be faster than inspecting every cell from the bottom, too.
I tweaked the code ghoti supplied so that it searched for an empty cell. Comparing values did not work on a column with text (or I could not figure out how) instead I used isBlank(). Notice the value is negated with ! (in front of the variable r) when looking forward since you want i to increase until a blank is found. Working up the sheet by ten you want to stop decreasing i when you find a cell that is not blank (! removed). Then, back down the sheet by one to the first blank.
function findRow_() {
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
ss.setActiveSheet(ss.getSheetByName("DAT Tracking"));
var r = ss.getRange('C:C');
// Step forwards by hundreds
for (var i = 2; !r.getCell(i,1).isBlank(); i += 100) { }
// Step backwards by tens
for ( ; r.getCell(i,1).isBlank(); i -= 10) { }
// Step forwards by ones
for ( ; !r.getCell(i,1).isBlank(); i++) { }
return i;
Just my two cents, but I do this all the time. I just write the data to the TOP of the sheet. It's date reversed (latest on top), but I can still get it to do what I want. The code below has been storing data it scrapes from a realtor's site for the past three years.
var theSheet = SpreadsheetApp.openById(zSheetId).getSheetByName('Sheet1');
theSheet.insertRowBefore(1).getRange("A2:L2").setValues( [ zPriceData ] );
This chunk of the scraper function inserts a row above #2 and writes the data there. The first row is the header, so I don't touch that. I haven't timed it, but the only time I have an issue is when the site changes.
Indeed the getValues is a good option but you can use the .length function to get the last row.
function getFirstEmptyRow() {
var spr = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var array = spr.getDataRange().getValues();
ct = array.length + 1
return (ct);
}
Using indexOf is one of the ways to achieve this:
function firstEmptyRow() {
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var sh = ss.getActiveSheet();
var rangevalues = sh.getRange(1,1,sh.getLastRow(),1).getValues(); // Column A:A is taken
var dat = rangevalues.reduce(function (a,b){ return a.concat(b)},[]); //
2D array is reduced to 1D//
// Array.prototype.push.apply might be faster, but unable to get it to work//
var fner = 1+dat.indexOf('');//Get indexOf First empty row
return(fner);
}
I have gone through way too many of these implementations of last-row for a specific column. Many solutions work but are slow for large or multiple datasets. One of my use cases requires me to check the last row in specific columns across multiple spreadsheets. What I have found is that taking the whole column as a range and then iterating through it is too slow, and adding a few of these together makes the script sluggish.
My "hack" has been this formula:
=ROW(index(sheet!A2:A,max(row(sheet!A2:A)*(sheet!A2:A<>""))))-1
Example: Add this to Cell A1, to find the last row in column A. Can be added anywhere, just make sure to manage the "-1" at the end depending on which row the formula is placed. You can also place this is another col, rather than the one you're trying to count, and you don't need to manage the -1. You could also count FROM a starting Row, like "C16:C" - will count values C16 onwards
This formula is reliably giving me the last row, including blanks in the middle of the dataset
To use this value in my GS code, I am simply reading the cell value from A1. I understand that Google is clear that spreadsheet functions like read/write are heavy (time-consuming), but this is much faster than column count last-row methods in my experience (for large datasets)
To make this efficient, I am getting the last row in a col once, then saving it as a global variable and incrementing in my code to track which rows I should be updating. Reading the cell every-time your loop needs to make an update will be too inefficient. Read once, iterate the value, and the A1 cell formula (above) is "storing" the updated value for the next time your function runs
This also works if the data has filters turned on. Actual last row is maintained
Please let me know if this was helpful to you! If I encounter any issues I will comment on this answer.
combo of DON and Ghoti.
function getLastRowNumber(sheet, columnLabel) {
var columnLabel = sheet.getRange(`${columnLabel}:${columnLabel}`);
var values = columnLabel.getValues(); // get all data in one call
var ct = 0;
for (; values.length > ct && values[ct][0] != ""; ct += 100);
// Step backwards by tens
for ( ; ct > 0 && values[ct][0] == ""; ct -= 10);
// Step forwards by ones
for ( ; values.length > ct && values[ct][0] != ""; ct ++);
return ct;
}
I keep an extra "maintenance" sheet, on my spreadsheets, where I keep such data.
To get the next free row of a range I just examine the relevant cell. I can get the value instantly, because the work of finding the value happens when the data is changed.
The formula in the cell is usually something like :
=QUERY(someSheet!A10:H5010,
"select min(A) where A > " & A9 & " and B is null and D is null and H < 1")
The value in A9 can be set periodically to some row that is near "enough" to the end.
Caveat : I have never checked if this is viable for huge data sets.
