Surely, you have also experienced having a presentation in which you needed to replace old content with new. Replacing text is very simple because you just need to use the Replace function, and you can either do it in the Google Slides user interface.
The problem arises when you need to replace one image with another, for example, if your corporate logo is updated to a new graphic design or if one of your favorite cloud services updates its icons (Gmail, blink blink ;-) It’s still somewhat bearable with one presentation, but what do you do when, like me, you have thousands of Google Slides files on your Google Drive?
This post explores a clever application of the Gemini API’s multimodal capabilities, created by Ivan Kutil. His code utilizes GenAI to automatically detect outdated logos within your Google Slides presentations. The original blog post (March 2024) used the Gemini Pro Vision API. As a sign of how rapidly this area evolves, Google now recommends switching to Gemini 1.5 Flash or Gemini 1.5 Pro.
Switching to the newer APIs is very straightforward as all you need to do is search the source code for models/gemini-pro-vision and replace with models/gemini-1.5-flash or models/gemini-1.5-pro.
For Apps Script projects I lean towards Gemini 1.5 Flash as it is designed for speed. I’m also always looking to opportunities to test the GeminiApp library for Apps Script and very quickly I was able to fork Ivan’s code and use Gemini 1.5 Flash using a service account.
While GeminiApp requires some initial setup, it offers significant advantages:
Easy Model Testing: Experiment with various models quickly.
Built-in Features: Includes functionalities like exponential backoff.
The Google Developer Program gives developers access to a range of new tools and benefits, to allow them to discover and explore all the Google sponsored communities we already offer.
Google recently announced an expansion of the Google Developers Program:
“The program will give developers access to a range of new tools and benefits such as technical assistance from Gemini and allow them to discover and explore all the Google sponsored communities we already offer. Joining is free and open to any developer worldwide.”
One of the headline benefits is when you also join the Google Cloud Innovators program through your Developer Profile, you will get free credits for the Google Cloud Skills Boost learning platform. Your credits will automatically replenish every month, so if you run out you just need to wait a little to continue your learning.
A note for Google Workspace account holders is you may find that your Workspace Admin has disabled the ‘Developer Profile’ service for your domain. If so a friendly email to your support desk might be required, however, given you can collect badges for your Developer Profile you may prefer to create an account with a personal consumer Gmail account.
In 2022, we made it easy to seamlessly access popular Education Technology tools directly in Google Classroom. We partnered with 20+ EdTech companies, including Kahoot!, Pear Deck, IXL, ReadWorks, and Nearpod, to build Google Classroom add-ons. These new integrations let educators and students easily find, use, and grade great content in their favorite EdTech tools without having to navigate to external websites and apps.
Today, we’re excited to make Classroom add-ons generally available to all developers.
Given the number of Apps Script users in EDU today’s announcement the Google Classroom add-ons now generally available for anyone to publish is probably welcome news. Whilst Google Classroom add-ons have been around for a couple of years they have historically only been created by a select few of Google partners.
Before jumping in something key to keep in mind is that while Apps Script offers a low-entry approach for most Workspace add-ons, Classroom add-ons require more technical expertise. They involve building a web application and integrating it with Classroom’s functionalities using the Google Workspace Marketplace SDK. Proficiency in web development languages like Python, Java, or Node.js is recommended and Google have published some example implementations for Python, Java and Node.js.
Whilst there are differences there are overlaps. For example like Workspace and Editor Add-ons you will need to create a Google Cloud project to publish to the Google Workspace Marketplace. As part of this you’ll have to also provide key information such as terms and conditions as well as going through the OAuth verification process.
The Google Developer documentation and other resources are linked from the source announcement.
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.
Create awesome Jira timelines for multiple projects in Google sheets – zmandel/timeline-jira-google-sheets
Viewing Jira timelines in Google Sheets can be beneficial in a number of ways including allowing you to use the features of Sheets for further analysis and exploration of the data. One such feature is Google Sheet timeline graphs. These can be customisable and let you configure timelines to display specific data, such as issue type, priority, or assignee.
