Mail merge Pre-filled Google form link - google-apps-script

Question

I use Google sheet and app scripts to create mail merge and it works fine with name, email, and general text information.
I am adding a column with a pre-filled Google Form link, like this.
Gmail Mail Merge Template
Although the mail merge works fine, the link does not work. the email recipient cannot click on the Google form link with pre-filled information.
Recipient's Mail Merge Results
What I'd expect to see is a Google Form hyperlink in the email body and the email recipient can click on it and be directed to the Google form with pre-filled information.
Is there a way to include pre-filled information too?
Example of the Google sheet used for mail merge.
Mail merge app script [From Google app script template]
const RECIPIENT_COL = "Email";
const EMAIL_SENT_COL = "Email Sent";
function onOpen() {
const ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi();
ui.createMenu('Mail Merge')
.addItem('Send Emails', 'sendEmails')
.addToUi();
}
function sendEmails(subjectLine, sheet=SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet()) {
if (!subjectLine){
subjectLine = Browser.inputBox("Mail Merge",
"Type or copy/paste the subject line of the Gmail " +
" ",
Browser.Buttons.OK_CANCEL);
if (subjectLine === "cancel" || subjectLine == ""){
// if no subject line finish up
return;
}
}
// get the draft Gmail message to use as a template
const emailTemplate = getGmailTemplateFromDrafts_(subjectLine);
// get the data from the passed sheet
const dataRange = sheet.getDataRange();
const data = dataRange.getDisplayValues();
// assuming row 1 contains our column headings
const heads = data.shift();
const emailSentColIdx = heads.indexOf(EMAIL_SENT_COL);
const obj = data.map(r => (heads.reduce((o, k, i) => (o[k] = r[i] || '', o), {})));
// used to record sent emails
const out = [];
// loop through all the rows of data
obj.forEach(function(row, rowIdx){
// only send emails is email_sent cell is blank and not hidden by filter
if (row[EMAIL_SENT_COL] == ''){
try {
const msgObj = fillInTemplateFromObject_(emailTemplate.message, row);
GmailApp.sendEmail(row[RECIPIENT_COL], msgObj.subject, msgObj.text, {
htmlBody: msgObj.html,
//bcc: 'fusip#gmail.com',
//cc: 'fusip#gmail.com',
//from: 'fusip#gmail.com',
// name: 'fusip#gmail.com',
// replyTo: 'a.reply#email.com',
// noReply: true, // if the email should be sent from a generic no-reply email address (not available to gmail.com users)
attachments: emailTemplate.attachments
});
// modify cell to record email sent date
out.push([new Date()]);
} catch(e) {
// modify cell to record error
out.push([e.message]);
}
} else {
out.push([row[EMAIL_SENT_COL]]);
}
});
// updating the sheet with new data
sheet.getRange(2, emailSentColIdx+1, out.length).setValues(out);
function getGmailTemplateFromDrafts_(subject_line){
try {
const drafts = GmailApp.getDrafts();
const draft = drafts.filter(subjectFilter_(subject_line))[0];
const msg = draft.getMessage();
const attachments = msg.getAttachments();
return {message: {subject: subject_line, text: msg.getPlainBody(), html:msg.getBody()},
attachments: attachments};
} catch(e) {
throw new Error("Oops - can't find Gmail draft");
}
function subjectFilter_(subject_line){
return function(element) {
if (element.getMessage().getSubject() === subject_line) {
return element;
}
}
}
}
function fillInTemplateFromObject_(template, data) {
let template_string = JSON.stringify(template);
// token replacement
template_string = template_string.replace(/{{[^{}]+}}/g, key => {
return data[key.replace(/[{}]+/g, "")] || "";
});
return JSON.parse(template_string);
}
}
I would like to have the Google form link in the body of the email.

Answer 1

Issue:
You are filling your template with the actual text thus when sent in an email, it still has the exact value from the sheet.
Solution:
You need to convert your link properly using the built-in function encodeURI. I modified your function fillInTemplateFromObject_ and add a line there to use encodeURI as it will be the easiest way to fix the issue.
Code:
function fillInTemplateFromObject_(template, data) {
let template_string = JSON.stringify(template);
// convert your link into proper link using encodeURI
data['Google Form Link'] = encodeURI(data['Google Form Link']);
// token replacement
template_string = template_string.replace(/{{[^{}]+}}/g, key => {
return data[key.replace(/[{}]+/g, "")] || "";
});
return JSON.parse(template_string);
}
Output:

Answer 2

The easiest way to fix this problem is format your Google Form Link to "Plain Text"
I have a little issue with this samples too, I figure it out that the curly bracket {} from my keyboard different than the curly bracket {} this sample required. By changing the curly bracket, I've fixed my problem:
A picture from my email:
Create mail merge sample: Automate tasks with Apps Script:
https://developers.google.com/apps-script/samples/automations/mail-merge