Finally I got a single line solution for it.
var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var lastEmptyOnColumnB = sheet.getRange("B1:B"+sheet.getLastRow()).getValues().join(",").replace(/,,/g, '').split(",").length;
It works fine for me.
Here is a list of what the code should do:
Give a correct answer if there are no empty cells
Be fast
Return the correct row number - not the index number of the array
Get the correct row number of the empty cell even when other columns in the sheet tab have more rows with data
Have good variable names
Answer the original question
Avoid unnecessary data processing
Provide comment explanations for what the code does
Be generic enough to adapt to the readers conditions
This solution uses the array method some which will stop iterating the loop when the condition is true. This avoids wasting time spent looping through every element of the array, and yet uses an array method rather than a for or while loop.
The some method only returns true or false, but there is a way to capture the index number because the some method halts looping when the condition is true.
The index number is assigned to a variable in the scope outside of the array function. This does not slow down the processing.
Code:
function getFirstEmptyCellIn_A_Column(po) {
var foundEmptyCell,rng,sh,ss,values,x;
/*
po.sheetTabName - The name of the sheet tab to get
po.ssID - the file ID of the spreadsheet
po.getActive - boolean - true - get the active spreadsheet -
*/
/* Ive tested the code for speed using many different ways to do this and using array.some
is the fastest way - when array.some finds the first true statement it stops iterating -
*/
if (po.getActive || ! po.ssID) {
ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
} else {
ss = SpreadsheetApp.openById(po.ssID);
}
sh = ss.getSheetByName(po.sheetTabName);
rng = sh.getRange('A:A');//This is the fastest - Its faster than getting the last row and getting a
//specific range that goes only to the last row
values = rng.getValues(); // get all the data in the column - This is a 2D array
x = 0;//Set counter to zero - this is outside of the scope of the array function but still accessible to it
foundEmptyCell = values.some(function(e,i){
//Logger.log(i)
//Logger.log(e[0])
//Logger.log(e[0] == "")
x = i;//Set the value every time - its faster than first testing for a reason to set the value
return e[0] == "";//The first time that this is true it stops looping
});
//Logger.log('x + 1: ' + (x + 1))//x is the index of the value in the array - which is one less than the row number
//Logger.log('foundEmptyCell: ' + foundEmptyCell)
return foundEmptyCell ? x + 1 : false;
}
function testMycode() {
getFirstEmptyCellIn_A_Column({"sheetTabName":"Put Sheet tab name here","ssID":"Put your ss file ID here"})
}
this is my very first post on stackOverflow, I hope to meet all your netiquette needs, so please be nice to me.
considerations
I think the fastest way to find the first blank cell in a column (I couldn't run the performance checks, anyway) is to let the Google engine do sequential tasks itself; it is simply much more efficient. From a programmer's point of view, this translates into NOT using any kind of iteration/loops, i.e. FOR, WHILE, etc. (By the way, this is the same programming approach on database engines - any activity should NOT use loops to find information.)
the idea
Go all way DOWN and find the cell in last row of the Sheet (considering all columns),
from there, go UP find the first cell containing data in the specified column (selecting the column),
shift down one cell to find a free place.
The following function does this in just one command (neglecting the var declarations, here just to improve readability):
code
function lastCell() {
var workSheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getActiveSheet();
var lastRow = workSheet.getLastRow();
var columnToSearch = 1; //index of the column to search. 1 is 'A'.
workSheet.getRange(lastRow, columnToSearch).activateAsCurrentCell().
getNextDataCell(SpreadsheetApp.Direction.UP).activate();
workSheet.getCurrentCell().offset(1, 0).activate(); // shift one cell down to find a free cell
}
I need to add a new column everyday and the data insertion will be done individually for the specific row comparing with the input... please tell me if it is correct or not.
will this piece of code work for adding new columns ever day and initialize all the entries by 0?
function trig(){
var builder = ScriptApp.newTrigger("addcol").timeBased().everyDays(1);
var trigger = builder.create();
}
function addcol(){
var cname = builder.atDate( day, month, year)
var column = eventRange.getLastColumn();
sheet.insertColumnAfter(column).setName(cname);
sheet.getRange("E1").setValue(new Date()).setNumberFormat('d/M/yyyy');
var col = [];
for(var n=0 ; n<s.getMaxRows();n++){
col.getLastColumn().push(['0']);
}
ss.getRange('N:N').setValues(col);
}
// now for the insertion part
here the sr will be compared to SRN from the sheet (E) and if it matches it will replace 0 with 1 in the last column added everyday. plese tell me will this work?
