Create a copy of a file using try/catch

The following Google Apps Script code is designed to create a copy of a template file and return its Url & ID. It is designed as a Function that would sit within your existing code (hence there are input parameters) and it makes extensive use of 'try/catch' in order to capture any errors that could occur. It also makes use of our log actions code detailed in this blog post so we can output the error somewhere.

We start by getting the template file that we want to make a copy of but wrap this within a try/catch. As part of getting the file we include an additional variable (gotTemplateFile) set to either true or false depending upon success, which we can then use to determine if the script should proceed with the next step. We also make use of the logEvent Function to output any errors messages:

try {
    // get template file
    var templateFile = DriveApp.getFileById(templateFileId);
    var gotTemplateFile = true;
  }
  catch(e) {
    logEvent('Problem with template file, error: ' + e);
    var gotTemplateFile = false;
  }

Drive API - share a file without email notification

The following Google Apps Script makes use of the Drive API to allow an item to be shared (eg edit access) without the recipient receiving the automated email typically generated when using the DriveApp.

Enable Drive API
In Script Editor go to Resources > Advanced Google services ... > scroll down and turn on Drive API > click OK.

The Code
First we create an array of objects that defines 3 items: value, type and role. These details will form the 'permissions resource':

var resource = {
    // enter email address here
    value: 'user@example.com',
   
    // choose from "user" or "group" if using a Google Group
    type: 'user',               
   
    // choose from: "owner", "writer" or "reader"
    role: 'writer'              
};

Google Form - use a switch to determine save location

The following Google Apps Script is designed to take a specific option selected on a Google Form and use that to determine where something could be stored. The example it was developed for was Risk Assessments where depending on the type of assessment selected on the Form the generated file was to be saved in a specific Google Drive folder.

The example here is a stripped down version that uses colours to determine which Google Drive folder ID should be selected from the Config sheet for the script to proceed. I have another example of the 'switch' process in this blog post on getting a weekday name from a date.

Screenshot of Google Form question

Bulk change ownership of Google Drive items

The following Google Apps Script is designed to bulk transfer ownership of Google Drive files/folders by iterating through them. It gets the current owner and compares that to the new designated owner before making the change. This particular example will retain the previous owner as an editor of the item.

 

Update 08/03/2023

Unfortunately this tool no longer appears to work for Consumer accounts, only Workspace ones, due to changes in a user needing to accept a request to transfer ownership. Stack Overflow page with some further details.

Screenshot of transfer tool requirements