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H: VLOOKUP problem with value from =arrayformula(iferror(regexextract
I'm trying to use VLOOKUP to pull data from one tab in a Google Sheets workbook into another tab. The VLOOKUP formula works if the value being searched for is 100103, but not the cell reference G2 (which displays 100103).
Formula In G2
=arrayformula(iferror(regexextract(regexextract(F2:F, "ID#\d+"), "\d+")))
Shared Copy Of Original Google Sheet
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LNiRPoi-3ZtViIL8JhJ_Qd2jo3XUEpfMLwlmlOz1jTs/edit#gid=895445914
VLOOKUP Formula Being Used
=VLOOKUP($G2,workshops!$E:$K,2, FALSE)
Error Received
Error
Did not find value '100103' in VLOOKUP evaluation.
Google Product Forum Post
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/docs/MLv28H7msmw
The user is experiencing a similar problem. They received a solution, but not an explanation of the solution. As a result, I'm not sure how to adjust my formula(s).
Any ideas how to solve this?
AI: There is a difference between the string of characters "100103" and the number 100103. Your workshops tab contains numbers. regexextract returns a string. To make things work, convert string to number using value after regexextract:
=arrayformula(iferror(value(regexextract(regexextract(F2:F, "ID#\d+"), "\d+")))) |
H: Trello to quickly move a card to top of another list?
When we use Move action to move a card to a list, the card is placed at the bottom of the list. I want to place the card on top after moved. How to do that?
p.s.
My google search lead me to trello guide for this issue though cannot find the content for my move on top need.
AI: There are two things you can do
Click move, then specify the position of the card in the destination list
The other thing you can do is to temporarily move the card to another list so that the card is visible on your screen. Then scroll to the top of your destination list. Then move the card from it's temporary spot to the top of your destination list. |
H: Delete all content from Google Photos
I've got 40GB of photos from my old Picasa Web Albums service and now I've just cancelled my storage plan.
Is there any way to remove all the photos and albums?
I searched a lot and I have no clue how to do it, I'm not going to delete near 400 albums individually, and obviously, not paying again for the storage plan.
I remember old days when google-cli was able to do this kind of stuff, but sadly it seems abandoned.
AI: In a browser go to photos.google.com
Select Photos from the left side menu
Hover over your first photo and then click the checkmark that appears to select it
Grab the scroll bar on the right and go all the way down to your last photo
Holding down the Shift key select the last photo in the bottom right
Click the Trashcan icon
I tested all of the steps except the last one as I don't actually want to delete all my photos. :) |
H: Upload images to Google Photos in high (not original) quality from the web
Google Photos features two storage classes:
High quality - Unlimited free storage.
Original - Limited free storage
My phone backup mode is set to High Quality, so I have no space problems with it. However, when I upload images from the web console, they are kept in their Original quality.
Is there a way to upload images to Google Photos via the web interface in High, not Original, quality?
P.S., Google Photos allows me to compress the uploaded images after they have been uploaded, but I'm looking for a way to automate the process, rather than remembering to compress after I upload.
AI: In Settings, you can set whether web uploads are "High Quality" or "Original". |
H: How do I change the language in Office 365's Outlook?
I'm trying to change the language of my Outlook/Office 365.
At the moment my version of the site is in both French and English and I am trying to make it all English.
In the Settings right-side pane, I have tried to change the language by searching for "language" and then changed it to English, but several parts are still in French.
I have tried restarting the computer and the browser fruitlessly. And this doesn't work (when I click on the black on white default avatar seen on the previous screenshot and then my name, nothing happens, my name isn't a link).
Also, I am in the USA so I don't think this is a geographic-related language setting.
AI: If you directly select the "Mail" item on the "Settings" panel the mail "Options" panel will open on the left side of the browser.
On the "Options" side panel dive into "Region and time zone" settings under the "General" group. On this page you'll see an extra checkbox which reads as "Rename default folders so their names match the specified language". I haven't tried to change my own language setting by using this checkbox but my guess is that this is the correct setting to solve your problem. |
H: Make cell "flash" onOpen rather than onEdit
I need a Google sheets script which will make the background color of a cell flash. Currently I have a script which works fine, but onEdit. It would be far better in this case if the script could work onOpen, as I need the users attention to be drawn to a specific cell when they first open the sheet.
The sheet name is LBACC17, and the cell I need to flash (Change background colors) is K3.
I have very little scripting knowledge.
Here's the script I have now which works onEdit, which needs the code changing so will work onOpen...
function onEdit(e)
{
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var mysheet = ss.getSheetByName("LBACC17");
var activeCell = ss.getActiveCell().getA1Notation();
if( activeCell == "K2" )
{
for(var i=0;i<50;i++)
{
if( i%2 == 0 )
mysheet.getRange("K3").setBackground("RED");
else
mysheet.getRange("K3").setBackground("WHITE");
SpreadsheetApp.flush();
Utilities.sleep(500);
}
}
}
AI: The necessary changes are: replace onEdit with onOpen, and eliminate the check if( activeCell == "K2" ) as the script is no longer about the active cell.
I also shortened the script by replacing the inner conditional statement with a ternary operator.
function onOpen() {
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var mysheet = ss.getSheetByName("LBACC17");
var cell = mysheet.getRange("K3");
for (var i = 0; i < 50; i++) {
cell.setBackground(i % 2 ? "WHITE" : "RED");
SpreadsheetApp.flush();
Utilities.sleep(500);
}
} |
H: How can I automatically forward Gmail emails when a label is applied?
Within Gmail, is there any way to automatically forward an email when I apply a label?
Gmail filters appear to only work with new emails. For my needs, applying the label is a manual process after the email was received.
AI: Here is an Apps Script solution. Save it, changing the label and recipient, and set a trigger to run this function every 5 minutes.
It searches for threads with the given label that were created after the last time the script ran. In each, it forwards the first message to the given address.
function autoForward() {
var label = 'forwardthis';
var recipient = 'forward@gmail.com';
var interval = 5; // if the script runs every 5 minutes; change otherwise
var date = new Date();
var timeFrom = Math.floor(date.valueOf()/1000) - 60 * interval;
var threads = GmailApp.search('label:' + label + ' after:' + timeFrom);
for (var i = 0; i < threads.length; i++) {
threads[i].getMessages()[0].forward(recipient); // only the 1st message
}
}
I add some variations, replacing the line with "only the 1st message":
Forward every message in the thread
var messages = threads[i].getMessages();
for (var j = 0; j < messages.length; j++) {
messages[j].forward(recipient);
}
Forward the last message in the thread
var messages = threads[i].getMessages();
messages[messages.length - 1].forward(recipient); |
H: Run Google Apps Scripts locally to process spreadsheet data
I have a spreadsheet that needs to make many hundreds of calls to functions I've written in JavaScript in the Google script editor, to fill many hundreds of cells.
The problem is I get the error that I should use utilities.sleep(1000) because of calls being too frequent. But then the spreadsheet would take an hour to update each time I change a value!
I'm guessing it makes a round trip to the server for each call. In that case, I could write a wrapper function that calculates everything in one go which returns the results for all cells. But is there an easier solution which simply runs the code from the PC? Otherwise it's barely worth using the spreadsheet in the first place.
(It's just doing a bunch of calculations with data passed to it from the spreadsheet; it's not fetching stuff from URLs or other resources.)
For example, I might have 4 columns, each with 500 rows. The left most would simply be numbering from 1 to 500. Then all 500 cells of the other three columns might call formulas such as:
Row 5:
Column 2: =col2_myfunc(A5)
Column 3: =col3_myfunc(A5, B5)
Column 4: =col4_myfunc(A5, B5, C5)
Then the code might look like this:
function col2_myfunc(input)
{
// It only processes data provided in the arguments, and
// the only data this function returns is used.
// The actual functions I'd use would be more complicated
// so unlike this one, would not be suitable for directly inputting
// into a cell.
return (Math.tan(input % 10) / 3 > 1) ? Math.sin(input) : Math.pow(input, 3);
}
The HTML page idea suggested by Ruben sounds perfect - what would be the steps needed to implement the above?
AI: Apps Script code is executed on Google servers. There is no way to run it locally.
calculates everything in one go which returns the results for all cells
This is probably what you should do, based on pretty vague description in the post. If you have calls to methods like setValue within a loop that runs many times, that should be changed to array manipulation. |
H: Plot a smooth function within a line chart based on data points
I need to draw a chart in Google Sheets that has:
A regular line plot with x/y points from a table
Superimposed, with a different scale, and limited to an interval horizontally, a function such as sin(x) or something more complicated.
Is there a way of doing this, other than, say, having a very large table of 100+ points to make sure the function is drawn smoothly?
I am happy to use a bit of JavaScript, but I obviously want a quick way of doing this with minimal code.
AI: Two line plots with data like (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) are superimposed in a chart by arranging the data in three columns as follows:
x1 | y1 |
x2 | | y2
There does not seem to be a way to smoothen only one of two lines in a chart. So yes, this means that the smooth curve will require many data points. But they can be generated with one formula, for example the following yields a plot of y = 3+2*sin(x) on the interval from 2 to 7 using the step size of 0.1 (so, 50 plot points):
=arrayformula({2+(row(Z1:Z50)-1)/10, iferror(Z1:Z50/0), 3+2*sin(2+(row(Z1:Z50)-1)/10)})
Here, row(Z1:Z50) is just a way to produce numbers 1..50. These are rescaled to fit in 2..7 by the first formula, and the same is plugged into the function in the third formula. The second is a way to make an empty column in the middle, so that the data goes in two non-consecutive columns. (This would not be necessary if the smooth chart was the one with data in consecutive columns, like x1,y1 above). The resulting line chart, using the first column as labels:
The blue line comes from numeric data (below), placed above that arrayformula.
0 3
1 1
2 4
3 1
4 5
5 9
6 2
7 6
8 5
9 3 |
H: How can I duplicate two cells from a column to rows in a particular order
I would like to duplicate the cells from a column in a certain order. The cells in the column are dates.
As an example:
2014-12-16
2014-12-23
2015-1-23
2015-2-03
2015-2-18
2015-3-11
My goal is to take the first date cell, copy it into another row in the same spreadsheet and then take the second date cell and copy it next to the first copied cell. Then duplicate the second cell (from the first row) into the first cell of the second row and then take third date cell and put it to the second cell of the second row. The result should look like this:
Column 1 Column 2
Row A 2014-12-16 2014-12-23
Row B 2014-12-23 2015-1-23
Row C 2015-1-23 2015-2-03
So the next rows (D and E) in this case should be:
2015-2-03 2015-2-18
2015-2-18 2015-3-11
I have a lot of cells so I am looking for some efficient way on how to do it.
