Google Apps Script

Many are already familiar with Google Docs, Drive, Gmail, Google +, and Google Forms. These and other Google products, such as Google Keep, Vault, Jamboard (physical digital boards), make up G Suite.

G Suite is a collection of tools for improving productivity. Most of these tools are free. However, additional features that are particularly suited to the business can be purchased by upgrading to the appropriate price package. While G Suite products have some powerful and useful features, Google Apps Script allows developers to develop even more powerful features.

What is Google Apps Script? In the words of Paul McReynolds, Google Apps Script is “a serverless JavaScript runtime for G Suite automation, extensions, and integration.” It’s a web app publishing, add-on building, leveraging the power of other services, and a few other handy features Google Apps Script is a JavaScript-based scripting language, so it can be easily picked up by even beginners. Because it runs on the cloud, there is no need to solve any problems when building a functional development environment.

There are different types of scripts that can be created, but this is affected by the functionality that the script performs.

1.  Stand-alone Script

Standalone scripts are not bound to a specific Google Form or Slide document. Stand-alone scripts are created from the Google Apps Script site. Another way is via Google Drive. From the site, you can run, debug, and deploy scripts. More interesting are the three deployment options: web applications, API executables, publishing to Chrome stores, and deploying as web add-ons. Stand-alone script files are stored on Google Drive.

2. Container-bound Scripts

Container bind scripts are bound to specific G Suite application files, such as Google Docs files. The file to which the script is bound is called a container. You can create a container bind script by opening the script editor under the Tools menu. This will open the Google Apps Script Console as you would for a standalone script.

3. Web Apps

You can add a user interface for scripts. Using Google Apps Scripts, you can convert standalone scripts and container bound scripts into web applications. Still, two conditions need to be met. The app contains the dotGet (e) or dotPost (e) function, which returns an HTML service HtmlOutput object or a Content service TextOutput object. You can then deploy the script as a web application by selecting that option from the Deploy menu.

First Google Apps Script

Use Google Docs to create a container bound script to demonstrate that you can easily create a script. This script creates a footer for the new document (without the footer) and displays your email in the footer.

Please note that you need your permission to run the script. Grant script access to execute code. You should now see “Document created by” in the footer section of the page.

1. function myFunction() {
2. // get current document
3. var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();
5. // set footer text
6. addFooter().appendParagraph(“Document created by: ” + Session.getActiveUser().getEmail());
7. }

This shows only a simple feature. However, Google Apps Script allows you to create complex and much more useful scripts.

Conclusion

Google Apps Script gives developers the tools to create super great features. Even more interesting is the ability to easily convert scripts into fully featured web applications. If you use G Suite frequently, you should consider using Google Apps Script to automate tedious tasks.