This comprehensive guide walks you through connecting AppSheet to Google Cloud SQL, step-by-step. Unlock the power of a scalable and secure database to build powerful, data-driven mobile applications. Learn everything you need to know, from setting up Google Cloud SQL server, setting up the MySQL database as the datasource for AppSheet Apps, the connection to leveraging Cloud SQL for seamless data management in your AppSheet projects. If you are an AppSheet app creator or developer, this tutorial will likely be the best practice for you during the process of working with Google Cloud SQL
Google AppSheet GDE, Vo Tu Duc, has published a comprehensive guide on connecting AppSheet to Google Cloud SQL. Google provides a very useful support page on AppSheet data sources and performance, which highlights some scenarios where you might need to consider Cloud SQL.
For example, large-scale AppSheet apps using Google Sheets as a datasource with significant data access during specific times of the day, could encounter concurrency or quota issues imposed by the Sheets API. Using Cloud SQL you can configure your own instance configured to match your AppSheet app requirements avoiding any quota limits.
The guide provides very detailed step-by-step instructions for setting up Google Cloud SQL, creating a MySQL database, and connecting it to AppSheet. This includes lots of annotated screenshots, making it easy to follow even for those who are new to Google Cloud, MySQL, and SQL queries. Whilst the guide assumes you are creating a new app if you copy an existing app to an SQL database and then, if needed, upgrade the existing app.
One final thing to note is Cloud SQL isn’t part of the standard data integrations offered with AppSheet Starter and Core editions. As a result, all your app users will require AppSheet Enterprise licenses. Here is a summary of features that are supported with each subscription.
If your automations are not being triggered by Google Form submissions, Pablo Felip’s tip is it could be because your Google Workspace Admin has turned on AppSheet Core Security.
In this TU Special, we dive into the exciting new features coming to Google AppSheet and take a first look at the new Google Forms integration. For this special our co-host, Martin Hawksey is joined by Steve Franks (Head of Workspace Engineering, CTS Appsbroker). The discussion/demo was originally presented as an internal tech talk conducted at CTS Appsbroker – warning the episode contains some ‘passionate’ language.
Initial key takeaways which we discuss are:
Seamless Data Collection: Google Forms now acts as a first-class data source for AppSheet, eliminating the need for workarounds and additional add-ons. Data collected through forms automatically flows into AppSheet, creating a smooth and efficient workflow.
External Participation: The integration allows external parties to interact with your apps by simply filling out a Google Form. This opens up new possibilities for data collection and process involvement.
Powerful Automations: AppSheet’s automation capabilities can be triggered by form submissions, enabling you to create sophisticated workflows. The example discussed involves sending an email with an embedded AppSheet view upon form completion, allowing for approvals or further actions within the email itself.
Simplified Development: The integration makes building apps even easier, especially for those already familiar with Google Forms. The need for complex configurations or AppScripts is minimized, empowering users to focus on the business logic and desired outcomes.
Versatility: AppSheet has increased functionality, opening up a wider range of possibilities for app development and automation for Google Workspace customers. It can be used to create full-fledged apps with user interfaces or simply act as a behind-the-scenes automation engine.
Overall, the integration of Google Forms and AppSheet should significantly help empower users to build powerful solutions without coding expertise. Read more about “Build AppSheet automations using Google Forms” on the Google Workspace Updates blog.
Join this community of over 53,600 data analysts and Google Sheets aficionados and get an actionable Google Sheets tip every Monday
With a weekly subscription of over 50K we probably don’t need to flag a ‘Monday morning espresso’ of Google Sheets tips from Ben Collins as you are probably already subscribed. However, given Ben recently published the 300th issue it’s a milestone worth celebrating and a chance to say ‘thank you’ to Ben for this invaluable publication.
As eloquently demonstrated on a recent episode of Totally Unscripted, Ben is the Google Sheets “King of Functions”. Ben’s expertise isn’t limited to solving Google Sheet challenges, he’s also a master at explaining his thinking and helping other people learn. If you haven’t subscribed to Ben’s newsletter follow the source link (it’s free!) and check out Ben’s website for loads of great tips and resources.