What I have tried:
Trans copy (selected cells are copied into rows from the column). But that does not solve my problem.
AI: This can be done with a single array formula such as
={A1:A5, A2:A6}
(assuming the dates you've shown are in the range A1:A6).
If you expect more dates to be added, and don't want to specify the last row, then two separate arrayformulas should be used for two columns: ={A1:A} and ={A2:A}. |
H: How can I change multiple files and submit them in one pull request on GitHub?
I used GitHub's web interface to commit changes to multiple files. For each file, a new pull request has been created:
Does the web interface allow to merge multiple requests so that I can submit all changes in just one request?
AI: If you don't want to think about branches, do the following:
Fork the repository using the Fork button.
Make your changes to your fork (there will be a commit for each file changed, made by default to the master branch).
When you're done, create a pull request using the button "Compare and pull request". The user will get one PR with several commits in it, which is not unusual. They will be able to review all changes at once.
If you want to think about branches... generally, one doesn't commit provisional changes directly to master branch, so that changes can be disregarded easily by deleting the branch. This is why GitHub automatically creates a branch such as patch-1 in your forked repository when you try to edit a file that you can't edit directly.
You can create a "patch" branch yourself, in the forked repository. Or you can take advantage of GitHub's automatic branching and keep the commits in one pull request as follows.
Make the first change by using the edit icon in another user's repository. This creates a fork of repository, and in it a branch such as patch-1. Do not create pull request yet.
Go to the list of repositories in your profile, go to the forked repository you've just made, and switch to patch-1 branch. Continue making changes. When you are done, click "Compare & pull request". |
H: How to know who edited a Google Sheet anonymously?
Is there any way I can find who edited a Google Sheet anonymously?
I have shared a Google Sheet with a group of users using a link but it was edited by an anonymous user.
I want to know is there any way I can get the IP address or any other detail of the anonymous user based on time they edited it?
AI: That is not possible. Being able to edit something anonymously means others won't know who you are. If Google disclosed the IP of a user to a 3rd party (without a subpoena or such), that would be a privacy violation on Google's part.
The most you can do now is to undo any damage using revision history.
If you want to know who edits your shared files, don't share them as "Anyone with a link can edit". Share them with specific people: |
H: Link Windows installer through bit.ly?
I have released a Windows installer as open-source software (it is a well-known software with peer-reviewed article in scientific journal) and wanted to get some download metrics with bit.ly service, to see how it goes. My exe is on my dropbox account, since I don't have the money or support to buy hosting for this thing.
When I test the Windows link it redirects me to a page
Stop - there might be a problem with the requested link
The link you requested has been identified by bitly as being potentially problematic. This could be because a bitly user has reported a problem, a black-list service reported a problem, because the link has been shortened more than once, or because we have detected potentially malicious content. This may be a problem because:
Some URL-shorteners re-use their links, so bitly can't guarantee the validity of this link.
Some URL-shorteners allow their links to be edited, so bitly can't tell where this link will lead you.
Spam and malware is very often propagated by exploiting these loopholes, neither of which bitly allows for.
The link you requested may contain inappropriate content, or even spam or malicious code that could be downloaded to your computer without your consent, or may be a forgery or imitation of another website, designed to trick users into sharing personal or financial information.
bitly suggests that you
Change the original link, and re-shorten with bitly
Close your browser window
Notify the sender of the URL
Or, continue at your own risk
I have scanned my installer through the JOTTI virus scan and no anti-virus reports a even a single warning, my file is clean. I couldn't find any reference on how to solve this problem.
Is there any way to link an installer through bit.ly?
Is there anything else I can check?
AI: Looks like what you are trying to do is considered suspicious activity by bitly. This seems to be related to you using two different unrelated services (Dropbox and Bitly). I don't think there is an "I'm an honest person" checkbox that you could mark to solve this.
Suggestions:
Try another shortener, such as goo.gl (which also provides click analytics).
If the problem persists, try a hosting & analytics combination from the same company (Google Drive and goo.gl, for example). |
H: Output the entries of one column that are not in another, preserving their row positions
I want for the entries from column A that are not in column C to show up in column E, in the same row as they were originally.
I obtained code for a matching function from Stack Overflow, stated below. It also looks at columns A and C, and the ones from column A that are not in column C will show up in E. However, they are shown consecutively, not on the same row.
function onOpen() {
SpreadsheetApp.getUi().createMenu("CD Report")
.addItem("Agreement Report", "agreementReport")
.addToUi();
}
function agreementReport(){
var as = SpreadsheetApp.getActive();
var sheet = as.getSheetByName("15-16 1:1 agreement");
var handedIn = sheet.getSheetValues(2, 1, sheet.getLastRow(), 1);
var stuNames = sheet.getSheetValues(2, 3, sheet.getLastRow(), 1);
var list = [];
for (i in stuNames){
var curName = stuNames[i][0];
var exists = false;
for (j in handedIn){
var curCheck = handedIn[j][0];
if (curCheck == curName){
exists = true;
break;
}
} // end for j
if (exists == false){
list.push([curName]);
}
} // end for i
sheet.getRange(2, 5, list.length, 1).setValues(list);
} // end agreementReport
AI: You don't need a script for this version of the task: one formula in the cell E1 does the job.
=arrayformula(if(isna(match(A:A, C:C, 0)), A:A, iferror(A:A/0)))
This says: if the value of A is not in C (that is, match returns #N/A!), then use the value from A. Otherwise, leave blank (this is what iferror(A:A/0) does).
The script you have can also be used with the following modification: replace the lines
if (exists == false){
list.push([curName]);
}
by
list.push([exists ? "" : curName]); |
H: What's the difference between replying to someone else and forward in Inbox / Gmail?
This is about Google Inbox / Gmail.
When someone sends me a mail, and I wish to forward it to a third person, does it make any difference if, instead of forwarding it, I press reply, empty the To and CC fields, and then add the ID of the person I want to send it to?
In both cases:
The mail I send is threaded in the same conversation.
The recipient of my mail can't reply to the others in the thread (only to me).
The sender or people CC'ed in the original discussion don't know that I've shared the information with a third person.
So, it looks like there's no difference between reply and forward. Correct?
AI: No, there really isn't much difference. The main feature of "reply" is that it auto-populates the "to:" field (and sometimes the "cc:" field, if you've chosen "reply all") for you.
(The reply-to: header is used, if it exists.)
There may be some differences in the headers that some email clients might pick up on, but Gmail (and, by extension, Inbox) doesn't. As you've noticed, it keeps both replies and forwards in the same conversation. |
H: How can I search Gmail for password-protected PDFs?
I'm looking for an attachment that happens to be a password-protected PDF file (you need to type the password to open it). Is there a way to search Gmail for such files?
AI: You can search for PDF attachments, certainly. But Gmail has no idea whether a PDF is password-protected or not.
Searching for
filename:pdf has:attachment
should return all of your conversations with a PDF attachment.
If the sender mentioned that it was password-protected in the body of the message, this might be helpful:
filename:pdf has:attachment password |
H: Google Sheets Filter Conditions from List
Context:
I have a huge spread-sheet such that rows/records are considered "jobs," where columns are aspects of the job like location. One such column P, titled File-Name, that lists the pdf-file-names of invoices. This contains duplicates as some jobs are combined into one invoice. EX: 6022.pdf
I have another spread-sheet, Invoice Submission Summary, whose only purpose is to behave as a report to grab information from the Jobs-spread-sheet.
The way I go about doing this is by obtaining a list of all the file-names of invoices in the invoice-folder on my Windows computer. Then pasting them into a range on the Invoice Submission Summary spread-sheet (a separate spreadsheet from the jobs one). I then use a filter-formula that uses the pasted-range as criteria for the P column in the Jobs-spread-sheet.
Problem:
In the Invoice Submission Summary spread-sheet I have to reference every cell individually in the pasted pdf invoice-name range inside of the filter formula. ( Because of this it is 1800+ characters long now and it's also very slow.
Goal:
I want to rewrite the formula to be less complex, and not require to be updated every time I paste a longer list. Or find an alternative way to accomplish generating a report for printing purposes from a different spread-sheet.
AI: To filter based on comparison against a large array, I would put that array into the spreadsheet (say, column Z, or somewhere on another sheet) and then use the filter based on match function:
=filter(A2:P, match(P2:P, Z1:Z, 0))
Here, match returns a positive number when a cell value is found in column Z, and returns #N/A! otherwise. The filter interprets positive numbers as "yes, keep this row" and errors as "no, do not keep". |
H: Shorten several URLs in Google Sheets when they are not placed consecutively
I am using the following code to change my long urls to goo.gl urls. It works perfectly, except, the code breaks if the cells are not all in order. Example: I can get the shortened urls (all at once) for cells 1, 2, 3, 4...but not if I select cells 2 and 4. I get the message "Invalid Value".
Can anyone help me figure out the code I need to make it work for various cells? All of my long URLs are in one column, but not every cell has a url. Hope that makes sense.
function onOpen() {
var ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi()
ui.createMenu('Get Goo.gl Url')
.addItem('Go !!','rangeShort')
.addToUi()
}
function rangeShort() {
var range = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveRange(), data = range.getValues();
var output = [];
for(var i = 0, iLen = data.length; i < iLen; i++) {
var url = UrlShortener.Url.insert({longUrl: data[i][0]});
output.push([url.id]);
}
range.offset(0,0).setValues(output);
}
AI: It seems you want the script to ignore whatever blank cells might be within the range, rather than throwing an error on them. Here is a modification to rangeShort function that achieves this: it adds a condition if (data[i][0]) which will fail on empty cells, and then for those cells output.push(['']); is used instead of calling the shortener.
function rangeShort() {
var range = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveRange(), data = range.getValues();
var output = [];
for (var i = 0, iLen = data.length; i < iLen; i++) {
if (data[i][0]) {
var url = UrlShortener.Url.insert({longUrl: data[i][0]});
output.push([url.id]);
}
else {
output.push(['']);
}
}
range.offset(0,0).setValues(output);
} |
H: Is it possible to show dynamic information in a Google Form based on a previous response?
I set up a form to specify the location of household appliances in a residence. The form is based on a unique code assigned to each household. (it's working properly)
To avoid entry errors, I would like that, once the unique code is entered, the user can see the detail of the device before confirming the new location.
The information is present in the associated Google spreadsheet, is it possible via a Google script to show it directly in the Form page?
Example:
Question 1: Select ID: E000025
-> Display: You're moving the SAMSUNG 32 "TV BLACK
Question 2: Select the new location: Apartment 200
AI: Short answer
No, it's not possible.
Explanation
At this time Google Apps Script doesn't include a way to modify a form when a user open it to respond. An alternative is to use Google Apps Script to create a web app.
