Google Apps Script
This is an add-on to the Information Communication Technology (ICT) course. It aims
to broaden learners’ proficiency in using productivity apps by introducing basic
programming. These exercises are optional and not graded.
Tip: Turn on Document Outline (found in Tools). Click on a section to jump to it.
Section 1: What is Google Apps Script?
Google Apps Script is a scripting language based on JavaScript that lets you do new
and cool things with Google Apps like Docs, Sheets, and Forms. There's nothing to
install — we give you a code editor right in your browser, and your scripts run on
Google's servers.
Google Apps Script allows you to programmatically create and modify Google Docs,
as well as customize the user interface with new menus, dialog boxes, and sidebars.
Google Apps Script lets you do new and cool things with Google Sheets. You can use
Apps Script to add custom menus, dialogs, and sidebars to Google Sheets. It also
lets you write custom functions for Sheets, as well as integrate Sheets with other
Google services like Calendar, Drive, and Gmail.
Most scripts designed for Google Sheets manipulate arrays to interact with the cells,
rows, and columns in a spreadsheet.
TASK:
1. Conduct surface level research on what you can create with Google Apps
Script, particularly for Google Docs and Google Sheets.
2. Come up with a goal: What do you want to create?
2.a. Google Docs goal (e.g. create a custom dialog that fills out a
GDocs template automatically)
2.b. Google Sheets goal (e.g. create a script that automatically sends
emails containing custom messages)
Section 2: What is Javascript?
Google Apps Script is based upon the highly popular JavaScript programming
language, which is a complicated beast with a very precise and elaborate set of
syntax. To learn Google Apps Script, you’re going to need (at the very least) a basic
understanding of JavaScript.
