Tuesday 24 September 2024

Append Drive file permissions Tool

The following Google Apps Script tool allows you to quickly append new permissions to existing files within Google/Shared drive. This is quite a niche tool so it is anticipated you would already have a Google Sheet of file IDs/URLs, though there is the option to select an existing Drive folder of files and automatically bring them into this tool.

By inserting email addresses using a comma-and-space format you can optionally select to send a notification email to the new user(s).

You can continue to append further rows to the Google Sheet as existing ones will be skipped once the ‘Status’ column has automatically been marked as ‘Completed’. Alternatively you can clear the Sheet each time for a fresh start.

Quickly append new file permissions via a Google Sheet
Quickly append new file permissions via a Google Sheet

Tuesday 27 August 2024

Check comma separated email address is valid

The following Google Apps Script is designed to loop through a Google Sheet cell of email addresses that have been separated by a comma and space. It then uses a regular expression (regex) to confirm the email address meets the correct formatting criteria.

This code was developed as a way of implementing additional checks when asking users to be precise in how exactly they enter multiple email addresses. So if they were to forget the space for instance it could alert them, before the rest of the code risked failing as whatever task it was designed to do.

Regular expression to check the format of an email address
Regular expression to check the format of an email address

Tuesday 30 July 2024

Change Drive ownership without email notification

The following Google Apps Script is designed to change ownership of a Google Drive item without sending the default email notification to the new owner. Please note this will only work within your organisation (i.e. on the same domain) and not between personal Google account (where consent is required by Google).

Snippet of code for changing Drive ownership
Snippet of code for changing Drive ownership


Tuesday 2 July 2024

Tuesday 4 June 2024

Correct date formats in a Google Sheet

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.

Screenshot showing difference between American/British date formats
Screenshot showing difference between American/British date formats

Tuesday 21 May 2024

Google Add-on: Send Recurring Emails


What it does

Easily send recurring emails at a frequency of your choosing e.g. every 7 days, every 27 days, every 1 month, etc.

Write your email(s) once, select your start date, frequency, recipient(s), then kick back and relax. The tool will automatically check every day at a time that you specify to see if any emails need sending.

Example uses:
  • Newsletter submissions.
  • Monthly reports.
  • Team meetings.
  • Attendance checks.

Demo video




Find out more

Tuesday 7 May 2024

Google Add-on: Bulk Calendar Events


What it does

Bulk create Google Calendar™ events with optional video conferencing (Google Meet™). Add location, guests, change the event visibility, colour and much more.

Example uses:
  • Meetings
  • Workshops
  • Events
  • 1:1s

Demo video




Find out more

Tuesday 9 April 2024

onFormSubmit Trigger simultaneous executions

The following post is a caution around onFormSubmit triggers after I recently discovered a way that somebody had inadvertently managed to execute my code simultaneously over 253 times. Now unless a Google Form is submitted by 253 individuals all at the same time ... then this is baffling.

When should an onFormSubmit trigger run?

At the point when a Google Form has been completed and the 'Submit' button pressed.