References
https://developers.google.com/apps-script/reference/forms/
https://developers.google.com/apps-script/guides/triggers/
https://developers.google.com/apps-script/guides/web |
H: Set Header row range as Array of header names in Google Sheets
I want to set the header row range as an array of header names.
In VBA I would write myArray = myRange.Value where myRange would be the range of the headers in row 1.
I am trying:
var sSheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getSheetByName('ShtName');
var Range = sSheet.getRange(1, 1, 1, sSheet.getLastColumn());
var Values = []
var Values = Range.getValues();
But Values does not seem to be an Array.
AI: The method getValues returns a double array: for example, [[1, 2], [3, 4]] where 1, 2 is the first row of the range and 3, 4 is the second. This applies even if the range has just one row: the output will be [[1, 2]].
So, in your setup you would use Values[0] as the array of headers. The headers are Values[0][0], Values[0][1], and so on. |
H: A spreadsheet column with the last modified date of files in a Google Drive folder
I am creating a spreadsheet with a list of procedures and instructions that are currently scattered in a shared Google Drive folder. I am planning to make a column that would show the last modified date of the file. I am aware that documents show a timestamp of the last modification and you can easily check it while in the folder.
RichGonzalez together with OnenOnlyWalter had posted something (Auto-updating column in Google Spreadsheet showing last modify date) that seems similar to my problem but I have just recently started learning C++ and coding is still kind of a mystery for me so I am not sure how to implement this in my case.
Is it possible to create an auto-updating column in a Google Sheets that could suck up the last modified date directly from the document?
AI: Here is a script that pulls all file names and last-updated from timestamps from a given folder, sorting files by their names.
The folder is specified by its Id, which is what you see at the end of folder URL after drive.google.com/drive/folders/
The logic of the script is simple: files is an iterator for all files in the folder, from which the files are pulled out. Then the output array is sorted and placed in the current sheet, starting with the cell A2 (that is, row 2 column 1 in getRange method).
function files() {
var folderId = 'enter folder Id here';
var folder = DriveApp.getFolderById(folderId);
var files = folder.getFiles();
var output = [];
while (files.hasNext()) {
var file = files.next();
output.push([file.getName(), file.getLastUpdated()]);
}
output.sort(function(a, b) {
return a[0] == b[0] ? 0 : a[0] < b[0] ? -1 : 1;
});
SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet().getRange(2, 1, output.length, output[0].length).setValues(output);
} |
H: Human readable duration values on Google Spreadsheet
I'd like to have a column where I can enter a human readable duration that is not ambiguous (to users who don't know the spreadsheet).
I'd like to use the follow format:
1m
2h 50m
20s
20sec
There is no need for more units (minutes, hours and seconds are fine).
If I select duration under Format -> Numbers, I can only enter durations like this: hh:mm:ss, which is not as readable as 1m or 2h 50m.
Is there a way to add this custom format and apply functions such as SUM on it?
AI: There are two parts to the story: formatting cells and interpreting input.
Formatting
You can impose the format like 1h 23m 45s by going to "Format > More formats > More date and time formats" and selecting the following:
To achieve this, use the dropdown in the box to select the appropriate fields, and enter the letters h m s manually. "Elapsed" in the leading field means it's a duration, not a datetime.
The result:
However, durations under 1 hour will be displayed as 0h 23m 0s or 0h 0m 10s; the zeros do not get dropped.
Interpreting input
To have text input such as "2h 30m" or "12m 45s" converted to duration when entered, one needs a script. Here it is: enter it in Script Editor found under Tools, and save.
function onEdit(e) {
var value = e.value;
if (typeof value == 'string') {
var match = value.match(/(\d+) ?h/i);
var hours = match ? match[1] : 0;
match = value.match(/(\d+) ?m/i);
var minutes = match ? match[1] : 0;
match = value.match(/(\d+) ?s/i);
var seconds = match ? match[1] : 0;
if (hours || minutes || seconds) {
var duration = hours/24 + minutes/1440 + seconds/86400;
e.range.setValue(duration).setNumberFormat('[h]"h "m"m "s"s"');
}
}
}
The script parses text input, extracting hours, minutes, and seconds if available. It then calculates the duration and formats the cell in the way described above.
If using this script, you probably will not have to format any cells manually: the functions like =sum tend to inherit format from the cells being summed. |
H: How to host a Blogger.com blog on my domain's directory?
How can I host a Blogger blog on my domain's directory?
For example domain.com/blog, instead of blog.domain.com or blog.com.
I have looked everywhere but it seems for Blogger it is only possible to host on the main domain or on a sub-domain.
AI: I am afraid you are correct when mentioning that:
...it seems for Blogger it is only possible to host on the main domain or on a sub-domain.
To do it otherwise it would require an edit to their .htaccess file or their database which is most unlikely to happen.
Changing the CNAME records can only give you a main domain or sub-domain at the very best.
If you look around though, you may find some possibly outdated as well as not so reliable solutions that you could try. |
H: Reverse sort array of numbers then delete columns in array Google App Script
If I understand, if have (I get arr dynamically)
var arr = [7,2,5,1] and I sort it arr.Sort() I get [1,2,5,7]
How do I reverse sort it so I get [7,5,2,1]
function DeleteColsInList() {
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var Sheet = ss.getSheetByName('ShtName')
var arr= [7,2,5,1];
// reverse sort here so I can delete columns in proper order highest to lowest
var arrSort =arr.sort()
for (var i = 0, length = arrSort.length; i < length; i++) {
Sheet.deleteColumns(arrSort[i]);
}
}
UpDated:
function DeleteColsInList() {
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var Sheet = ss.getSheetByName('ShtName')
var arr= [7,2,5,1];
// reverse sort here so I can delete columns in proper order highest to lowest
arr.Reverse()
for (var i = 0, length = arrSort.length; i < length; i++) {
Sheet.deleteColumns(arr[i] + 1);
}
}
AI: You can probably do this:
var arrSort =arr.sort();
arrSort.reverse();
I think you can even chain them:
var arrSort = arr.sort().reverse();
Per the comments, even that's more verbose than necessary. You can just do
arr.sort().reverse()
on your original array object.
(h/t to red red wine) |
H: Date() in Google Apps Script does not include the current time
I am currently using the following code in Google scripts, but it only displays the date.
How can I add the hh:mm:ss to the value when I type "_now"?
function onEdit(e) {
if (e.range.getValue() == "_now") {
e.range.setValue(new Date());
}
}
AI: The script actually does set both date and time. The reason you don't see it is that the cell is formatted to show only the date.
You can either change its format manually, or do it within the script:
function onEdit(e) {
if (e.range.getValue() == "_now") {
e.range.setValue(new Date()).setNumberFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss");
}
}
if you want the ISO standard 2016-12-25, or
function onEdit(e) {
if (e.range.getValue() == "_now") {
e.range.setValue(new Date()).setNumberFormat("MM/dd/yyyy HH:mm:ss");
}
}
if you prefer 12/25/2016 instead. |
H: Is there a way to control whose news feeds my likes, comments, and photos I'm tagged in, appear on?
There are some pages that I really like following, because I feel that they make quality posts, and I want to help them out by liking their posts. However, I do not wish my friends to see that I have liked their posts.
I understand that friends will be able to see the posts themselves and thus see that I have liked them; that's fine. I just don't want it to appear on my friend's news feeds.
This also applies to photos I'm tagged in, and posts that I comment on.
AI: I don't think there is any this kind of settings available as of now.
If your friends are following you then they will get notify on their news feed about your activity (Likes, comments) which is not set "Only me".
Tagging you can control by changing the settings of your Timeline review. |
H: Replacing a spreadsheet formula with its result when the result satisfies a condition
In Google Sheets I'm setting up a sheet with a column of formulas referencing a cell in which there is an hourly rate. That hourly rate can occasionally change, but I don't want previous calculations to be affected, only future calculations (ie, cells further down the column).
A great script solution was posted here: How do you replace a formula with its result?
With this script from red red wine:
function freezeOutput(){
var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getSheetByName("Sheet");
var range = sheet.getRange("A1:A10");
range.copyTo(range, {contentsOnly:true});
}
But because formulas that have not yet been "triggered" show as "$0.00" in my column, those cells are converted from formulas to 0's.
Is there any way to make this script work on a cell only if the formula result is > 0?
AI: In order to freeze only those cells in a column (say, A) where the value is positive, one can do the following:
function freezePositiveOutput(){
var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getSheetByName("Sheet");
var range = sheet.getRange("A1:A");
var values = range.getValues();
for (var i = 0; i < values.length; i++) {
if (values[i][0] > 0) {
var cell = range.offset(i, 0, 1, 1);
cell.copyTo(cell, {contentsOnly:true});
}
}
}
Having to freeze each cell individually, as this script does, can degrade performance if there are many cells to deal with. An alternative is to make the assumption that we'll have some number of nonzero values followed by zero values. In this case we can simply look for the last nonzero value, and freeze the range up to there, eliminating the inefficient for loop with cell-by-cell operations.
function freezePositiveOutput(){
var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getSheetByName("Sheet9");
var range = sheet.getRange("A1:A");
var values = range.getValues();
var lastNonzero = Math.max.apply(null, values.map(function(a, i) {
return a[0] > 0 ? i : 0;
}));
var truncatedRange = range.offset(0, 0, lastNonzero + 1, 1);
truncatedRange.copyTo(truncatedRange, {contentsOnly:true});
} |
H: Date formatting error
I have a field for Student Birth Date - defined as date, nothing else. When the form is in production whatever date you type in it the error says it's not formatted correctly.
I deleted it and re-added it, same error. I've typed the date in, chosen it from the date picker. Really if I choose today's date in another year the error goes away (e.g. today is 8/4/16, choosing 8/4/06 no error, 8/5/06 = error).
What's wrong with this?
AI: Some JavaScript libraries manipulate the default behavior of intrinsic types, such as Date, in ways that are not predictable or expected by Cognito Forms. If you are seeing unexpected behavior for a form embedded in your website, try using the IFrame embed option, which eliminates JavaScript incompatibilities like this. |
H: Transfer domain & data from one Google apps account to another
I've done a bit of searching trying to find an up-to-date solution to this but I'm not so certain with Google support answers nor with previous threads here.
We have multiple domains on a Google Apps for Business account and we want to move most of them ( not the primary one ) to their own separate Google Apps accounts (so they will be the primary domain respectively for each new account).
What is the best option to do that without data loss?
The entry for data migration in Google supports omits any mention to domain transfer and where that would take place in the process.
The most comprehensive answer I found is from 2012 and I'm not sure if it still applies.
