Sorry for the dumb question, I have tried to search but did not find an answer. Please point if the answer is already been answered.
I am practicing writing my first google scripts (apps). If I create them from within a sheet they are only available to that sheet (bound). I can create them by creating a new script but I don't know how to make them available to all of my spreadsheets (not just one). THe scripts I downloaded from the store show up but how do I add my scripts.
I do not want to publish these to the world, I just want them available to me so I can access them from any sheet I am working with.
Basic question but I am having trouble understanding the process.
Thanks,
A script bound to a spreadsheet is only available from that sheet, you won't be able to access it from another sheet.
You can also create a script file (not related to any other document) but this will not be available from sheets.
This is how it is meant to be.
One thing you can do to use functions you eventually develop in a script is to make a Library of it, the functions in that library will be available to other scripts if you explicitly link the new script to the library (in the script editor > ressources>library) but this procedure is not as simple as the workflow you imagine in your question : each document will have to contain a minimal piece of code that will call the script library functions.
The last option to get create a "spreadsheet-with-script" and to simply make copies of this original spreadsheet (that has a script) and that copies will have the script copied as well.
Related
Is it possible to add the same custom menu to every new google document? The goal is to make a local script function like an installed app.
This seems like it should be easy but I can't seem to find a way to do it. I'm using a standard account for personal use. I've created a script attached to the original document and also made copy as a stand alone script. (I'm not sure that makes a difference.) I've searched and read about deployment and it seems to be only useful for a domain account or publicly as an app. I've played a little with scripting but this is the first attempt to get a script working "globally".
Any help will be most appreciated.
I found a way to do this in an old example at: https://sites.google.com/site/scriptsexamples/custom-methods/2d-arrays-library.
The script is in a project and that needs to be connected to the current doc. The onOpen() script is a UI that contains the line:
.addItem('Select Phrase', 'PS.showPrompt')
where PS is the name of the attached library. Once this is done, as you said, you can make a copy and use it with the script active.
It is a little slow as they describe about using a library, but is make the code easier to maintain. Thanks to all for the direction to look.
What we do is create a copy of the original document (the document with the attached google apps script). The script is copied along with it and the copied document has the exact same functionality (menus, custom functions, etc).
You could create a Google Docs Add-On using an independent Apps Script script and then install your Add-On globally. For more information regarding its installation check this documentation. However you would need to run this Add-On on the new documents to get your desired menu.
I have read all Google documentation on managing and creating libraries, yet I still do not know if they are an appropriate option for the problem I am trying to solve.
I know how to save a version of a standalone script. I know how to add the library to a spreadsheet via the script editor. But I don't understand, very simply, how to trigger the library script within the new spreadsheet.
I have a spreadsheet that serves as an often-copied template within my organization. The template contains a script that (onOpen) accesses data on a separate spreadsheet (a master database) and sets those values on a tab called "admin." The desired result is to have a copy of the master database living within the template sheet (and every subsequent copy of the template sheet). At this point, there are thousands of copies of the template sheet, each running that same script.
Whenever I have to change the script, I have to change it within thousands of sheets. Can I use a library instead? I'd like to be able to create a new version of the script in the library and have all sheets connected to that library experience the change. I understand that the library needs to be in development mode (within each sheet) to do this. I also understand that in order to make this switch, I will probably still have to go into each sheet to add the library. I'm just hoping it will be the last time I have to do such a tedious task.
Any advice or links to solid info is appreciated.
besides making an add-on (already covered in another answer) I will answer your libraries question. They will work for you. What you are missing is the "connect" part.
For this you want to trigger the library code from say, onOpen. The onOpen in the library is not enough and not detected by apps script. Instead each of your spreadsheet's script needs an onOpen(e) which just calls yourlibrary.onOpen(e).
since those "hook" calls rarely change, specially once you stabilize your library api, and using it in "development" mode will let you modify just the library.
whenever one of those hooks needs to change (say a callback from an html GUI needs a new parameter) you need to update all the spreadsheets. to avoid this, make all your callbacks receive a single json object instead of multiple parameters.