function doPost(e){
var action = e.parameter.action;
if(action == 'scanner'){
return scanner(e);
}
}
function scanner(e){
var srn = e.parameter.sr;
var C = sheet.getLastColumn();
var R = sheet.getLastRow();
for(i=1; i<=R; i++)
{
if (srn == sheet.getDataRange([i][2]))
{
sheet.getDataRange([i],[C]).push[(1)];
sheet.append([i],[C]);
return ContentService.createTextOutput("Success").setMimeType(ContentService.MimeType.TEXT);
break;
}
}
}
Time-based trigger:
There are no event objects associated with time-based triggers, so variables like eventRange cannot work. It seems like you want to use variables in addcol that are defined in trig (e.g. builder). That is not possible. Also, if you want your function to run once a day, there is no need for lines like this: builder.atDate(day, month, year)). The trigger will be created by running this function once:
function createTrigger(){
var builder = ScriptApp.newTrigger("addcol").timeBased().everyDays(1).create();
}
Adding column with 0's:
There are many problems with the function addcol:
Several uninitialized variables are being used (s, builder, eventRange).
Unexisting methods are being used: e.g.: setNumberFormat is a method of the Range class, not of the Date object. You should use Utilities.formatDate(date, timeZone, format) to format dates. Also, you are using setName when inserting a new column, but that changes the sheet name. Is that what you want to do? And also, cname is assigned a trigger builder as value, which I seriously doubt is your purpose. The same way, an array col does not have a method getLastColumn().
You could use this addcol function instead (change your sheet name, currently set to Your sheet name, and the timeZone in formatDate, currently set to GMT:
function addcol() {
var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActive().getSheetByName("Your sheet name"); // Change accordingly
var lastCol = sheet.getLastColumn();
var lastRow = sheet.getLastRow();
if (sheet.getMaxColumns() === lastCol) sheet.insertColumnAfter(lastCol);
var newCol = sheet.getRange(1, lastCol + 1, lastRow, 1);
var values = [];
values.push([Utilities.formatDate(new Date(), "GMT", "d/M/yyyy")]); // Change accordingly
for (var i = 1; i < sheet.getLastRow(); i++) {
values.push([0]);
}
newCol.setValues(values);
}
Replacing 0's with 1's:
Assuming that you are getting the function scanner to run correctly and that the parameter e.parameter.sr is getting populated correctly, you can do the following:
function scanner(e){
var srn = e.parameter.sr;
var C = sheet.getLastColumn();
var R = sheet.getLastRow();
for (i=1; i<=R; i++) {
if (srn == sheet.getRange(i, 2).getValue()) {
sheet.getRange(i, C).setValue(1);
}
}
}
Here you were also using unexisting methods or providing incorrect parameters:
The method getDataRange doesn't allow any argument, you should be using getRange(row, column), and provide the row and column indexes separated by commas, not as if trying to access a 2D array.
break terminates the current loop, so only use it if you only want to update 1 cell. The same goes for return which finishes current function execution.
Reference:
Spreadsheet Service
Installable Triggers
Short
No
Long
There are several problems with the script:
getDataRange() expects no arguments passed (docs only say it is the same as using getRange(yourSheet.getLastRow(), yourSheet.getLastColumn()), not that you should do it). Certainly it does not expect instances of Array (bracket [] notation wraps C and i, which are of type Number into one). Moreover, it returns a Range, which at the time of writing does not have push() method.
getLastColumn() returns an instance of Number, and thus does not have a push() method as well. You are on the right track, though, since col is an Array, and you need to push() into it.
If you want the script to add a zero-filled column, don't get constant ranges: in current state, getRange('N:N') guarantees that each time you will re-initialize column N. Btw, same goes for getRange("E1").
You still haven't addressed issues listed in comments to your previous question.
Also, in your scanner function there is a syntax error: push[(1)] should be push([1]).
Also, the sheet variable is either undeclared or is declared globally, which is bad.
Notes
If you don't expect number of students to change dynamically, you can switch from getMaxRows() to getLastRow() to only zero-fill cells that are in range of cureent student info grid.
This question is a direct continuation of a currently closed one (please, always disclose that for reference at least).
How about skipping init to zero step at all? If cell is empty, getValue() / getValues() will return its value as an empty string, which is a falsy value, just as 0 is. If you want to count attendance at the end of period, a simple conditional will suffice to sum up.
The default MIME type for TextOutput instance obtained by createTextOutput() is plain text, so setting it to ContentService.MimeType.TEXT is an overkill in your case.
Reference
getDataRange() docs
getLastColumn() docs
getValue() docs
getValues() docs
Range docs
createTextOutput() docs
Falsy values explanation on MDN
Problem seems to be very easy to solve, but I've spent a lot of time finding the answer and I'm going crazy...
I use very simple code to add the filetering to the sheet and I keep getting the same error:
TypeError: Cannot call method "setColumnFilterCriteria" of null.
