标签：#Apps

Originally written for bulldo.gs — republished here with the canonical link pointing home. I'm running a script that processes a large spreadsheet and it keeps dying with "Exceeded maximum execution time" before it finishes. // Checkpoint-resume pattern for long-running sheet jobs function processInBatches () { var props = PropertiesService . getScriptProperties (); var startRow = parseInt ( props . getProperty ( ' lastRow ' ) || ' 2 ' , 10 ); var sheet = SpreadsheetApp . getActiveSpreadsheet (). getActiveSheet (); var lastDataRow = sheet . getLastRow (); var BATCH = 200 ; var SAFE_MS = 5 * 60 * 1000 ; var started = Date . now (); var endRow = Math . min ( startRow + BATCH - 1 , lastDataRow ); var data = sheet . getRange ( startRow , 1 , endRow - startRow + 1 , 5 ). getValues (); for ( var i = 0 ; i < data . length ; i ++ ) { if ( Date . now () - started > SAFE_MS ) { props . setProperty ( ' lastRow ' , String ( startRow + i )); return ; } // process data[i] here } if ( endRow >= lastDataRow ) { props . deleteProperty ( ' lastRow ' ); deleteTrigger_ (); } else { props . setProperty ( ' lastRow ' , String ( endRow + 1 )); } } The 6-minute wall is per-execution, not per-task Apps Script enforces a hard 6-minute execution time limit per run, regardless of whether you're on a free account or a Workspace account (which bumps the limit to 30 minutes, but the same cliff exists). The error doesn't mean your logic is wrong; it means one continuous call to your function took too long. The fix is to stop thinking of your job as a single execution and start thinking of it as a pipeline of short runs. The first time I hit this, I wasted an afternoon trying to speed up the loop. Marginal gains didn't move the needle because the data volume was the real problem — 4,000 rows at one Sheets API call per row will always breach 6 minutes. The correct frame is: how do I save where I stopped and pick up there next run? Saving and restoring a cursor with PropertiesService PropertiesServic

Originally written for bulldo.gs — republished here with the canonical link pointing home. I want to programmatically combine several Google Docs into one file without losing tables or list formatting. // Merges all source docs into destDocId, in order. // Run from the Apps Script editor; no triggers needed. function mergeDocs () { var sourceIds = [ ' DOC_ID_ONE ' , ' DOC_ID_TWO ' , ' DOC_ID_THREE ' ]; var dest = DocumentApp . openById ( ' DEST_DOC_ID ' ). getBody (); for ( var i = 0 ; i < sourceIds . length ; i ++ ) { var srcBody = DocumentApp . openById ( sourceIds [ i ]). getBody (); var total = srcBody . getNumChildren (); for ( var j = 0 ; j < total ; j ++ ) { var el = srcBody . getChild ( j ); var type = el . getType (); if ( type === DocumentApp . ElementType . PARAGRAPH ) { dest . appendParagraph ( el . asParagraph (). copy ()); } else if ( type === DocumentApp . ElementType . TABLE ) { dest . appendTable ( el . asTable (). copy ()); } else if ( type === DocumentApp . ElementType . LIST_ITEM ) { dest . appendListItem ( el . asListItem (). copy ()); } } } } Why there is no single appendElement call The Document service in Apps Script does not expose a generic appendElement method on Body . Every element type has its own typed append method: appendParagraph , appendTable , appendListItem , and so on. That means a merge loop that ignores element types will throw TypeError: el.copy is not a function the moment it hits a table, because you would be passing an Element where the API expects a Table . The fix is to call getType() on each child element and switch on DocumentApp.ElementType . The type enum values are strings like PARAGRAPH , TABLE , LIST_ITEM , INLINE_IMAGE , and HORIZONTAL_RULE . In practice the first three account for almost all real document content. The code above handles those three and silently skips anything else (images, rules) rather than crashing the entire merge. Getting the doc IDs and running the script The ID for any Google Doc is the lo

Originally written for bulldo.gs — republished here with the canonical link pointing home. I want to pull live JSON data from an API endpoint directly into a Google Sheet without installing an add-on. // Fetch JSON from an API and write it to the active sheet // Adjust API_URL and the field list to match your endpoint function importJsonFromApi () { var API_URL = ' https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users ' ; var sheet = SpreadsheetApp . getActiveSpreadsheet (). getActiveSheet (); var response = UrlFetchApp . fetch ( API_URL ); var raw = response . getContentText (); var data = JSON . parse ( raw ); var headers = [ ' id ' , ' name ' , ' username ' , ' email ' , ' phone ' ]; var rows = data . map ( function ( obj ) { return headers . map ( function ( key ) { return obj [ key ] || '' ; }); }); sheet . clearContents (); sheet . getRange ( 1 , 1 , 1 , headers . length ). setValues ([ headers ]); sheet . getRange ( 2 , 1 , rows . length , headers . length ). setValues ( rows ); } Why getContentText() comes before JSON.parse UrlFetchApp.fetch() returns an HTTPResponse object, not a string. The first time I skipped getContentText() and passed the response object directly to JSON.parse(), it silently parsed to null and the sheet wrote nothing. You need raw = response.getContentText() to get the actual body as a string, then JSON.parse(raw) turns it into a JavaScript object or array. The URL must be publicly accessible or accept an API key via a query parameter or Authorization header. Add headers like this: UrlFetchApp.fetch(url, { headers: { Authorization: 'Bearer ' + token } }). Apps Script's UrlFetchApp quota is 20,000 calls per day on a free Google account, 100,000 on Workspace. The rectangular array constraint — why setValues fails without mapping setValues() is strict: it requires a 2D array where every row has the same number of columns. If you hand it an array of plain JSON objects, it throws 'The number of rows or columns in the range does not match the number of