To help with getting your Jira data into Google Sheets, Sig Mandel has recently published a Google Sheets template which you can copy and connect to your Jira data. Features of the template include:
Makes Timelines with Multiple Jira Projects – Create comprehensive timelines that encompass multiple Jira projects, enabling you to visualize and track the progress of related initiatives simultaneously.
Alerts When Issues Are Not Started or Ended on Time – Stay informed with timely alerts that notify you when issues are not started or ended according to their designated timelines. Proactively address potential delays and ensure projects remain on schedule.
View Timelines as Regular Sheets and as Native Timelines – View your timelines in two distinct formats: as traditional spreadsheets for detailed analysis and as visually appealing native timelines that offer a comprehensive overview of project progress.
One Click to View Issue Details or to Open in Jira – Seamlessly access issue details and navigate to the corresponding Jira issues with a single click. Quickly drill down into specific tasks to gain deeper insights and make informed decisions.
Works in “Epics & Stories” and “Stories & Subtasks” Modes for Issue Grouping – Customize your timelines by grouping issues based on “Epics & Stories” or “Stories & Subtasks.” This flexibility allows you to tailor the timeline presentation to your project’s unique structure and requirements.
Keeps All Previously Made Timelines for Easy Comparison – Maintain a historical record of all previously created timelines. Easily compare timelines to identify trends, progress, and areas for improvement over time.
Follow the source link to the GitHub repo, open the template preview link and click ‘Use Template’ to get started.
The Google Workspace Developer Summit is a full day event led by the Google Workspace Developer Relations team. Together, we will explore both the opportunity and the technologies that make up the Google Workspace platform, with a focus on what’s new and emerging in the types of solutions you and your teams can build.
The Google Workspace Developer Summit are returning! These are excellent opportunities for Workspace user and developers of all experience levels to learn about creating unique solutions for their businesses or the world. The full-day events, led by the Google Workspace Developer Relations team, will allow you to explore both the potential and technologies of the Google Workspace platform.
The events also include sessions from community members and I will be doing a short session at the Berlin event on Empowering Google Workspace Developers with Gemini Function Calling and more!
If you can’t join in-person for the summits but still would like to watch some of the sessions both registration pages include a Google Form to note interest.
Search through Google Sheet data and correct the format of any date values to your choosing.
The following Google Apps Script is just one way you could search through data within a Google Sheet, pinpoint all date-values (no matter where they are), check their format (e.g. dd/mm/yyyy) and update it to a format of your choosing if necessary.
This function has been useful when American/British date formats have managed to make their way into a Google Sheet.
Shared cached data between multiple scripts with this enhanced Apps Script Cacheservice library
Bruce Mcpherson has shared a new Apps Script library, bmCacheSharer, which enables sharing of cache data between multiple Google Workspace projects. The library was originally created to solve the problem of sharing configuration data stored in a Google Sheet with multiple script projects.
The library includes a number of nice features to overcome some of the limitations of the Apps Script CacheService, such as the 100k maximum item size and the 6-hour expiration limit by incorporating features like compression, key digestion, and automatic refresh.
It also provides options for sharing cached values by using community keys. The library is designed to be flexible, allowing users to either use its built-in cache service or provide their own. Additionally, it offers a memory cache for faster access within the same script instance. The document includes code examples and explanations to illustrate the library’s usage and benefits.
To wrap up the first half of season 5, the Totally Unscripted crew will go back to basics and talk about the perhaps the best-kept secret in the Google Workspace universe, and that’s of course Google Apps Script! While many of our regular viewers surely know how powerful Apps Script can be, we wanted to ask the rest of the Workspace world “Why aren’t you Apps Scripting?!?”
Join us for a fun and whimsical exploration of Google Apps Script, where we’ll uncover why Apps Script is the ultimate productivity sidekick, ready to rescue you from repetitive chores and unleash your creative superpowers. No coding experience? No problem! We’ll break it down in a way that’s easy to understand, even if you’re a tech newbie.
It’s time to unlock the full potential of Google Workspace and join the Apps Script revolution. Let’s spread the word and empower everyone to automate their way to a more productive and joyful work life!