AI: This is a very complex process that should not be undertaken unless you absolutely have to. Based on my experience I recommend involving a consultant that has done this process several times before.
You will need to perform all of the following steps:
Migrate all data you want to keep from the old Google Apps accounts.
Delete the domain from your existing Google Apps environment. Note the bottom section of this article on "Reusing your domain".
Wait up to 24 hours for this domain to be purged.
Create a new Google Apps environment with the old domain name as the primary domain.
Create all the accounts
Import all the data from the first step
You can't use the data migration directions you linked to because the domain can't exist in both the new and old Google Apps environment at the same time. This means you need to export all data and reimport it. Those directions are focused on having a source and target account that exist at the same time. |
H: How can I convert all cells from formulas to plain text so I can export them as CSV?
I have around 12 sheets in a Google Spreadsheets document where I have a bunch of formulas. I'd like to do one of two things:
I would love to just export these as CSVs. I don't want the values though, I want the actual formulas. I.e. instead of the cell value being 3, I would like it to be =B2+B4. I don't mind manually downloading each.
If that's not possible, is there some way to convert all the the formula cells to the formula itself?
I know that I can just put quotes around the formulas and they will become text strings which I can then export to CSV. The issue is, that's a lot of cells ... and I don't want to have to do that for all the cells.
Can you folks help me out with this?
AI: The following script implements your second approach: convert all formula cells to the text displaying the formula. It does so in all sheets in the current spreadsheet.
The idea is simple: get all values (getValues) and formulas (getFormulas). If a cell contains a formula, then the new value is the formula text prepended by the apostrophe ' (which isn't displayed; it's just an indicator that the cell content should be treated as plain text).
After exporting the sheets as CSV (one by one, using the menu), you can restore the original state of the spreadsheet either by using revision history, or by running the same script again. (If the script runs again, a cell having text content =A1+1 will again become a formula =A1+1)
function formulasAsText() {
var sheets = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getSheets();
for (var k = 0; k < sheets.length; k++) {
var range = sheets[k].getDataRange();
var values = range.getValues();
var formulas = range.getFormulas();
for (var i = 0; i < values.length; i++) {
for (var j = 0; j < values[0].length; j++) {
values[i][j] = formulas[i][j] ? "'" + formulas[i][j] : values[i][j];
}
}
range.setValues(values);
}
} |
H: A scatter plot with given labels and x- and y- axis values
I'm trying to create a scatter-plot with:
Labels in column A
X-axis values in column B
Y-axis values in column C
Both column B and C have non-integer values.
I've tried fiddling with all the advanced options, but I'm not having much luck.
AI: A point plot in which individual points are labeled is called a bubble plot:
The structure of input data is exactly what you stated: labels in the first column, x coordinates in the second, y coordinates in the third
Mercury 1.2 5.3
Venus 2.3 6.7
Earth 3.4 3
Mars 2.1 1.6
Optionally, one can have a 4th column for categories (represented by colors) and 5th for bubble sizes. Reference: chart types. |
H: How to build formula in Google Sheets using content of other cells
I'm working on a Google Sheets document that contains some very long formulas that are getting hard to read and debug. The formulas are long because I often have to select which formula to execute based on some cell value, then wrap that formula in IF and IFERROR statements to prevent bad values from appearing.
Here's an example: I need to perform a lookup on an ephemeral table constructed from a sheet in the document. I choose the sheet to use for building the ephemeral table based on the value of an adjacent cell.
=IF(F3="", , IFERROR(IF(C3<MinMaraDur, HLOOKUP(F3, {QUERY(RankData, "select K,J,I,H,G,F where A='"&$E3&"' and B='"&$B3&"' and C="&$C3&" and D="&$D3&" and E='"&$G3&"'",0);"III","II","I","CMS","MS","MSIC"}, 2), HLOOKUP(F3, {QUERY(MaraRankData, "select J,I,H,G,F,E where A='"&$E3&"' and B='"&$B3&"' and C="&$C3&" and D="&$D3&"",0);"III","II","I","CMS","MS","MSIC"}, 2)), ))
Crazy, right? I want to put pieces of this formula in cells and construct it using those cells' contents, so (1) it's more readable when I edit this sheet again in 3-6 months, and (2) it's easier to debug by testing each part individually.
How can I accomplish that?
AI: Short answer
One can't completely build a formula out of text strings, there is nothing like =formula("=A1+B1") in the Sheets. But one can improve presentation by (a) preparing complex parameters in separate cells, and (b) using whitespace within a formula.
Whitespace
Spreadsheet formulas don't have to be squeezed in one line. The formula bar can be stretched vertically, and linebreaks can be created with Ctrl-Enter (or by preparing the formula in text editor). This already improves readability:
(The linebreak/indents here could be better, this is just a quick example.)
Parameters
When using complex query formulas it is advisable to form query strings separately, so that they can be debugged more easily. So you'll have one cell with
="select K,J,I,H,G,F where
A='"&$E3&"' and
B='"&$B3&"' and
C="&$C3&" and
D="&$D3&" and
E='"&$G3&"'"
and another with
="select J,I,H,G,F,E where
A='"&$E3&"' and
B='"&$B3&"' and
C="&$C3&" and
D="&$D3&""
and then the main formula will refer to those strings. If they are named ranges FirstQuery and SecondQuery, the main formula will be
=IF(F3="", , IFERROR(
IF(C3<MinMaraDur,
HLOOKUP(F3, {
QUERY(RankData, FirstQuery, 0);
"III","II","I","CMS","MS","MSIC"
}, 2),
HLOOKUP(F3, {
QUERY(MaraRankData, SecondQuery,0);
"III","II","I","CMS","MS","MSIC"
}, 2)
),
))
which I think is pretty readable. |
H: Stop a '+' from generating a formula
I'm having a bit of a struggle. I'm creating a spreadsheet which uses plus signs (+) regularly. I want a semi-permanent fix for +'s turning into addition formulae.
AI: The easiest workaround is to enter an apostrophe ' as the first character, right before the +.
Another approach is to enter the contents as a string formula like ="+5 blah".
An initial plus sign is very much needed for some types of data, e.g.- international phone numbers, so it is unfortunate that even setting the format to plain text does not help here. |
H: How to use ARRAYFORMULA with QUERY in Google Sheets
I have a query that needs to be run for every row in a list. It works nicely when written for a single row:
QUERY(MaraRankData,
"select J,I,H,G,F,E where
A='"&E3&"' and
B='"&B3&"' and
C="&C3&" and
D="&D3&"",
0
)
That outputs a row of data, as desired. But when I wrap it in ARRAYFORMULA, it still only outputs one row instead of many:
=ARRAYFORMULA(
QUERY(MaraRankData,
"select J,I,H,G,F,E where
A='"&E3:E&"' and
B='"&B3:B&"' and
C="&C3:C&" and
D="&D3:D&"",
0)
)
Google Sheets isn't throwing any errors, so I don't know what I'm doing wrong. How can I get ARRAYFORMULA to work with my QUERY so I don't have to repeat the formula on every row?
AI: The arrayformula(query(...)) combination is not supported; there is no concept of a query processing an array of arrays or executing an array of query strings.
You have two options: (a) repeat query on every row; (b) use vlookup to retrieve columns of data, as explained below. For example:
=arrayformula(vlookup(E3:E, {A3:A, J3:J}, 2, false))
takes one element of E3:E at a time, finds this element in column A, and retrieves the corresponding element of column J. With this approach you would need six separate vlookups to get the columns J,I,H,G,F,E, but you won't need a separate command for each row.
A complication is that vlookup accepts only one search key, and you want to search by 4 parameters,
A='"&E3&"' and
B='"&B3&"' and
C="&C3&" and
D="&D3&
This can be worked around by concatenating these into one search key: you can have a column like Z,
=arrayformula(E3:E & "|" & B3:B & "|" & C3:C & "|" & D3:D)
which concatenates four search parameters into one pipe-delimited search key. Do the same for the table to be searched, and then compare these keys using vlookup. |
H: How to modify several range references in a Spreadsheet synchronously?
There are 20 cells that have functions like this:
A1 =index('sheet2'!$A$1:$B$3)
C1 =index('sheet3'!$A$1:$B$3)
E1 =index('sheet4'!$A$1:$B$3)
So in each function, only the sheet number changes, but the range remains.
My problem is:
I want to change the range (e.g. from A1:B3 to C1:D3) of all functions, but don't want to change them one by one, is there any convenient ways to modify all of them at once?
AI: You can make the range reference a string parameter by using indirect. Example: cell X1 contains text $A$1:$B$3, cell A1 contains the formula
=index(indirect("Sheet2!" & X1))
and similarly for other cells. Then if you change the content of X1, all range references change accordingly.
(You don't actually need the index part if the formula is as it appears here, but I suppose your real spreadsheet had more parameters.) |
H: In Street View, what is the distance between consecutive panoramic photographs?
I'm curious in Google Maps Street View, what distance is it between two consecutive panoramic photos?
AI: There is no global distance, but you can measure it yourself. Here are some tutorials:
https://support.google.com/maps/answer/1628031?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en
http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/9/5885065/distance-measurement-tool-added-to-google-maps |
H: Reference Google sheet via INDIRECT or Variable
I am trying to have a sheet like this:
April | A2 of Sheet named April
March | A2 of Sheet named March
etc.
I want to be able to just paste data in these monthly sheets and simply drag the whole row in the main sheet down and it should populate the data fields from the correct sheet.
Is this possible in Google Spreadsheets? Is INDIRECT the correct function for this?
What I tried:
=INDIRECT('A2'!B2)
This should give me B2 cell content of the sheet named as whatever is displayed in the current sheet's A2 cell, but it doesn't, I get an error instead.
Relevant Links, which failed to help me:
https://support.google.com/docs/answer/3093377
https://support.google.com/docs/answer/75943
AI: I found the answer:
=INDIRECT(A9&"!B2")
A9 = Cell, which contains the name of the sheet you need to referrence
B2 = Cell with data in sheet you need to referrence |
H: Google Search History - simple listing
I seem to remember Google's Search History being a very simple listing of all your previous searches with pagination.
Now, http://history.google.com redirects to https://myactivity.google.com/myactivity which provides quite a cumbersome interface to all your activity (e.g. there are separate blocks for each link and it uses an infinite page).
Is there a way to restore that simple history listing which had pagination and a select dropdown to choose 10, 20, 100, 500 results?
AI: I'm afraid not. They've made the activity much more "user-friendly" by breaking it up by time period.
You can get a list of only searches, though:
At the top of the page, click "Filter by date & product".
Under "Filter by Google product", uncheck "All products".
Scroll down and check "Search".
You can make it a more compact view by clicking the menu next to the search box (three vertical dots) and selecting "Item view" (rather than "Bundled view").