Sorry if I am repeating other answers, but I would like to sum up and add something:
You can access your library functions as follows:
From the app using the library you go to the Resources/Libraries. You can see the library name under "Identifier". On the same line where you can select Development mode.
Library name found in resources
Now in your library you have for example a function
function onOpen(e)
{
Browser.msgBox("HELLO!");
}
In the spreadsheet app you wish to access it you use the library name found in the resources, for example "testlibrary"
function onOpen(e)
{
testlibrary.onOpen(e);
}
Now if you have development mode on, the modifications to functions in the library update automatically to your application (spreadsheet) as long as the user using the application has edit access in your library script.
If anyone using your spreadsheet has a restricted access to your library script (meaning only view access) or development selection is off in the application, you have to go to the application's script, Resources/Libraries and select the most recent version of your library to be used in the app everytime you update the library and save a new version of it.
Still, especially if you are using mostly only the onOpen function , I would recommend using the library rather than copy-pasting the function to the script of each spreadsheet, as it is easier to track which scripts are up to date and it is easier to avoid errors and differences between the scripts.
Even in the more restricted case, if you update function in library - as long as you are already calling it in the app - all you have to do is select the new version of the library used.
I hope I had anything to give in this conversation and my language was appropriate, this was my first answer..
A good question Melly. I've been through a bunch of the documentation and some tutorials on this subject but haven't tried adding any libraries yet. My understanding is that once you are connected to a library all you have to do is call the applicable functions. That once a library is connected the functions in the library become an extension of all the other Apps Script classes available in the script editor.
After reading up a lot on the Google Spreadsheet API I have come to the conclusion that formatting (such as merging cells, changing fonts etc) is only available throught the Apps scripts.
Since we need to create and fill the spreadsheets with data programatically using Java on the back-end I guess I need to somehow either;
link the new sheet to a Apps script that trigger on-load or
create a Apps script that creates the spreadsheet for me.
Anyone knows?
If you want to just "create" the spreadsheet, you don't need a script to load whenever it spreadsheet is opened. It's probably easier to develop a script that runs once and create the spreadsheet for you.
Another tip is to have a template file that you can copy with most of the formatting (if not all) already there. Possibly pending just little things that are related to the real data the new spreadsheet will have.
Edit to answer the question in the title.
No, you can not add a script to an existing spreadsheet programatically, only manually. What you can do is previously set up a template spreadsheet with a script in it and create new spreadsheets by copying this template.
(answering the comment)
You can run a script programatically, but not upload it. To run a script you can deploy it as a web-app and call its url with either a http get or post (will call its doGet or doPost functions, that you must have declared). Also, you could set this script to run on form submit of any spreadsheet-form and just submit a set of answers to this form. At last (that I can think of now) you could just add the script as a library in another Apps Script and call it directly.
(Aug 2016) There is no way programmatic way to link a Google Sheet and Apps Script code other than manually. Based on what it seems you want ("create and fill the spreadsheets with data programatically using Java"), you can now do it without Apps Script.
TL;DR: Above, #Henrique has answered multiple questions and even questions that weren't asked! The good news is that today, we have more answers representing alternate possible solutions to what you're seeking.
It's now possible to "upload" Apps Script code programmatically with the
import/export system, say with Eclipse since you're a Java developer (2013 announcement).
I agree with Henrique's suggestion that if you create a spreadsheet
template, i.e., Excel file, you can use the Google Drive API to
programmatically import/create identical Google Sheets with all your
desired formatting.
"Formatting (such as merging cells, changing
fonts etc)" can now be done outside of Apps Script, as there is a
"new" Google Sheets API v4 (not GData).
In order to use the new API, you need to get the Google APIs Client Library for Java and use the latest Sheets API, which is much more powerful and flexible than any previous API. Here's one code sample to help get you started. If you're not "allergic" to Python, I also made a video with a different, slightly longer example introducing the new API and gave a deeper dive into its code via a blogpost that you can learn from.
