Collect Responses From Google Form? - google-apps-script

Question

I am quite new to Google Scripts and attempting to learn, but documentation is either conflicting, non-existent, or not working for me.
The goal is to have a script that collects responses from a Google Form and sends emails based on one of the user input fields (a drop down box where the user can select their location). Problem being that I cannot retrieve the Form responses. I am receiving an error that the "getItemResponses();" is not a function. How do I get responses from a Form? All the other parts I have figured out.
Flow - I have setup a trigger by going to Edit -> Current projects' triggers -> created a new trigger that on submit it runs my function. What is supposed to happen is (later in the script) sendMail sends a mail message as me to the var "respondent". However, I receive the error "getItemResponses();" is not a function when just attempting to run from the script editor and filling out a test form submissions (via email on the latter).
Thank you for any help in advance. Please note, again, I'm new at the Google Scripts.
function sendEmails(e) {
// Get active form and responses
var formResponse = e.response;
var itemResponses = formResponse.getItemResponses();
// Assign responses to variables
var respondent = itemResponses[0].getResponse();
var district = itemResponses[1].getResponse();
var urgency = itemResponses[2].getResponse();
var type = itemResponses[3].getResponse();
var topic = itemResponses[4].getResponse();
// TAM email address. Used in sendTo field later
var sendTo = "person#email.com";
MailApp.sendEmail(sendTo,"subject","message body");
if(type == "Option 1") {
MailApp.sendEmail(respondent,"subject","message body");
}
}

Answer 1

Issue:
form.getResponses() returns an array of FormResponse, as you can see here. An array of responses does not have a method called getItemResponses() and this is the reason you code is failing. What you're doing right now is getting all the responses corresponding to a form, and not the one that was just submitted.
You should use the method getItemResponses() from a single FormResponse instead.
Solution:
Assuming that:
You want the script to run (and, if the conditions are met, send an email) every time the form is submitted.
You have installed an onFormSubmit trigger, connected to your form.
If that's the case, you should be using the trigger event object to get the FormResponse. You should replace this:
var form = FormApp.getActiveForm();
var formResponses = form.getResponses();
var itemResponses = formResponses.getItemResponses();
With this:
var formResponse = e.response;
var itemResponses = formResponse.getItemResponses();
Update:
Your form does not have 5 items, but 4. First item is actually the respondent email, and as such, it has to be retrieved via FormResponse.getRespondentEmail(). Because of this, itemResponses only gets to index 3, not to 4, and itemResponses[4] is undefined. That's the reason behind your new error. You should do this instead:
var respondent = formResponse.getRespondentEmail();
var district = itemResponses[0].getResponse();
var urgency = itemResponses[1].getResponse();
var type = itemResponses[2].getResponse();
var topic = itemResponses[3].getResponse();
Reference:
Event Objects: Form submit
Form.getResponses()
FormResponse.getRespondentEmail()

Answer 2

While it is possible to do what you want to do from the form its self it will be difficult as a beginner since as you noticed there aren't many example scripts to work off.
It will be much easier to do this from the responses sheet and there are plenty of examples around for processing form data from a spreadsheet.
The example below is a simple (untested) script to send a reply on form submission.
function onFormSubmit(e) {
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var respSheet = ss.getSheetByName('Form responses 1');
var rowIndx = e.range.getRow();
var formData = respSheet.getRange(rowIndx, 1, 1, respSheet.getLastColumn()).getValues();
var respondent = formData[0].getResponse();
var district = formData[1].getResponse();
var urgency = formData[2].getResponse();
var type = formData[3].getResponse();
var topic = formData[4].getResponse();
MailApp.sendEmail(respondent, district + ' ' + topic, "Your reply was recieved and is being processed");
respSheet.getRange(rowIndx, 5).setValue('Email send to ' + respondent);
}