If you want an even simpler list, you'll probably need to download your search history from Google Takeout. |
H: Combine cell data, including dates and times, into one text cell
I'm trying to figure out how to combine many cells into one cell in a Google Sheet. The target cells contain many different types of data (date, time, text, numbers, etc.) and I need to merge them into one cell so they appear as displayed in the target cells.
I need to be able to combine the following into one cell.
Col A Col B Col C Col D Col E
text date time text time
I can use =A1&B1&C1&D1&E1, but it only works with text. When it gets to date or time data, it displays random numbers instead of a date or time.
Is there a method for copying the data in the cells (the way it is displayed) and merging it into one?
AI: To convert dates or times to text as shown, use to_text, e.g.,
= A1 & to_text(B1) & to_text(C1) & D1 & to_text(E1)
You can do this for every row at once:
=arrayformula(A1:A & to_text(B1:B) & to_text(C1:C) & D1:D & to_text(E1:E))
Within one row, one can use join with an appropriate delimiter like "", ", " or " ":
=join(" ", arrayformula(to_text(A1:E1)))
(Applying to_text has no effect when the argument is already text.)
But this does not work for joining every row at once.
If you wanted dates/times to convert them in a specific format regardless of how they are displayed in the sheet, that would be done with text, for example =text(B1, "m/d/yyyy"). |
H: Formula to calculate percentage from two columns
I want to write a formula that returns a percentage. Let's say I have columns A, B, C. If A = 4 and B = 5, it should give 80% in the same row in column C (which is the result column).
Some more examples of how it should be: if A = 9, B = 10, it will automatically fill C with 90% in the same row.
A and B are already filled out with values, so all that is left is to fill column C with percentage as described above for each row automatically.
AI: Percentage is just a way of formatting the result of dividing two numbers. So, what you should do is (a) divide the values in A by the values in B; (b) format the result is a percentage.
Division can be done with the formula (for cell C2):
=arrayformula(iferror(A2:A/B2:B))
which works for all rows starting from the 2nd (assuming 1st row is headers). The iferror wrapper leaves the result empty if the division could not be done (e.g., for the empty rows in the sheet).
To format a column as a percentage, select it and click the button with % symbol. |
H: Trying to subtract X days from a defined date in Google Sheets
I'm trying to figure out "how to" subtract days from a date in Google Sheets.
EXAMPLE
Col A (original date) Col D (date - 5 days)
08-08-16 08-03-16
A1 will display the original "date" and D1 will have a "formula" that displays A1-5days.
Ideas?
AI: Internally, dates are represented as numbers on the scale 1 = one day. (Technically, it is the number of days since December 30, 1899, but one usually doesn't need to know this). So, moving 5 days back into the past means subtracting 5:
D1 = A1 - 5
If you wanted to move 3 hours forward, that would be D1 = A1 + 3/24.
Normally, the sheet will recognize that the input of a formula is a date, and automatically format the output as a date. If this does not happen, apply date formatting to the D cell. |
H: Split cell data into separate cells at the "|"
I'm trying to figure out "how to" split one Google Sheets cell into multiple cells. I'm using the "|" character to identify where the string in one cell should will be split. Ideas?
I have the following in cell B1.
space|space | will always separate values in the single cell.
Chromebook 101 | GHS | 8:00 am | ID#100103
I need to split the data into FOUR parts and into FOUR different cells.
H1 = Chromebook 101
I1 = GHS
J1 = 8:00 am
K1 = ID#100103
The data is being added to Google Sheets via form input and I need this to update automatically. I assume an arrayformula will be needed.
If possible, I'd also like to drop the | from cells H1, I1, J1, and K1.
AI: After a search I found at a 2014 StackOverflow post that: ARRAYFORMULA() does not work with SPLIT()
From another post though (Fix for ARRAYFORMULA() SPLIT()) and by simple replacements to fit your question this will work for you:
=ARRAYFORMULA(IFERROR(REGEXEXTRACT("|"®EXREPLACE(B1:B100,"\n","|"),"^"&REPT("\|[^|]*",COLUMN(OFFSET(A1,,,1,4))-1)&"\|([^|]*)"))) |
H: Do named ranges not work under certain conditions?
Been tearing my hair out today with this one. I'll be as concise as I can.
I have a number of named ranges, and I would like to reference them in a long, ugly formula that works without them just fine. However things get weird when I start to switch to named ranges.
The original, working formula:
=INDEX(IMPORTHTML("http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/"&B38&TEXT(I38,"yymmdd")&H38&TEXT(SUBSTITUTE(J38,".",""),"0000000")&"0","table",1),3,2)
The values in use are:
B38: COH
I38: 09/16/16
H38: P
J38: 41.00
It constructs the proper URL and imports the desired table using index(). All is well. The final URL is http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/COH160916P00041000
But now I start adding named ranges rather than cell references and things go sideways.
This fails with an error: =INDEX(IMPORTHTML("http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/"&Symbol&TEXT(Expires,"yymmdd")&Trade_Type&TEXT(SUBSTITUTE(Strike_Price,".",""),"0000000")&"0","table",1),3,2)
All of the named ranges are valid and get properly color coded, but I get the error:
Function INDEX parameter 2 value is 3. Valid values are between 0 and 1 inclusive.
Now to make things more interesting... I can put this in another cell:
="http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/"&Symbol&TEXT(Expires,"yymmdd")&Trade_Type&TEXT(SUBSTITUTE(Strike_Price,".",""),"0000000")&"0"
And it constructs a perfectly proper URL that works fine. I can then reference that cell from my original formula like so:
=INDEX(IMPORTHTML(AB37,"table",1),3,2)
and it all works perfectly.
So what on earth is going on here? Why won't my named ranges work directly in the initial index(importhtml()) formula?
AI: Regarding why INDEX does not work when there are named ranges as parameters, but does work in the other cases, it is not clear to me yet.
I was thinking that the problem is that INDEX requires that its first parameter be a reference to a spreadsheet range, as it's stated in the official documentation.
Besides the formula forms that you already found, you could try to use QUERY instead of INDEX. Example:
=QUERY(
IMPORTHTML(
"http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/"&
Symbol&
TEXT(Expires,"yymmdd")&
Trade_Type&
TEXT(SUBSTITUTE(Strike_Price,".",""),"0000000")&
"0",
"table",
1
),
"select Col2 where Col1='Bid'",
0
)
Bid is the label for the third row, so I used it to get the value at row 3, column 2.
There are other alternatives but they will depend on the use case an your personal preferences as a spreadsheet user. |
H: How do I calculate average amount of days between multiple dates?
I have an ever increasing list of dates (YYYY-MM-DD format from 8601:2004) running in a column from cell B5 down.
I want to add the average amount of days between all dates in A2.
example:
[B6] 2016-06-27
[B7] 2016-07-05
[B8] 2016-07-11
[B9] ...
then
[A2] AVERAGE=(B7-B6, B8-B7, B9-B8... to infinity).
How would I go about building a formula that automatically adds all new dates inserted in B column?
The only workaround I can think of is to add a separate column and add the difference between last date and second to last date in days right next to every new (and respectively last) date, but if I can avoid complicating the spreadsheet even more, I would love that.
AI: If they dates are ordered, I.e. from the smallest to the biggest you could simply take the smallest and biggest divided by the number of dates -1.
Basically
=(MAX(B6:B999)-MIN(B6:B999))/(COUNTA(B6:B999)-1)
In that case 999 would be the infinity. |
H: Is it possible to add an image at the side of a form component?
I'm trying to add an images to the left of each of my form components (multiple choice, linear scale, etc). Basically I want an image to serve as an icon for each form component.
Adding an image like this:
Is just ridiculous because it puts the image above the form component.
Any ideas?
AI: At this time there does not seem to be an option to choose the position of the picture.
Above is the only choice to make at the moment. |
H: How can I make multiple non-contiguous text selections in Google Docs?
Is there a keyboard shortcut or other method for Google Docs that is equivalent to Ctrl+click in MS Word which allows you to select several parts of the text that are not adjacent to each other?
I would like to be able to make all of the separate text selections first and then apply a change one time to all of them rather than repeating the operation for each separate text selection. For example, I have a Google Docs plug-in which allows me to change the case of the selected text but you have to navigate a menu tree each time you use it. I want to change the text of each my section headers to all-caps but it would be tedious to change them one at a time.
AI: A simple one-step non-adjacent text selection functionality like Ctrl + click is not currently available in Google Docs. However, I have found a work-around which is able to achieve non-adjacent text selection in just a few steps which can still be a big time saver if you need to make changes to more than just a couple selections.
Make the first text selection
Use one of the keyboard shortcuts to format the text with a style that is not being used elsewhere in your document. For example, if you don't have any bolded text already, you can use Ctrl+B
Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each of the additional non-adjacent text selections
Right-click in the middle of one of the bolded (in this example) text areas and click on the "Select all matching text" pop-up menu item. This will select all of the separate bold text areas simultaneously.
You can now copy or make whatever changes are needed to all the selected text at once. Use Ctrl+B again to remove the bold formatting from all of the selected text simultaneously. |
H: How to schedule a draft note on a Facebook page?
When I create a draft note and save it I find that I can only publish and not schedule. Am I missing anything?
Is there a workaround for that?
AI: One can only schedule a draft post, but not a draft note.
What you ask for is not (at the moment) supported by Facebook.
Additionally -unfortunately- there is no workaround for that. |
H: Set default team timezone in Slack
People are signing into our newly created Slack team with the timezone UTC-7 but we are in UTC+10. I can find where people can manually change their timezone but I am trying to work out how I can either change it for them or simply set our team so all new people from here are by default in UTC+10. Is this achievable and where do I find it?
AI: The answer, sadly, is it cannot be done, at least not at this time of writing.
I wrote to Slack support directly who advise this is not possible. I then asked if they could at least add support so people's default timezone is picked up from their device. They advised this is a commonly requested feature and is on their roadmap.
So, I am answering my own question as the official answer is this is not possible at this time - disappointing but true. |
H: Google Sheets - INDEX() and QUERY() work on some cells, but not others
A simplified spreadsheet showing the issue is available here
As you can see on the sheet, columns I through M all have sporadic failures in them. I'm unable to figure out why these fail. The use of QUERY() was suggested in this question and at first I thought it was the answer, but then I started seeing failures as I filled it down my sheet.
I appreciate any insight as to why these failures occur.
OK WTF - literally as I was about to press the POST button, I checked the sheet one last time and all but ONE error are now gone. The only remaining error at this moment for me is in cell I4. However in my original larger sheet, the errors persist as they did before I made this cut-down version.
