I would like to (programmatically) convert a text file with questions to a Google form. I want to specify the questions and the questiontypes and their options. Example: the questiontype scale should go from 1 to 7 and should have the label 'not important' for 1 and 'very important' for 7.
I was looking into the Google Spreadsheet API but did not see a solution.
(The Google form API at http://code.lancepollard.com/introducing-the-google-form-api is not an answer to this question)
Google released API for this: https://developers.google.com/apps-script/reference/forms/
This service allows scripts to create, access, and modify Google Forms.
Until Google satisfies this feature request (star the feature on Google's site if you want to vote for it), you could try a non-API approach.
iMacros allows you to record, modify and play back macros that control your web browser. My experiments with Google Drive showed that the basic version (without DirectScreen technology) doesn't record macros properly. I tried it with both the plugin for IE (basic and advanced click mode) and Chrome (the latter has limited iMacro support). FYI, I was able to get iMacros IE plug-in to create questions on mentimeter.com, but the macro recorder gets some input fields wrong (which requires hacking of the macro, double-checking the ATTR= of the TAG commands with the 'Inspect element' feature of Chrome, for example).
Assuming that you can get the TAG commands to produce clicks in the right places in Google Drive, the approach is that you basically write (ideally record) a macro, going through the steps you need to create the form as you would using a browser. Then the macro can be edited (you can use variables in iMacros, get the question/questiontype data from a CSV or user-input dialogs, etc.). Looping in iMacros is crude, however. There's no EOF for a CSV (you basically have to know how many lines are in the file and hard-code the loop in your macro).
There's a way to integrate iMacro calls with VB, etc., but I'm not sure if it's possible with the free versions. There's another angle where you generate code (Javascript) from a macro, and then modify it from there.
Of course, all of these things are more fragile than an API approach long-term. Google could change its presentation layer and it will break your macros.
Seems like Apps Script now has a REST API and SDK's for it. Through Apps Script you can generate Google Forms. This API was really hard to find by trying to google for it and I haven't yet tested it myself, but I am going to build something with it today (hopefully). So far everything looks good.
EDIT: Seems like the REST API I am using works very well for fully automated usage.
In March(2022) google released REST API for google form. API allows basic crud operation & also added support for registering watches on the form to notify whenever either form is updated or a new response is received.
As of now (March 2016), Google Forms APIs allow us to create forms and store them in Google Drive. However, Forms APIs do not allow one programmatically modify the form (such as modify content, add or delete questions, pre-filled data, etc). In other words, the form is static. In order to serve custom, external APIs are needed.
Related
Unless I'm missing something, the App Script Editor lacks the ability to find a specific function within the project.
I'd like to be able to search for a specific function and then edit it.
Alternatively, how can I view a list of functions within my project (and which .gs file each is in)?
To be clear, I have a number of (logically named) .gs script files within my project each with a number of functions within.
This is not yet an available feature for the new Apps Script IDE - however there is already a fearure request for enabling cross-file search on Google's Issue Tracker:
Search function in Apps Script editor should allow searching of all project files, not just the currently open one.
Google prioritises feature requests by popularity, so make sure to give the issue a star on the above page to let them know this is highly requested.
In the mean time, the legacy editor still has cross-file search available, so you can use this to search in all project files at once.
The new Monaco script editor lacks cross-file search, but the legacy script editor has this feature. So a workaround is to click Use legacy editor in the top right-hand corner and do your search there.
Click the star icon ☆ in the top left-hand corner of issue 175233560 to vote for this feature request and get notified of changes in status.
Yes it does seem to lack that ability as far as I can see. I use control f and then just select between the different files. It keeps the search active between files. Making it possible to find strings in other files. I would prefer if it would just tell me where but I haven't identified that ability as yet.
I am new to writing scripts in Google Apps. I am trying to script various actions in Google Docs which previously I would have done through the main user interface. Is there a way of "recording" such actions as they are carried out, analogous to recording a Macro in Excel?