Note the v4 API allows you to create spreadsheets & sheets, upload & download data, as well as, in the general sense, programmatically access a Sheet as if you were using the user interface (create frozen rows, perform cell formatting, resizing rows/columns, adding pivot tables, creating charts, etc.), but to perform file-level access such as uploads & downloads, imports & exports (same as uploads & downloads but conversion to/from Google Apps formats), you would use the Drive API instead.
I have written a script inside spreadsheet, that is triggered on spreadsheet-form-submit.
However, since I have several such similar spreadsheet, I would like to place the code at one central location and link/import in each spreadsheet. (That is, I want to maintain one copy of code, where-in if I make improvements, it should auto-magically be reflected in each spreadsheet).
Thanks.
Place your code in a standalone script (create it from the Create>More>Script menu in Drive or just from script.google.com). In each spreadsheet, add a script that just includes your first script as a library and delegates onOpen, etc. to the functions in the library. When you update the standalone script you'll need to go into each spreadsheet and update the version number of the library to be the latest version, but that's all.
I have one master spreadsheet and a number of copies. This master spreadsheet uses some scripting.
Is it possible to link all the copies of this master spreadsheet to the same script as in the master spreadsheet?
Objective:
changes in the scripting in the master spreadsheet are automatically used by the copies
aka: low maintenance
amleczko is right: you should use the new library feature in Google Apps script.
However, as of today, you won't be able to do exactly what you want (using the same script for several spreadsheets). What you can do instead is save a version of your script (Files > Manage Versions...), in order to create a library. Then, import this library in the other spreadsheets (Resources > Manage Libraries...). Switch on the "development mode" so every change made do the library will immediately take affect in the spreadsheets using this library. Otherwise, you will have to save a new version of the library for every change, and manually update the version number of the library in every spreadsheets using it.
The problem is, you need to write a script in every spreadsheets using your library, with skeleton functions like this:
function doSomething(){
myLibrary.doSomething();
}
best way is to publish as add-on, then install the add-on, it will appears in every spreadsheet you open. and you can publish as private, which only seen by yourself.
I think this has changed. According to Issue 40 starting from 22 May 2012 there is such a possibility. Please check:
https://developers.google.com/apps-script/guide_libraries
https://developers.google.com/apps-script/guide_versions
http://googleappsdeveloper.blogspot.it/2012/05/introducing-versions-and-libraries-in.html
It's not possible in this way that you're thinking. At least, not yet (see issue 40).
But, depending on your script usage, you may connect them "the hard way" or even better, use only one script. The script on the master spreadsheet can open the other spreadsheet files and do its job "remotely". It's not required that script to be hosted on a spreadsheet to interact with it (read/write on it). You only need a script hosted on the spreadsheet if you're going to use spreadsheet events triggers i.e. on-open, on-edit and on-form-submit.
Maybe you can develop a nice UI for the script on the master sheet and publish it as service. Then only have a link on the copies to access the same UI on a different browser tab. Adding parameters to the link the script UI can even adapt to the particular spreadsheet that is "triggering" it.
Well, that's all I can imagine now. But, unfortunately, there's some use cases that just don't fit this nice "workarounds". For those, one can only star issue 40 (to kind of vote and keep track of updates) and hope it's developed soon.
The solution I put in place in this context was to have a Google Site, where the Master Script is embedded, and where the Spreadsheet is embedded too
Then, the script, refering to a dedicated spreadsheet, looks for the Google Site Page's name, looks in the Master spreadsheet and get the ID of the spreadsheet which is embedded in the Page.
I have solved this problem when using a script which auto generates spreadsheets.
Typically, I will add a sheet to any spreadsheet with a script called "Info." I'll use that to store information that it important to the script. In my script which auto generates more spreadsheets, I keep track of the ID of the created sheet. This way, I can then quickly call up all of the "linked" sheets, and interact with them with using the same script. It might even be worth writing the script in one sheet, and keeping it totally separate from your Master sheet or it's children.
Take a look at this function, it might give you some ideas.
SpreadsheetApp.openById(id)