And now about a minute later, even that one error is gone. But then I reloaded the page and the errors are back, identical to when I started this question. Same is true on my real sheet. I don't know what to make of this... I truly don't.
AI: The only sure-fire solution I've found, after days of scouring the web and trying everything I could find, is to use ImportXML. It appears to work consistently every time, while importhtml() fails quite frequently. Here is the tutorial I followed, it's actually incredibly easy to use and works far better! |
H: How to fetch one HTML table from a URL in Google Sheets?
I'm trying to fetch part of a single table from an HTML page into my Google spreadsheet. Been having lots of problems. importhtml() fails quite regularly (but not always) and simply displays "loading..." forever. So I decided to try UrlFetchApp() instead. Having problem with it as well.
Here is the URL I'm trying to fetch:
http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/COH160916P00041000?p=COH160916P00041000
My importhtml() version is simply:
=index(IMPORTHTML("http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/COH160916P00041000?p=COH160916P00041000","table",1),3,2)
As I mentioned this does work... mostly. But it breaks too often to be dependable. How can I accomplish the same thing using UrlFetchApp()?
I just discovered something very strange related to this. This formula works fine:
=IMPORTHTML("http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/coh160916P00040000","table",1)
This displays "Loading..." indefinitely:
=IMPORTHTML("http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/COH160916P00040000","table",1)
The only difference is the capitalization of "COH" in the second one. That is the correct URL on Yahoo's site:
http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/COH160916P00040000
So what gives?
AI: Turns out importxml() is the way to go without a doubt. Works great! |
H: UML implements relationship in draw.io
I am using draw.io. I can see an "extends" UML arrow. I can't see an "implements" one. This should have a dash lined and arrow at the end.
Is there one?
AI: draw.io doesn't provide every single variation of shape/connector decoration, but you can configure existing shapes/connectors.
In your case, select the line and in the right-hand format panel look in the "style" tab. There you have options to change the line type (to dashed in your case) and the line start and end decorations.
So that you don't have to configure shapes and connectors that you use frequently, draw.io supports a scratchpad for quick re-use and it supports custom libraries of shapes and edges. |
H: How do I change the order of attachments in Gmail?
How do I change the order of attachments in Gmail, when I compose a new email?
AI: There is no way to do that once uploaded. You need to upload attachments one at a time in the order you want them. |
H: Time estimates in Google Sheets
I'm a software engineer but pretty unfamiliar with Sheets. I have a list of tasks and hour estimates, and I need to find out the expected end date of each one. Here's an example with an assumed starting date of Jan 4:
| Task Descriptions | Estimate | Arrival Date |
| Task 1 | 8h | Jan 5 |
| Task 2 | 2h | Jan 6 |
| Task 3 | 1h | Jan 6 |
| Task 4 | 3d 6h | Jan 10 |
For simplicity's sake, I can change the second column to just be hours instead of a string. I need to have only 8 hours per day. I know how I'd solve this in most programming languages, but I can't figure out how to do it in Sheets.
I'm sure this is something that has been dealt with in the past. Any ideas?
AI: ABOUT DATES IN GOOGLE SHEETS
Dates are stored as serials expressed as the number of days since 12/30/1899 where 1 is equal to 12/31/1899.
Hours are stored in the same format but simply converted from days. So if 1 day is equal to the integer value 1. Then 12 hours is equal to 0.5 .
Both options below Assume that your Arrival Date is a date value & not a string that looks like a date. To Clarify if you type in 1/5/16 Google Sheets will automatically store this as a date-value. Such that if you select the cell containing it and look at the formula bar, you'll see "1/5/2016" This also works for the way you wrote the date Jan 5 is assumed to be 2016 unless you otherwise specify. If you click on the cell where you wrote "Jan 5" and look at the formula bar, it should say "1/5/2016" instead of "Jan 5" You can work with strings and try to find creative ways to parse them, but why reinvent the wheel?
Also I am assuming that 1d = 8h
(Option 1) RECOMMENDED
Yes -- replace & convert your Estimate data into numbers instead of strings. We are doing math and strings will only complicate things.
If users input data you should add validation that prevents non number entries. You can change the number format to include the word "days" after the number. So 8 hours = 0.3̅3̅3̅ .
Then it is simple addition, just add that the Estimate Column to your Arrival Date Column to Obtain your Expected End Date.
If your original data is in range A1:C5 & your Expected End Date column is Column D. Your formula may look like =$B2/8+$D2 & simply copy it down. Or you can use an array formula =FILTER(B2:B/8+C2:C,B2:B<>"",C2:C<>"")
(Option 2) NOT RECOMMENDED
If you wanted to keep the Estimate column a string. You will need to keep a consistent convention for how those strings are written. Your project will get increasingly difficult if you allow any kind of date-string.
EX if you had three different estimates:
1 day, 2 hr
2 hours 1 d
2h 1d
This will be difficult because you'll have to anticipate each type of formatting. And write a versatile enough formula to catch them all.
Once you get a consistent convention You simply extract the day denominations and express them as a natural number. Such that 1 day = 1. Then you extract the hour and divide it by 24 and add it to the value you obtained for days. This should give you a positive decimal value -- We'll call this value estimate-in-days
You can then add that number directly to the Arrival date to get your Expected End Date.
There should be no need for a modulus unless you want to go backwards and subtract the Arrival Date from the Expected End Date and convert that value into a string expressed in two denominations: Days & Hours.
Assuming that Column D is your Expected End Date. Your formula may look like =IFERROR(SUMPRODUCT({1;DIVIDE(1,8)},TRANSPOSE(SPLIT(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(B2,"d",),"h",)," "))),LEFT(B2,SEARCH("h",B2)-1)/24)+C2
Or as an Array for the whole column =FILTER(IFERROR(SUMPRODUCT({1;DIVIDE(1,8)},TRANSPOSE(SPLIT(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(B2:B,"d",),"h",)," "))),IFERROR(LEFT(B2:B,SEARCH("h",B2:B)-1)/8,0))+C2:C,B2:B&C2:C<>"") |
H: How to categorize data in Google Spreadsheet using regular expressions
I'm trying to categorize some data in a Google spreadsheet.
I have "phrases to screen" in column A, TAB "Phrases". For example "blueish house"
I have "words" in column A, TAB "Words". For example, "blue"
I have "categories" in column B, TAB "Words". For example, "color"
I created a sample file here:
There's a link to a related post too that can help.
I'd like to use regular expressions using the words in column A to match some phrases in A, and then return the appropriate category from B.
For example, I'd like to find "blue" in "blueish house" and return "color".
I'd like to find "white" in "great white shoes" and return "color", but not when followed by numbers. Hence, I need to use regular expressions.
I'm using the following formula in column C TAB "phrases". It works, but not with regular expressions. It returns the reg. expressions itself and then can't match the category.
=arrayformula(vlookup(arrayformula(iferror(regexextract(A2:A8,join("|",Words!$A$1:$A$7)))),Words!A$1:B,2,0))
I tried to adapt the formula (from the related post) in column D but it's not working.
AI: SO here is what I did - I added a sheet to your doc called SO Test - Aurielle.
Then I made a unique list of the possible categories in column B using:
=UNIQUE(Words!B:B)
In Column A, I did a JOIN using the regex AND operator which is | and used the formula:
=IF(ISTEXT(B2),JOIN("|",FILTER(Words!A:A,Words!B:B=B2)),)
Basically the filter restricts it to combine keywords by their category value.
Then in column D I added this formula:
=IFERROR(INDEX(A$2:B,MATCH(TRUE,ARRAYFORMULA(REGEXMATCH(C2,INDIRECT("A"&2&":A"&3+COUNTA(B$2:B)))),0),2))
Basically what happens here , is if you break it down from the inside out is I'm using ARRAYFORMULA along with REGEXMATCH - which returns true or false depending on which row the value actually exists in.
So I use the word TRUE to be my key for the MATCH formula, then using INDEX, I navigate it to pull in the index row, and one column over thus grabbing the category.
NOTE: I also added an additional INDIRECT formula in there to calculate how many values actually exist in column B so that your formula will dynamically accommodate on the number of rows it needs to.. |
H: Does The YouTube Player Constantly Load Video For Still Images?
I notice that even if a YouTube video is audio only with a still image for video that it still loads slower in 1080p than it does for 144p. Does anyone happen to whether or not the YouTube player loads new frames even if the video image doesn't change from frame to frame?
AI: Even if a video is showing still image, it is still a video. It will load faster than moving images type of video since it doesn't have to refresh the frame that often, but will still have information about both audio and video stream.
That's the reason when you watch such type of video in lower resolution it loads faster in compare to a higher resolution. |
H: GitHub pages. Problem with domain
I recently set up a small site with GitHub pages. I registered it on google search console and it was going well. I registered for a free domain ".tk" but that wasn't what I wanted so I cancelled it. Now when you search for my website you find the .tk domain(even though I cancelled it) and it doesn't bring you to my website.
How can I get the domain to point to my site?
AI: .tk domains are very nasty, and often carry bad reputation for themselves. It would be better to ask your domain for cancellation to your host or redirecting it somewhere else.
As for the github, you need to make clone your repo with the name 'gh-pages' and add a text file 'CNAME' with your domain name on it, github will set the rest itself. Though you need to configure the domain seeing at your domain provide. |
H: How do I use conditional formatting to choose between columns for a datedif function?
I am trying to find the difference between two dates using this function =DATEDIF(G2,K2,"D"). I always want to find the difference between column K and either G or H depending on which one has a date. If a cell doesn't have a date it will have - in it.
How can I write an if function or filter to achieve this?
AI: You might try:
=datedif(max(G4:H4),K4,"D")
but may want to add some error trapping, in case K is less than G/H or they are both-.
I have absolutely no idea how or where Conditional formatting is involved in this. |
H: How can I assign a single cell to the split out contents of it's neighbor?
I have data that was generated from a Google Form. The data has two parts: first a list of items the recipient checked, and second a score they gave (1-10). I would like to find the average score per item that was checked.
Here is some sample data:
Ultimately I want the result in this form:
If I had a temporary table that looks like this:
then I would be able to compute my final answer. I used this answer to write the query =QUERY(E2:F10, "SELECT E, AVG(F) GROUP BY E LABEL E 'Reason', AVG(F) 'Average'")
I'm able to create almost what I want, but not quite. This is the closest I've gotten:
Which I can get using: =ArrayFormula(QUERY(TRANSPOSE(ARRAYFORMULA(Trim(SPLIT(LOWER(CONCATENATE($A$2:$B$5&",")),","))))&{"",""},"select Col1",0))
You can find all of this sample data here.
Would you please help me, either by transforming the data to be in the form I ultimately want it in (with the averages), or by helping me to create the temporary table in between?