Learn how to use Smart Chips in Google Sheets to take full control of your data. Smart chips bring extra information to your Sheets.
Unleash the hidden power of Google Sheets with Smart Chips! Here’s a nice primer for our next episode of Totally Unscripted from Google Sheets magician, Ben Collins. You’ll have to tune in to the show to get the developer angle on Smart Chips, this post instead focusing on out-of-the-box features of Smart Chips in Google Sheets. Ben’s post is still incredible useful and in particular it was very interesting to read about data extraction from Smart Chips including the dot syntax when using Google Sheets formula/functions.
Be part of our AppSheet Hackathon Series in 2024! Join us at the Google office in London for this in-person event in February. Find out more.
My employer CTS/Appsbroker is hosting a free AppSheet Hackathon in Google Office in London on 08 February 2024. This in-person event is the first of four we are planning this year designed to bring both new and existing AppSheet users together to learn and share.
For new users there will be a guided ‘no-code along’ to help you get started, followed by a hackathon with on-hand support. You can find out more including registration by following the link (if you are able to attend my tip would be bring a work colleague as this will help you bottom out your business use cases). I’ll be attending the event so if you are able to attend please come and say ‘hi’.
From one simple prompt with Duet AI for AppSheet you are able to create a well structured application.
I recently had the pleasure of the opportunity to speak at DevFest Scotland. My topic was how you can use code with Google’s ‘no-code’ solution AppSheet. You can see some of the ways this is achievable in my shared slides. Whilst there are coding opportunities with AppSheet and having some coding/data schema knowledge is useful, I would argue that this is increasingly becoming less important.
In this post on the CTS Medium I share how Duet AI for AppSheet has hugely reduced the entry point for app creation. As part of this I share how a simple request to the Duet AI for AppSheet assistant of ‘an easy way for volunteers to borrow a laptop’ becomes the starting point for a well structured application. Having introduced AppSheet to a number of customers I can’t emphasise enough how big a step this is in the democratisation of app creation. Exciting times!
[Thanks to Christian Schalk and the AppSheet team for early access to Duet AI for AppSheet and providing input on the source post].
An intense 48-hour tour of AppSheet, Google’s flagship nocode tool, from the perspective of a newcomer to the platform (part 4/4).
The forth and final part in Pablo Felip’s AppSheet in 48 hours series 😟. I’m sure there will be more from Pablo on AppSheet, but the rumour is he’ll be next publishing some Apps Script posts.
For the final part Pablo discusses the different types of actions available in AppSheet, including system actions and user-defined actions, and how to use them to create custom functionality in apps. There is a lot you can do with actions from writing data, navigation and more.
Something else touched upon in Pablo’s post is the intelligent assistant available throughout AppSheet. Using the assistant to help you create actions can also save you a lot of time, particular with toggling actions for yes/no checkboxes. If you can find the good way to describe what you want the assistant can handle creating the action, related icons and behaviour to toggle the appearance of one of the actions.
An intense 48-hour tour of AppSheet, Google’s flagship nocode tool, from the perspective of a newcomer to the platform (part 3/4).
It’s the third part of Pablo Felip’s AppSheet in 48 hours series. Christian Schalk has already post an announcement in the AppsSheet community which gives a great summary of this latest episode:
Here are some of key view centric topics covered:
A thorough introduction to Views, including their position (Primary, Menu, Reference), as well as user defined vs. and auto-generated. There’s also coverage on the new visual editing feature introduced in August!
Building custom views based on data slices, including coverage on performance implications between security filters and data slices.
An intense 48-hour tour of AppSheet, Google’s flagship nocode tool, from the perspective of a newcomer to the platform (part 2/4).
The second part in Pablo Felip’s in ‘Discovering Google AppSheet in 48 hours’ series. This post focuses on the AppSheet formula language which are similar to formula/functions you would use in spreadsheets. As highlighted in Pablo’s post ‘expressions’ can be used in numerous places in AppSheet not only to calculate new values but also control your AppSheet app behaviour and functionality.
An area I often struggle with is handling data lists. Pablo’s post walk you through from basic list operations to more complex list filtering and list operations such as combining and subtracting data. This and more is covered in the posted linked to below:
