AppsScriptPulse

Official News

Must see Google Workspace Platform sessions at Google I/O

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In the latest Google Workspace Developers Newsletter – April 2022 (if not already you can subscribe here), there is a handy summary of ‘Must see Google Workspace Platform sessions’ at Google I/O, 11-12 May 2022. Google I/O is being run as a hybrid event and anyone online can register for free and the program is worth exploring:

Join us for Google I/O 2022. Connect with experts, get inspired, and expand your knowledge. From no-code platforms to automated Chat applications, the team has put together an informative and educational set of sessions to get you up to date with the Google Workspace Platform.

Keynote

The cloud built for developers: Learn how Google Cloud and Workspace teams are building cloud services to help developers and technologists create transformative applications.

Sessions

Learn how to enable shared experiences across platforms: Explore how to enable shared experiences across platforms (Android, iOS, web).

What’s new in the world of Google Chat apps: Integrate services with Google Chat, explore visual improvements to Google Chat apps, and discover new Google Chat API features.

Extending Google Workspace with AppSheet’s no-code platform and Apps Script: Learn how to configure the new Apps Script Connector in your AppSheet apps.

Conversational AI for business messaging: Create messaging experiences for consumers on Google Search and Maps using Google’s Business Messages.

Workshop

Building AppSheet apps with the new Apps Script connector: Building connected AppSheet and Apps Script apps using AppSheet’s new Apps Script connector.

Register now

Official News, Solutions

Getting started is the hardest part: Find inspiration with new Apps Script samples

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Google Apps Script is a hosted JavaScript development environment that makes it easy for anyone to build custom business solutions across several Google products. Figuring out where to begin can be a hurdle for such an expansive tool, so we’ve recently released 10 new inspirational sample solutions to help you get started. These additions bolster the Apps Script documentation, which now hosts more than 30 sample solutions.

Here are a few use cases our newest sample solutions address:

Google recently announced latest figures around Google Workspace reach in 2021:

With 3B people globally using Google Workspace there is an opportunity to grow the Workspace developer community and to help users get started Google have recently published 10 new sample solutions. The samples cover a range of coding skills and even experts should take a look as there are some great examples that can help with developing add-ons, Google Chat apps and more.

Source: Getting started is the hardest part: Find inspiration with Apps Script samples

Official News, AppSheet, No Code

Announcing the Apps Script connector for AppSheet: Automate workflows for Google Workspace

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This week, we launched the Apps Script connector for AppSheet, which now makes it possible to call Apps Script code functions from a no-code AppSheet app. This greatly extends the abilities of AppSheet apps by letting them access the power that Apps Script provides. For example, an AppSheet app can now use Apps Script to automate workflows with Google Workspace using the Workspace APIs for Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Admin SDK, and more – as well as other Google services like YouTube, Google Analytics, and BigQuery.

We’ve previously highlighted the Calling Google Apps Script from an automation in #AppSheet, which at the time of writing was a preview feature. This feature has now been announced as being generally available to AppSheet users.

If you are already familiar with this new feature you may find it useful to read the full announcement as it contextualises this feature within the ‘no-code’ / low-code marketplace and the benefits of integration with Google Workplace, Workplace APIs and other opportunities through Google Apps Script.

Source: Announcing the Apps Script connector for AppSheet: Automate workflows for Google Workspace

Official News

New features in the Apps Script integrated development environment (IDE) | Release Notes  |  April 13, 2022

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April 13, 2022
You can now perform the following actions in the new Apps Script integrated development environment (IDE):

You can read more about the script editor updates in this related Google Workspace Updates post, which provides more details of note is:

This launch ensures Apps Script users can utilize the legacy features in the new environment:

  • Script Properties: Allows you to store simple data in key-value pairs scoped to one script. Script properties are typically used to store developer configuration data. The new IDE has now integrated the interface to edit, delete and create up to 50 new script properties.
  • Add-on Testing: Allows add-on developers to test their add-ons before publishing them broadly.
  • Time Zone Setting: Allows you to update the time zone of the script and its executions.
  • Rhino Debugging: Adds the ability to debug Rhino subroutines on V8 debugger, without migrating to V8. If the code is not V8 compatible, users will get a warning message.

Source: Release Notes  |  Apps Script  |  Google Developers

Official News, Solutions, AppSheet, Beginner

NEW! Calling Google Apps Script from an automation in #AppSheet

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Add custom integrations to your app using Apps Script. … You can use custom logic from within your AppSheet app by calling Apps Script from an AppSheet automation bot.

Examples of custom logic that you can implement include:

  • Create a calendar appointment when a button is clicked
  • Add a slide to a presentation when a new row is added
  • Save photos to Drive and share with specific individuals when uploaded using a form
  • Create an audit log by generating a Google Docs file with data from a table
  • Call an external service for machine learning prediction using data from a newly added row and write back model prediction

If you are not familiar with AppSheet it’s Google Cloud’s no-code platform that allows users to create custom applications that can be deployed across mobile and web, often setup using Google Sheets as a data source. AppSheet can be customised with workflows and automations, and those automations have recently been extended with a new preview integration to Google Apps Script.  The video in the Call Apps Script from an automation page provides a great summary of how the Apps Script integration works.