For example, I am creating a Form in Google Docs. Using the main interface, I can add an Image item and upload an image from another source (Google Drive, my desktop, etc.), but I can't work out the script code that would perform this same action. Is there any way to output the script that would have carried out the same action that I have just performed?
Many thanks.
Currently, you cannot 'record' a macro.
There is an issue in the Issue tracker (issue 650) where Google have mentioned that it is not feasible at the moment (Jul 2010). You may star the issue to register your interest to the enhancement request.
I think the real issue is that the GApps scripting functions are manipulations of the underlying object model of the document. The UI also manipulates the underlying object model, but no one has yet created the functions to emulate the UI in GApps script form. Recording the actions would then be a separate step and converting the recorded actions into GApps functions would be yet another step.
So you need to be clear: is your goal to be able to record and play back UI actions, or is your goal to be able to upload an image into a GDoc? You asked about recording and that's the answer you got. Maybe if you asked about how to use GApps to add an image to a GDoc, you would get a more useful answer.
My own personal question would be:
I haven't figured out how to use the GApps documentation very
efficiently yet. I do a lot of fruitless hunting. How do I find in the
docs how to add an image to a GDoc?
I hope this helps.
I have a web app that data is submitted from a Ui embedded in a Google Site and saved in a spreadsheet. I am thinking about switching to scriptDB instead, but I am unsure about querying and displaying data dynamically. The last time I checked it was not possible to refresh a sites page from within a script, so as a work around I wrote a .html page with javascript that accesses the spreadsheet via the key and uses the Visualization DataTables to produce a quick and nicely formatted query. I would like to retain this functionality if possible. Could anyone make some possible suggestions?
Regards,
Shawn
This is doable today via UiApp (see the Charts api, and note that you can add a Chart to a UiApp).
To auto refresh:
You can use CheckBox.setValue(value, fireEvents) - but you may hit quota issues (there is an example somewhere around). If you hit quota issues, then I suspect HTML service is your best option. It also gives you better control.
Here is an open item requesting expanded Charts service integration with Gviz.
Although, there is limited integration at present, it needs to be expanded to group variables in tables to facilitate basic count and sum operations.
I suggest you “star” the issue to vote for it and to be notified of new developments.
I would like to write a GoogleApps script that accesses a website, logins using my credentials, makes a selection from a drop down menu and copies the displayed values to paste them on my active spreadsheet.
Is this possible or should I go about it a different way?
Directly, that is not possible. However if the website offers an API or if the website makes use of URL parameters to pass information about what you've selected, it might be possible if the website also uses HTTP authentication.
Absolutely possible. Capture what you need to do for authentication. Repeat it with Google Apps script.
Capture what you need to do with the drop downs. Repeat it with Google Apps script.
Quite generic instructions, but you didn't give any more specificity to your problem. Use something like TamperData addon for Firefox to capture/see what Google Apps Script needs to pass back and forth to the server.
I have a question regarding Google Docs and content controls (if there are any?)
We have a system that lets users design a MS Word doc with content controls (rtf text, comboboxes etc) and assign an ID to the control so that our system can pull the ID and register the answer. The data is then saved in a database.
What is a content control?
So my question is, is there any way to acheive this with google docs? I've been looking around but were unable to find a satisfying answer.
I would like to present users with a document in google docs that they fill in and return to me.
It does not have to be controls, but maybe sections that I can identify and pull content from with googles API.
You have couple of options:
Use the Form option in Google Spreadsheet. Check their tutorial at: http://support.google.com/docs/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=87809. They have a nice set of controls (checkbox, multiple choice...). You are getting the benefits of automatic update of the forms into the spreadsheet; no need to create a database...
A bit more complex (but still simple) option is to use Google Apps Script to write a small application GUI that works with the spreadsheet. You get more control over the GUI and all the benefits of automatic data storage, triggering events on each form submission etc. Check out this advanced tutorial: http://code.google.com/googleapps/appsscript/articles/building-sites-app.html