AI: I added a sheet called SO Test - Aurielle where you can view my results
So here is my suggestions - it requires 2 formulas and you would need to copy one of the formulas down as needed but otherwise its pretty simple:
In column A you enter this formula:
=UNIQUE(ARRAYFORMULA(TRIM(TRANSPOSE(SPLIT(JOIN(",",Sheet1!A:A),",")))))
What I am doing here is first joining all the values with a common delimiter, in this case a , so it creates one long string, then splitting by that same delimiter to create a long list of all possible keywords. I use trim to clean it up and remove any unnecessary formatting, or space.
I then use UNIQUE to get a list of all possible keywords.
In Column B i entered:
=AVERAGEIF(ARRAYFORMULA(REGEXMATCH(Sheet1!A:A,A2)),"true",Sheet1!B:B)
What this does is check each value in column A to see if it contains the keyword to the left of it, REGEXMATCH is great for this because it globally checks whether that word is at all contained in the original string, ignoring any other characters or punctuation.
By using ARRAYFORMULA it converts the values to true or false, so if you were to expand and just show that formula by itself, it would say true,false,true, true, because food is contained in the 1st string, but not the 2nd, and is in the 3rd and 4th.
Using AVERAGEIF, we use that array as the condition to check, but direct it to the column next to it, as the condition to average. |
H: Permanently change the units in Google Maps (from miles to km)
Despite all the tracking that Google does, it somehow can't remember that I prefer to use km as a unit on Google Maps. Every time I need to click on the label to toggle it from Miles to Km.
Is there any way to change this preference permanently?
AI: There is no way to change the preference permanently at this time. |
H: Should I pay for Google Apps if I use my company domain?
I registered for Google Apps a long time ago, when it was free for your small company.
Recently I learned about Google Apps for Work, I feel this is a rebranding of Google Apps, correct me if I'm wrong.
Can I use Google Apps for free with the advent of Google Apps for Work?
AI: Yes, you can continue to use your Google Apps (once also called standard) if you still have access to it. Standard is no longer available for new accounts.
Google Apps for Work has more features so it is the next version rather than a rebrand.
They release new features all the time. See Here:
Other features:
Much more storage space, 30GB today
Device management (mobile and Chromebooks included)
Security and Admin control tools
Real 24/7 phone and email support
We still use this version but have no support other than reading support forums and no control over mobile devices. |
H: Inventory Using Google Sheets
I'm running Google sheets on a Windows laptop and using Google Chrome as my browser. I work in a clothing store and would like to make an inventory list that my coworkers can access and update (maybe using Google forms?). I would like to organize it with counts for each type of clothing we sell and would like for it to show the date and time that each section was last updated. For example, division 50 is pants and shorts and whenever someone posts a new count from that division I would like the other column to show who it was and when. If anyone knows how to do this I would really appreciate some help and advice.
Also, I would like my coworkers to be able to access and update the inventory list from their smartphones.
AI: I made a Google Sheet that looks at latest fuel entry for vehicles and another spreadsheet takes the latest entry per vehicle, and shows the number. You could likely use it for your Inventory since the concept is the same. Your folks enter via Google Forms and latest entry per item is what shows up on a different sheet. Readings & Summary sheet and the Actual Form
Enter the values you want for Inventory updates here (in my example odometer reading):
Then this sheets shows the latest Max odometer reading by vehicle. For you, you'd want max transaction date for an item and get the count and person who entered that count. |
H: How do I turn a Google Photos search result into an album?
I searched Google Photos for all of my pictures of a person by clicking on the search bar and then clicking on the picture of the person for whom I'm searching.
That worked really nicely — it returns a result with a bunch of pictures of that person organized by date.
Now, I want to create an album so that I can share this batch of pictures with my spouse. But I can't figure out how to do that.
AI: Perform your search
Click on the check mark of the first photo so that it is selected
Scroll down to the bottom of the batch of photos
While holding down the shift key, click the check mark of the last photo
Now all of the photos are selected
Up to 500; if you have more than that you may need to do this multiple times
Click the + at the top of the screen (next to where the search bar usually is) and choose "Album"
All of the selected photos are now in an album. Name the album as you like, re-arrange your photos, etc. |
H: Hotmail duplicate address
I have a Gmail account. Let's call it 1234@gmail.com for example's sake. I've recently created the very same address on Hotmail. It's exactly the same as Gmail address - 1234@gmail.com
But whenever I try to send an email to this address - only Gmail version receives it. Why does it work like that? Addresses are exactly the same but only Gmail version receives mail.
AI: Because what you've created is a login, not an email address. Messages to a Gmail address will only go to Gmail servers. You need to set up email forwarding from Gmail to Outlook.com. |
H: How can I merge two columns by using QUERY?
I have a master spreadsheet that contains columns like so:
FirstName LastName Gender etc, etc, etc
I need to import from that master sheet into another sheet that filters by one of the other columns. In the new sheet, I need name to be a single column, joining FirstName and LastName together.
Here is the current query I am using:
=query(importrange($SPREADSHEET_KEY, "Full Overview!A2:AH"), "select Col1, Col2, Col5 where Col8 contains 'Migrators'", 0)
I need to merge Col1 and Col2 from the master sheet into Col1 of the new sheet and put Col5 in Col2 of the new sheet.
AI: Short answer
QUERY select argument can't merge columns.
Explanation
The QUERY built-in function uses Google Visualization API Query Language. It doesn't include a concatenate operator. One alternative is to concatenate the data.
Examples
Assume that First Name and Last Name columns are columns A and B respectively.
Example 1
Add an auxiliary column to concatenate the desired columns in the source sheet and include this column in the IMPORTRANGE. Add one of the following formulas to an empty cell in the row 2:
=A2&" "&B2. Fill down as necessary.
=ARRAYFORMULA(A2:A&" "&B2:B) (Tip: Delete empty rows or use FILTER to only concatenate non-empty rows).
Example 2
Use several IMPORTRANGE, the concatenate operator & and arrays.
=ARRAYFORMULA(
QUERY(
{
importrange($SPREADSHEET_KEY, "Full Overview!A2:A")&
" "&
importrange($SPREADSHEET_KEY, "Full Overview!B2:B"),
importrange($SPREADSHEET_KEY, "Full Overview!C2:AH")
},
"select Col1, Col2, Col5 where Col8 contains 'Migrators'",
0
)
) |
H: Indirectly join multiple tables into one master table
I have one string that is dynamically built with existing ranges across multiple sheets. All these ranges are exactly the same structurally but with different data. I want to join them all into one master table for further processing. One example of such a string:
{04.06.2016!B8:H;18.06.2016!B8:H;09.07.2016!B8:H;15.07.2016!B8:H;24.07.2016!B8:H;30.07.2016!B8:H;06.08.2016!B8:H}
The path above is a result of the following formula:
=CONCATENATE("{";JOIN(";";FILTER(S3:S;NOT(ISBLANK(S3:S))));"}")
I want to use the result of this formula with some function like INDIRECT. The problem is that INDIRECT does not support arrays.
Is that possible?
AI: I managed to solve the problem by writing the script below. One change I did is that the value no longer contains "{}" characters at the start/end of the string.
function TEST_INDIRECTS() {
INDIRECTS("04.06.2016!B8:H;18.06.2016!B8:H;09.07.2016!B8:H;15.07.2016!B8:H;24.07.2016!B8:H;30.07.2016!B8:H;06.08.2016!B8:H");
}
function INDIRECTS(string_array) {
ret = [];
var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
items = string_array.split(";");
for (var idx in items) {
var item = items[idx];
var range = sheet.getRange(item);
var range_array = range.getValues();
MERGE_ARRAYS(ret, range_array);
}
return ret;
}
function MERGE_ARRAYS(a, b) {
for (var idx in b) {
var item = b[idx];
if (!IS_EMPTY_ARRAY(item)) {
a.push(item);
}
}
}
function IS_EMPTY_ARRAY(item) {
for (idx in item) {
if(item[idx] != "") {
return false;
}
}
return true;
} |
H: Working with Gmail's (Google apps) sending limits
Our marketing team is leveraging mailchimp to send out marketing materials to current users on behalf of us@ourcompany.com. We welcome those users to respond if they want to move forward with an offer, and then we provide details and move conversations towards conversions etc.
Our issue is that we are reaching our sending limits within the first hour of each day - we're essentially bottlenecked by the sending limits as we respond to folks who are replying to our promotions.
I'm responsible for finding a solution to this that enables us to send out effectively unlimited responses using our Google apps account (or moving our email address to a different provider) - without building our own server.
What's the typical 'growth step' that folks have followed in this situation?
Update
I've contacted google support through the Admin console of my Apps account and they've explained that until $30 is paid (we had 5 users sign up last month = $25), the trial limits will be applied. You can reset the throttling yourself by clicking on the account that's being throttled, clicking the yellow notification icon in the upper right corner, and then clicking "reset". Paying an additional $5 into the account increases the throttling limit to 2000 per docs in 24-48 hrs.
AI: I've contacted google support through the Admin console of my Apps account and they've explained that until $30 is paid (we had 5 users sign up last month = $25), the trial limits will be applied. You can reset the throttling yourself by clicking on the account that's being throttled, clicking the yellow notification icon in the upper right corner, and then clicking "reset". Paying an additional $5 into the account increases the throttling limit to 2000 per docs in 24-48 hrs. |
H: How to change text color for back-quoted text in trello.com
When I use back quote to highlight terms in trello card content, the outcome to be in red color which I don't like it.
I prefer to format it as we do back-quoting here e.g. a back-quoted text sample.
Is it possible to change that in trello.com ?
AI: There are a couple of options:
Go to Settings and click Enable Color Blind Friendly Mode under Accessibility. This will give you the black on gray that you desire. It will change some other coloring as well. You'll notice that the label colors are now striped.
You can install a browser extension like Stylish and add a CSS rule for the code element to set the text color to black. Something like code { color: black !important;} |
H: Hit rate limits in Crowdfire copy followers
When I use the copy followers feature by Crowdfire, I sometimes get an error "you hit Twitter limits, retry later", even without following anyone:
AI: This happens especially with accounts which have tens of thousands of inactive followers, or when you have already followed their followers.
The reason is that Crowdfire is asking the list of followers which has rather strict rate limits. If the listed users are all discarded, it may take hundreds or even thousands of requests until you're shown an entire page of results from which to pick people.
One solution is to slow down the requests when you see that they keep spinning without producing results. To do so, in Chromium/Chrome, you can press F12, click "Network", click "No throttling" and select a slow connection from the dropdown. |
H: How to shorten this Google Spreadsheet formula?
