get form URL from a spreadsheet bound Form - google-apps-script

Question

In a spreadsheet script I want to send mail to users that will point them to the URL of a form that will let them enter data. I have tried:
function test1(){
var formID = FormApp.getActiveForm();
var formUrl = DriveApp.getUrl(formID);
sendMail(formUrl);
return
}
This fails because the value of formID is allways NULL.

Answer 1

If there is one form linked to spreadsheet
Use
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet(); // or openById, etc
var formUrl = ss.getFormUrl();
to get its Url. If needed, FormApp.openByUrl(formUrl); returns a pointer to the form, which allows any other methods.
Multiple forms linked to spreadsheet
There is no built-in method to return the list of forms linked to a given spreadsheet; this is an open issue in Apps Script issues tracker. A workaround is to search all forms (as Cyrus Loree did), get the destination of each, and return the list of those where the destination is the spreadsheet of interest. This is how:
function linkedForms() {
var ssId = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getId();
var formList = [];
var files = DriveApp.getFilesByType(MimeType.GOOGLE_FORMS);
while (files.hasNext()) {
var form = FormApp.openByUrl(files.next().getUrl());
try {
if (form.getDestinationId() == ssId) {
formList.push(form.getPublishedUrl());
}
}
catch(e) {
}
}
return formList;
}
Remarks:
I put form.getDestinationId() in a try block because this method throws an error what the form's destination spreadsheet happens to be deleted (instead of just returning null)
To get the list of form Ids instead of Urls, use form.getId() in the function.

Answer 2

Because you are working in the Spreadsheet, you need to get the associated form from the Spreadsheet object (e.g. SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet.getFormUrl() ).
You will also need to send the mail message with the htmlBody optional parameter.
Here is a code sniplet:
function sendNotice(recipient){
try{
// either hardcode the folder id below
var formStorageFolderId = '';
// or programmatically get the folder from the spreadsheet parent
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var ssFolder = DriveApp.getFileById(ss.getId()).getParents();
if(ssFolder.hasNext()){
// assume there is only one parent folder
formStorageFolderId = ssFolder.next().getId();
}
var formFolder = DriveApp.getFolderById(formStorageFolderId);
var files = DriveApp.getFilesByType(MimeType.GOOGLE_FORMS);
var formId = '';
while(files.hasNext()){
// search for the form (is it the same name as the spreadsheet?)
var file = files.next();
var fileName = file.getName();
var sheetName = ss.getName();
if(fileName == sheetName){
// matched names
formId = file.getId();
break;
}
}
if(formId){
var actualForm = FormApp.openById(formId);
var formName = actualForm.getTitle();
var formURL = actualForm.getPublishedUrl();
var subject = "Please fill out form";
// html mail message (needed for the link
var mailBody = '<div><p>Please fill out the attached form<p>';
mailBody += '<p>' + formName + '';
MailApp.sendEmail(recipient, subject, '',{htmlBody:mailBody});
}
}catch(err){
Logger.log(err.lineNumber + ' - ' + err);
}
}

Answer 3

I know that it's an old question, but I'll still add an answer to whom it may concern. #user3717023's answer works fine, but for most use-cases, there's a better way.
Generally speaking, Form is connected to Sheet, not to Spreadsheet itself. So, one way to get all of the Spreadsheet forms is to go through the Sheets of the Spreadsheets, and get their Form URL, like that:
function getFormsOfSpreadsheet(spreadsheetId) {
const ss = SpreadsheetApp.openById(spreadsheetId);
const sheets = ss.getSheets();
const formsUrls = [];
for (const sheet of sheets) {
const formUrl = sheet.getFormUrl();
// getFormUrl() returns null if no form connected
if (formUrl) {
formsUrls.push(formUrl);
}
}
return formsUrls;
}
Docs
If this way is not optimal for you (e.g. you have way too many Sheets in your Spreadsheet and only a few of them are linked to Forms), there's still a possibility that the Forms you need to capture are stored in the same Folder. In this case, there's no need to search through the whole Drive to capture them, you can use the same method, but with Folder:
function linkedForms() {
var ssId = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getId();
var formList = [];
var folder = DriveApp.getFolderById(yourFolderId);
var files = folder.getFilesByType(MimeType.GOOGLE_FORMS);
while (files.hasNext()) {
var form = FormApp.openByUrl(files.next().getUrl());
try {
if (form.getDestinationId() == ssId) {
formList.push(form.getPublishedUrl());
}
}
catch(e) {
}
}
return formList;
}
Docs