Originally written for bulldo.gs — republished here with the canonical link pointing home. I have a spreadsheet of names and email addresses and I want to send each person a personalized message from my Gmail account without copy-pasting or using a paid tool. // Mail merge: Sheet cols A=Name, B=Email, C=Sent // Run from Apps Script; authorize Gmail + Sheets scopes function sendMerge () { var sheet = SpreadsheetApp . getActiveSheet (); var rows = sheet . getDataRange (). getValues (); var quota = MailApp . getRemainingDailyQuota (); var sent = 0 ; for ( var i = 1 ; i < rows . length ; i ++ ) { if ( rows [ i ][ 2 ] === ' Sent ' ) continue ; if ( sent >= quota ) { Logger . log ( ' Quota reached at row ' + ( i + 1 )); break ; } var name = rows [ i ][ 0 ]; var email = rows [ i ][ 1 ]; var subject = ' Hey ' + name + ' , here is your update ' ; var body = ' Hi ' + name + ' , \n\n Your personalized content goes here. \n\n Thanks ' ; MailApp . sendEmail ( email , subject , body ); sheet . getRange ( i + 1 , 3 ). setValue ( ' Sent ' ); sent ++ ; } } Set up your sheet and open the script editor Put names in column A, email addresses in column B, and leave column C blank — the script writes 'Sent' there as it goes. Header row in row 1 is assumed; the loop starts at index 1 (row 2) to skip it. Open the script editor from Extensions > Apps Script, paste the function, and save. The first time you run sendMerge() Google will ask you to authorize two scopes: Sheets (read/write the active spreadsheet) and Gmail (send mail on your behalf). Both are required. If you only see a Sheets prompt, delete the file and re-paste — a cached partial authorization sometimes skips the Gmail scope on older script files. Why the Sent column is the whole point Consumer Google accounts cap at roughly 100 outgoing recipients per 24-hour rolling window via MailApp. If your list has 200 rows and you run the script at 11 pm, it will send 100 and log 'Quota reached at row 101'. Without the Sent check, a sec

Originally written for bulldo.gs — republished here with the canonical link pointing home. I have a Google Sheet with duplicate rows and I want to remove them programmatically, either on demand or on a schedule, without destroying the rest of my data. // removeDuplicates.gs — dedup active sheet, keep first occurrence // Run from Extensions > Apps Script, or bind to a trigger. function removeDuplicateRows () { var sheet = SpreadsheetApp . getActiveSheet (); var data = sheet . getDataRange (). getValues (); var seen = new Set (); var unique = []; for ( var i = 0 ; i < data . length ; i ++ ) { var key = data [ i ]. join ( ' | ' ); if ( ! seen . has ( key )) { seen . add ( key ); unique . push ( data [ i ]); } } sheet . clearContents (); sheet . getRange ( 1 , 1 , unique . length , unique [ 0 ]. length ). setValues ( unique ); } Why rewrite instead of delete The instinct when deduplicating is to loop through the sheet and call deleteRow on each duplicate. That works, but it has a sharp edge: every call to deleteRow shifts all rows below it up by one. If you delete row 3, what was row 4 is now row 3, and your loop index is already pointing at the new row 4. The safe workaround people reach for is iterating bottom-to-top, which works but means holding the full duplicate set in memory anyway, making one API call per deleted row. The approach here sidesteps the problem entirely. Read everything once with getDataRange().getValues() — a single API call that returns a 2D array. Build the deduplicated array in JavaScript using a Set to track which row fingerprints you have already seen. Then clear the sheet and write the result back with one setValues call. Two API calls total, regardless of how many duplicates you had. For a 10,000-row sheet, this is the difference between a script that finishes in two seconds and one that times out at the six-minute Apps Script execution limit. The row key is built with data[i].join('|'). The pipe character works as a separator in practice; i

Equal AI said that its AI-powered call assistant now has over a million monthly active users.

Bluesky's latest feature is group chats, arriving amid a shift in focus on building features for smaller communities.

By integrating an AI assistant directly into Edits, Meta is aiming to keep creators engaged on Instagram as it continues to compete with TikTok and YouTube for creators' attention.

Coinbase's agent can use x402 protocol to get access to data and APIs.

Deezer introduced a tool that scans playlists from Spotify, Apple Music, and other platforms to identify AI music.

Australia was the first country to issue a ban in late 2025, aiming to reduce the pressures and risks that young users may face on social media, including cyberbullying, social media addiction, and exposure to predators.

Pool's new app automatically sorts screenshots into personalized collections, tracks down the original links behind saved content, and helps you rediscover products, recipes, travel ideas, and other things you meant to revisit.

The Weather Company announced an "enhanced allergy experience" now available through its The Weather Channel app designed to help allergy sufferers better understand when their symptoms might flare up, and what's causing them. While the app already provides static pollen counts, its "Health & Wellness" section is being expanded to take into account other factors […]

The new chatbot, called Ask DoorDash, allows users to search the app for what they're looking for in their own words instead of having to scroll through restaurants and stores to build a cart.

Instagram has expanded its algorithm personalization features to its main feed.

The media giant is pushing to expand its mobile and gaming business.

Backed by Alexis Ohanian’s 776 and Kindred Ventures, Zest uses transaction data and AI to generate restaurant recommendations based on users’ real dining habits and the places they frequent.

Pinterest is adding support for Amazon Storefronts, allowing creators to earn affiliate commissions more easily while showcasing their product recommendations in one place.

Users under 16 years old will get a separate profile to show Stories and Spotlight posts to friends that they follow back.

Apple may begin removing existing apps that it considers stale, low-value, or unable to attract users.