This script does not populate sheet after parsing retrieved data - google-apps-script

Question

I hope this is well explained. First of all, sorry because my coding background is zero and I am just trying to "fix" a previously written script.
Problem The script does not populate sheet after parsing retrieved data if the function is triggered by timer and the sheet is not open in my browser .
The script works OK if run it manually while sheet is open.
Problem details:
When I open the sheet the cells are stuck showing "Loading" and after a short time, data is written.
Expected behavior is to get the data written no matter if I don't open the sheet.
Additional info: This is how I manually run the function
function onOpen() {
var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var entries = [
{name: "Manual Push Report", functionName: "runTool"}
];
sheet.addMenu("PageSpeed Menu", entries);
}
Additional info: I set the triggers with Google Apps Script GUI See the trigger
Before posting the script code, you can see how the cells look in the sheet:
Script code
function runTool() {
var activeSheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getSheetByName("Results");
var rows = activeSheet.getLastRow();
for(var i=3; i <= rows; i++){
var workingCell = activeSheet.getRange(i, 2).getValue();
var stuff = "=runCheck"
if(workingCell != ""){
activeSheet.getRange(i, 3).setFormulaR1C1(stuff + "(R[0]C[-1])");
}
}
}
// URL check //
function runCheck(Url) {
var key = "XXXX Google PageSpeed API Key";
var strategy = "desktop"
var serviceUrl = "https://www.googleapis.com/pagespeedonline/v5/runPagespeed?url=" + Url + "&key=" + key + "&strategy=" + strategy +"";
var array = [];
var response = UrlFetchApp.fetch(serviceUrl);
if (response.getResponseCode() == 200) {
var content = JSON.parse(response.getContentText());
if ((content != null) && (content["lighthouseResult"] != null)) {
if (content["captchaResult"]) {
var score = content["lighthouseResult"]["categories"]["performance"]["score"];
} else {
var score = "An error occured";
}
}
array.push([score,"complete"]);
Utilities.sleep(1000);
return array;
}
}
You can try the code using the sheet below with a valid Pagespeed API key.
You only need to add a Trigger and wait for it's execution while the sheet is not open in your browser
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ED2u3bKpS0vaJdlCwsLOrZTp5U0_T8nZkmFHVluNvKY/copy

Answer 1

I suggest you to change your algorithm. Instead of using a custom function to call UrlFetchApp, do that call in the function called by a time-driven trigger.
You could keep your runCheck as is, just replace
activeSheet.getRange(i, 3).setFormulaR1C1(stuff + "(R[0]C[-1])");
by
activeSheet.getRange(i, 3, 1, 2).setValues(runCheck(url));
NOTE
Custom functions are calculated when the spreadsheet is opened and when its arguments changes while the spreadsheet is open.
Related
Cache custom function result between spreadsheet opens