Source: Call Apps Script from an automation

Official News

For Google Workspace Add-ons, an Attachment class has been added to the Card Service that lets you add custom attachments to Calendar events | Release Notes | March 24, 2022 |  Apps Script  |  Google Developers

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March 24, 2022

For Google Workspace Add-ons, an Attachment class has been added to the Card Service that lets you add custom attachments to Calendar events. You can also set an event trigger that fires when the user clicks on the add-on attachment provider in the Calendar dropdown menu. For more information, refer to EventAttachmentTrigger.

You can read more about attaching files to Google Calendar events in this related Google Workspace Updates post:

Google Workspace developers can now create Google Workspace add-ons that attach files to a Google Calendar event from any third-party service. This feature enables developers to create add-ons that support attachments from a wide range of sources beyond Google Drive, such as digital whiteboard, content creation, or file management tools.

The update includes the following additional guidance for developers:

You can now develop add-ons that support attaching files from sources other than Google Drive. To get started, learn more about extending Calendar with Google Workspace add-ons and adding attachments with a callback function.

Source: Release Notes  |  Apps Script  |  Google Developers

Official News

The get methods for several color objects in the Spreadsheet Service have been deprecated | Release Notes | March 18, 2022 | Apps Script | Google Developers

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March 18, 2022

The get methods for several color objects in the Spreadsheet Service have been deprecated in favor of a new naming convention. The functionality remains the same. For example, the getFontColor() method from the Range class has been replaced with getFontColorObject().

Check out the source link for details of which Spreadsheet Services have been updated.

Source: Release Notes  |  Apps Script  |  Google Developers

Official News, Forms

Introducing the Google Forms API – Use cases and example applications

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Image credit: Google

For the first time, Google Forms has an API and we are going to show you how you can use it and what’s in it. The new Google Forms API joins the large family of APIs available to developers under the Google Workspace Platform. The Forms API provides programmatic access for managing forms, acting on responses, and empowering developers to build powerful integrations on top of Forms.

Some additional resources to support the general availability of the Google Forms API have been published. This post includes information on the key use cases which are supported by the API:

Automated form creation and editing: Enables automated form creation and editing. Enables rapid form generation from large volume question banks or other data backends.

Reaction to Form responses: The API also enables developers to build automations for acting on incoming responses. Examples include developing real-time dashboards or visualizations and triggering business workflows based on response data.

Given the existing widespread use of Google Forms in education it was nice for this to be acknowledged and also to see Automagical Forms getting mentioned.

Source: Introducing the Google Forms API

Official News, Forms

Create surveys, quizzes, and more using the Google Forms API, now generally available

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Image credit: Google

The Google Forms API provides programmatic access for managing Google Forms and acting on responses— empowering developers to build powerful integrations on top of Forms.

Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers and users with personal Google Accounts

We’ve shared a couple of updates on the new Google Forms API previously here on Apps Script Pulse. The good news is the Forms API is now out of beta and available for testing and deployment. For Google Apps Script devs I’m sure you are thinking ‘but we can use the Forms Service?’ You can and likely in most instances to be the first port of call, but the new API brings some additional functionality not supported in Forms Service, in particular, a trigger when a Google Form is edited.

Google have provided an example of how the new Form API can be used in an Apps Script project with this Google Forms API Apps Script web app demo. Also as previously highlighted Christian Schalk is speaking at the Google Cloud Innovators Hive event March 29-30, 2022 and we are anticipating a session on the new Google Forms API.

Source: Create surveys, quizzes, and more using the Google Forms API, now generally available

Official News

Become a Google Cloud Innovator and join the Google Cloud Innovators Hive event March 29-30, 2022

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Image credit: Google

Google Cloud Innovator’s inaugural event, Innovators Hive is a virtual, global, and free event limited to 1,000 developers and practitioners. Organized for and with the Cloud community, it focuses on deep technical content presented by Champion Innovator and Google thought leaders and luminaries.

Google Cloud Innovators is a new program created by Google for anyone using Google Cloud to come together as a community to learn, share and collaborate:

You know Google Cloud. Now it’s time for Google Cloud to get to know you.

Join the program by claiming the Innovators Program badge on your developer profile. From the beginning, you will receive invitations to hear from Google Cloud executives and Developer Advocates, roadmap presentations, and a chance for an invitation to join our new series of Innovator community events.

We’re just getting started. We are working on customizing experiences across Google Cloud to incorporate your identity as an Innovator, and make your time with Cloud a more personal and collaborative journey.

You can find out more about becoming a badged Google Cloud Innovator.

As part of the Google Cloud Innovator program Google is hosting ‘Innovators Hive’, 29-30 March 2022. This is a free event where you can hear from Google and community contributors about the latest developments in Google Cloud. There isn’t a published programme yet but you can get a sense of what will be talked about from the featured speakers page.

A number of Google Workspace experts will be contributing sessions to Innovator Hive, many of whom we’ve featured regularly here in Apps Script Pulse, including:

  • Charles Maxson
  • Christian Schalk
  • Clay Smith
  • Adam Morris
  • Alice Keeler 
  • Jasper Duizendstra
  • Scott Donald
  • Sourabh Choraria

There will be a couple of community meetups for folks who build solutions on Google Workspace or for folks who are curious about what the possibilities are. One of these will be a Totally Unscripted reunion where I’ll be joining Charles Maxson which will be an opportunity to ask a question or share your ideas about Workspace Development.  

To join this event if not already a Google Cloud Innovator check out the Google Cloud Innovators program page to become a member, then register for Innovators Hive 2022. Both Google Cloud Innovator and Innovator Hive are FREE!

Source: Innovators Hive 2022