Tag: Google apps script

Google Apps Script – How to Change the File Name of Non-Native Files like MS Word Docs, PDF’s and Excel files.

Google Apps Script, DriveApp

I had an unexpected need to change some non-native file names – in my case, MS Word docs – to something else to appease my masters. Being the resident Igor, I delighted in the task. 

The Problem

I had a folder of MS Word documents on my Google Drive that needed to all be renamed. They all needed the same name with an index number to distinguish that they were different files. 

There were however other file types in the folder. 

The problem with non-native files in Google Drive is that it’s a little tricky to find their ID. Besides, I just wanted to change ALL files that were MS Word in the folder. 

What I would need to do is search for all files inside my selected folder that are of MS Word type and rename them with the same name but with a counter at the end. For example:

Old File Name New File Name
boring.doc cranberrySauce.doc
sad.doc cranberrySauce1.doc
yawn.doc cranberrySauce2.doc

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Google Apps Script: Get File By Name – With Optional Parent Folder Crosscheck

Google Apps Script:  DriveApp

One of my recent projects in Google Apps Script required me to search for a file by name and get its ID. This can be problematic in Google Drive because you can have multiple files of the same name in multiple locations. My solution was to also check the file’s parent folder name as well. 

I created a function getFileByName() to handle this. The function takes the following parameters:

  • fileName – The name of the file you are looking for. (required)
  • fileInFolder – The parent folder of the file you are searching for. (optional)

The file path would look a little something like this:

.../fileInFolder/fileName

getFileByName() returns an object containing :

  1.  the ID of the file if the file exists or false if it does not.
  2. the ERROR if there is an error or false if there is not. 

The returned object would look like the following:

Successful

Error

getFileByName() reports the following errors:

  1. If no parent folder name is given and there are more than one file with the same file name. 
  2. There is more than one parent folder and file combination with the same name.
  3. There are multiple files with the same name but none are in the folder parent name provided.
  4. No file with the file name provided exists.

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Google Apps Script – How to make a Custom Function to Use in Google Sheets

Google Apps Script: Custom Functions, Google Sheets

Google Sheets has a vast library of functions (or formulas) you can use to get your Spreadsheet tasks done. However, there are some instances when you want a specific function that is not available in Google Sheets or wants to make a simplified version of some combined function to make life easier for your users. Fortunately, Google has your back with Google Apps Script.

Before we start, Google does a pretty great job explaining the basics of creating a custom function. However, when it comes to explaining how to add all that information that goes into a function when you type it into Sheets it is a bit vague.

Custom Function Decorators Google Apps Script

Let’s look at the creation process through a recent example I created:

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Google Sheets – Random Alphabetic, Random Alphanumeric and Random Alphanumeric + Character Custom Functions (Updated January 2022)

Google Sheets, Google Apps Script

I was working on a Spreadsheet in Google Sheets a few days ago and needed to generate some random codes for my users. To do this, I just used the RANDBETWEEN(start val, end val) function built into Google Sheets.

It goes a little like this. If I want to build a 5 digit random number I would:

RANDBETWEEN Google Sheets

But this got me wondering. Is there a function for random Alphabetic strings or Alphanumeric strings or Alphanumeric with Character strings. The answer?

via GIPHY

 

No…

So instead I decided to make a custom function with Google Apps Script to do this job for me…

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Google Apps Script – How to Find the Folder ID of a Non-Unique Folder Using File Path Names

Google Apps Script – DriveApp

sighisoara Google Apps Script Tutorial
This tutorial comes from a comfy spot in the centre of Sighisoara.

Well, that title is such a mouthful. So I think it needs some explaining…

I’ve recently come across a task that requires me to access a particular folder in a directory based on the information in a Google Sheet. This means:

  1. I don’t have the folder or the sub-folder ID.
  2. I can get the directory path information from information supplied in a Google Sheet.

Basically what I needed to do was create a Report maker and store it in the following directory path:

My Drive(root) >> Year >>  Quarter >> Unit+ "Report"

For example:

MyDrive >> 2018 >> Q4  >> Unit 4 Report

Boring!!!! Take me to the code!!!

The Problem

Unfortunately, I could not simply change the last folder name from say, Unit 4 Report to Q4 Unit 4 Report 2018 so it is easily searchable and unique. The other problem is that there are other Unit 4 Reports in other years and quarters so I did not want to accidentally call them instead of the exact one I wanted.

So, what to do..?

The Solution

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