The range starts from row 5. In column 50 I have different letters, including "r". I've also tried with the numbers.
Sorry if the case is too easy, but I think that I won't solve it on my own...
Script:
function filtering() {
var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
//remove filter and flush
if(sheet.getFilter() != null){sheet.getFilter().remove();}
SpreadsheetApp.flush();
var criteria = SpreadsheetApp.newFilterCriteria().whenNumberGreaterThan(10).build();
// I've also tried commented lines
// var criteria = SpreadsheetApp.newFilterCriteria().whenTextContains("r").build();
// var criteria = SpreadsheetApp.newFilterCriteria().whenTextEqualTo('r').build();
// var criteria = SpreadsheetApp.newFilterCriteria().setHiddenValues(["r"]).build();
// var criteria = SpreadsheetApp.newFilterCriteria().setVisibleValues(["r"]).build();
sheet.getFilter().setColumnFilterCriteria(50, criteria);
//also I've tried with the range
/*
var range = sheet.getRange(5, 1, 100, 50);
range.getFilter().setColumnFilterCriteria(50, criteria);
*/
}
Issue is in this line
if(sheet.getFilter() != null) {
sheet.getFilter().remove();
}
If there exists any filter, we clearing them. Then we're doing
sheet.getFilter().setColumnFilterCriteria(50, criteria);
Here getFilter() will always return null, as we have cleared the filter in previous step.
We can fix this by clearing existing filter and creating new filter.
Something like this:
if(sheet.getFilter() != null) {
sheet.getFilter().remove();
}
sheet.getDataRange().createFilter().setColumnFilterCriteria(50, criteria);
Because you don't have a filter on the sheet. The problem is in sheet.getFilter(), but not in your criteria.
According to the documentation:
getFilter() Returns the filter in this sheet, or null if there is no filter.
I want to create a sort of "stack" and every time I delete an item, the sheet removes the blank cells. I can't use a filter function for this, obviously.
I am having trouble reading the array that is created for this purpose.
My very pseudo-code : I create an empty array, get all the values (including the empty ones), populate my array with all the values except the empty ones, and finally clear the stack and set the values with my array.
Here is my code :
function updateStack() {
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActive();
var sheet = ss.getSheetByName("main");
var zone = sheet.getRange(1, 1, 1, 10);
//seems that .getValues() returns a 2d array
var values = zone.getValues();
var j = 0;
var data = new Array();
for (var i = 0 ; i < 10 ; i++) {
//the problem seems to be here : I can't access the 2d array. After reading the debugging console about 1000 thousand times
// I discovered the 2 pairs of []
//I've found multiple ways to detect empty cells. Not sure if this is the right one. I've tried the .length = 0 trick, but something
// was wrong, maybe because of the "2dimensionality"
if (values[i] != "") {
data[j] = values[i];
j = j++;
} else {
// do nothing if the cell contains nothing
}
//not sure if I have to use return ! Don't know where to put it exactly too...
return data;
zone.clear();
//length of range must be the same as the array's length
zone = sheet.getRange(1, 1, 1, data.length);
zone.setValues(data);
}
}
There are many comments in my code, I hope you will understand.
A link to my test sheet : http://bit.ly/1JiWutn
Thanks for any help !
Currently, you have a section of code like this:
if (values[i] != "") {
data[j] = values[i];
j = j++;
} else {
You are testing for an empty string:
values[i] != ""
But values[i] is an inner array. Your code is getting only one row, and 10 columns.
var zone = sheet.getRange(1, 1, 1, 10);
So, the array looks like this:
[ [cell one,cell two,cell three,etc,cell ten ] ]
values[i] returns an inner array, not a value.
To get the cell value use:
if (values[0][i] != "") {
You need two indexes, the first index will always be zero. There is only one inner array with all the cell values in it.
Next, use push to add a value to the data array:
data.push(values[0][i]);
Another issue is where you have the return statement. A return statement kills the current function. Anything after the return statement inside of that function will not run. So, you can't have a return statement where you have it, and get the code to write values to the spreadsheet. You can do both. You can both write values to the sheet, and return something, but put the return at the end. The return, returns something to whatever function called this function.
To set values, the values MUST be in a two dimensional array. Your data array is not a 2D array. You must add the data array to yet another array.
var my2Darray = [];
my2Darray.push(data);
zone = sheet.getRange(1, 1, 1, data.length);
zone.setValues(my2Darray);
If you are only testing for blank cells across a whole row then the test you have is almost usable. If you concatenate all the values in that array then the resultant can be compared to "".
// join all the values with nothing between them
// compare the result to empty string
if(values[i].join("") !== "") {
// if at least one cell contained something
data.push(values[i]); // Stackius Popularious
}