I've got a table in Google Spreadsheet like this:
Name | Amount
---------------------------
A1 0
A2 1
B1 2
B2 0
Now I've got another table like this:
Name | Component1 | Component2 | Component3 ...
_________________________________________________________________
A1 20 17 30
A2 10 20 15
B1 17 17 30
B2 123 19 43
Now I want a result table like this:
Name | Amount
________________________
Component1 44
Component2 54
Component3 75
So I want a result table that shows how which components you need. The formula for one cell would look like this:
AmountComponent1=AmountA1*Component1A1+AmountA2*Component1A2 // And so on...
Now I have a table with about 200 Products and about 10 Components. How Can I shorten this formula?
AI: Short answer
Use SUMPRODUCT
Explanation
SUMPRODUCT
Calculates the sum of the products of corresponding entries in two equal-sized arrays or ranges.
Example
Assume that the list of the components, starts at A13. Add the following formula to B13 and fill down as necessary. It includes OFFSET to automatically select the second array.
=SUMPRODUCT($B$2:$B$5,OFFSET($A$8,0,Match(A13,$A$7:$D$7,0)-1,4,1))
Demo |
H: How to format a number as part of a sum in Google Sheets
I have this formula in Google Sheets
="final cost: $"&sum(E2:E70)
and it looks like this
I would like it to be properly formatted like so:
$10,837.5
Please advise.
AI: You can use the DOLLAR() function to return a localized currency format.
Formats a number into the locale-specific currency format.
Like so:
="final cost: "&dollar(sum(E2:E70))
If you still want to place your own currency symbol, then use FIXED().
="final cost: $"&fixed(sum(E2:E70),2) |
H: Is there a way to add a pop up message that I can show to members who just joined my group in Facebook?
I want to show a pop up message to every new user who joins my group. In popup message I want to show rules and regulations and a welcome note.
AI: There is no option to show popup message to a user who joins the group. For any new feature you can request to Facebook.
Alternate option is (you may already know about this), you can post rules and regulations of the group and pin the post. Pinned posts remain at the top until they're removed or unpinned. |
H: Commit under another user on GitHub
I'm new at GitHub and I've noticed that GitHub allows to commit under any user's data (and submit pull requests under my account using commits made with "fake" users data). For example, I am able to set my user.name and user.email and pretend that I'm another user, and GitHub will automatically link this user name to the original owner of the e-mail address, while actually that person didn't commit anything and didn't give any permissions to commit using his/her pesonal data. I'm quite lost, cause I have no idea how to prevent this. Not only I can use another's data, but people also can use mine. Can anyone please clarify this for me?
AI: Each git commit contains author information as plain text (call it the commiter or the author). This data is filled from git config or from command line at commit time and can be faked because it can not be verified in any way.
Each git server accepts to receive git objects (including commit git-objects) from all write-enabled registered users. Those registered users push their work to the server (with commit author matching their name) as well as the contributed work of anyone which authorship is kept (commit author still matching real author).
Having core developers to accept commits from any contributor (sent as pull request, or by email for example) and push their contributed work mainline is a common git workflow in open-source projects.
Git does not permit the use of someone else's data but rather the use of its identity in commit author fields, yes. Hooks can be set on server-side to reject those commits but I never heard about such bad idea which denies the opportunity to keep root author names. |
H: How to backup .gsheet (Google Sheets) permanently before closing Google account
I had a little startup where I purchased a domain name and connected it to a Google Drive account (for work). Using Google Drive I added all the documents related to work (i.e., accounting, etc). My start-up ended and so I want to end my ownership of that domain as well as end my Google Drive account membership (which is paid).
I already synchronised Google Drive on my local machine, but I noticed that all the 'documents' that are of type Google Sheets or Google Docs are simply links to the Google document on the cloud. (I can't access them without internet, and when I do access them it verifies that I'm logged in with the appropriate Google account.) This is bad news because this means that I won't be able to access those documents once I no longer have a membership with the said Google account.
How can I permanently backup all these Google documents so that I can access them offline and without having the membership with the corresponding Google account?
AI: There are three options:
Share your files and folders with an account out of the domain and then copy the files from that account.
Download your data using the feature formerly named "Google Takeout".
Download each file. |
H: Custom formula conditional formatting highlights empty cells in red - how to fix this?
I use the ff. custom formula for conditional formatting in Google sheets:
=sum(arrayformula(n(regexmatch($J2:$W, "Unsure|Yes")))) = 0
However, it also colors empty cells.
I tried to incorporate the formula as suggested here
but couldn't get it to work either.
If you need to see the sheet I'm using, here's a copy.
AI: An easy way to avoid coloring empty cells is to just check if the cell is empty using isblank(). Replace the formula with
=and(not(isblank(J2)),sum(arrayformula(n(regexmatch($J:$W, "Unsure|Yes")))) = 0)
I've done this for your sheet copy. |
H: How to transfer YouTube channel ownership to another Google account
I have a Google at Work domain that I want to shut down, but first I would like to transfer the ownership of my YouTube video channel to another Google account.
The instructions from Google Support are obsolete, since the link add or remove managers no longer exists on YouTube. (I confirmed that it did exist in the past by watching this tutorial video. See the comments there.)
Any advice?
AI: turns out you gotta click on the link "move channel to brand account" on your youtube channel account settings page.
however this page will take you to a page that will most likely have no options to move to.. like this page
in this case, what you need to do is go to your google + account, click on the left nav bar and go to pages. and there you will have to create a new page.
as the time of this writing, choosing to create a new page leads you to google my business:
don't be intimidated.. just go ahead and create a new business account. when you do that and go back to your youtube channel account settings, you will see that you have the option to transfer the ownership of yourtube channel to your new business
I know what you're thinking: but isn't my new business registered to the same email account that owned the original channel (which defeats the whole purpose?)
the answer to that is that you can add many managers to look after your new "business".. you can add another email domain or another person all together to that business, once you do (you must invite them.. and they must accept first) then you are free to transfer the channel to that business and delete your original account.
i spent like an hour with google's tech support team but we both figured it out at the end |
H: Change Yahoo! profile picture
I am a frequent user of Yahoo! comments but I don't know how to change my profile picture. On the profile edit page you can change your nickname and above all that your default picture is shown but no option to change it. Am I missing something? How can I change that?
AI: You can't.
The ability to change ones profile picture went away when http://profiles.yahoo.com shut down in January, 2015. They've not introduced a new method to change your profile picture.
From Yahoo! help:
Update your Account picture
Yahoo Profile (profile.yahoo.com) no longer exists. But don't worry - your comments on various Yahoo properties didn't disappear! Most relevant settings are now in your account settings. We simply removed the ability to view public profiles and the “about me” and “my interests” sections, but you can still post comments on the various Yahoo properties and your Yahoo nickname and profile pic still exist.
Coming soon! - This feature may not be available on your account just yet. |
H: How to stop Google.com from storing my searches in drop down list?
This has nothing to do with my phone syncing with my home PC but when searching Google.com on Chrome for Android three of my previous searches appear in a drop down menu as soon as I click the search field. I've changed the privacy setting on my phone to "Pause" my activity/history/etc. and I've started clearing all the data, cookies, search history etc. via the Chrome menu and I even started using CCleaner (which is awesome overall, gets rid of stuff I didn't even know was there and frees up space on my phone whenever I use it) but none of this stops the previous searches drop down menu. I never asked Google to store everything I search for and it's annoying that this is happening even though I have nothing to hide because I know to use Incognito mode when necessary. How do I stop Google showing my past searches when I click the search field? Besides only browsing from Incognito mode that is.
AI: Use the "Privacy Checkup" tool found at https://myaccount.google.com.
Specifically, under "Personalize your Google experience", you'll want to turn off (uncheck)
Web & App Activity
Save your search activity on apps and in browsers to make searches faster and get customized experiences in Search, Maps, Now, and other Google products.
Include Chrome browsing history and activity from websites and apps that use Google services
Your searches may also be saved by your browser. This Google Support page also has links to instructions for the most popular web browsers to delete the history in the browser. |
H: Does Google Forms have two versions: consumer (@gmail.com) and Google Apps for Work versions?
I have to build Google Form integrations to migrate data from a form and make changes to email, calendar, contacts, sheet and drive (all Google apps).
I am getting results for Google Apps for Work and the consumer Google Forms but not two versions of the api.
Are there two such versions of the form and their separate APIs or is there just one?
AI: No, referring to the Forms Service in Google Apps Script, I see no indication that there are two APIs for forms.
Reference: Forms Service |
H: Can different accounts have the same Gmail address?
I sometimes receive emails sent to my Gmail address but the name that is shown with the address is not mine. I'm not talking about spam, they are real mails sent by real persons and they are as surprised as myself.
Is it possible, in any kind of circumstances, that many people have the same Gmail email address?
AI: No, a @gmail.com address belongs to a single Google account.
But it is certainly possible to receive emails that's not being directly addressed to you:
If the sender has entered your address in the Bcc: field
If the message is being sent to an email group/list, where your address is listed
If the sender's email client provides an auto-complete address book, and the sender has mistakenly connected your address with someone else's name
Using the classic Gmail interface (at https://mail.google.com, not the new Google Inbox) you should be able to inspect the message's headers.
Click the message to open it, then click the ▼ next to the Reply button, and then Show original. Going through that garble might give you a hint on why you are receiving the message. See this information from Google. |
H: Goo.gl URL Shortener Switch Accounts
When I go to https://goo.gl/ and am signed into multiple accounts, I cannot switch accounts like I can with any other Google app.
Is there a way to at least control which account I will be let in as?
AI: Unfortunately, Google Multi-login doesn't work with all Google applications, as you've discovered.
Probably your best option to use goo.gl with multiple accounts is to use multiple browsers or, if your browser supports it, multiple profiles. |
H: If I move my printer to another site with a different internet connect with Google cloud print still work on it?
I've got a Google cloud print enabled printer (Epson WorkForce WF-7620DTWF) that I've setup to work with Google print.
I'm now going to move the printer to another location that will have a different internet connect (neither location has a static IP).
Will moving the printer to a new building with a different internet connect cause issues? Or does Google cloud print locate the printer by its MAC address or other identifying marker, rather than IP?
(I guess some people will suggest that this is off-topic, but I believe its on topic as its about how the Google cloud print app communicates with the actual printers.)
AI: The printer is identified by Google Cloud Print with an ID that is unique per registration. If you un-register and re-register the printer, then you get a new ID. Cloud Print doesn't care about the printer's MAC address, or even it's IP address.
As long as the printer has an internet connection, it looks the same to Cloud Print and your users. |
H: Facebook: visibility of posts with old dates
If I post a photo to Facebook and adjust the date so as to indicate that it is in the past, will this photo show up in my friends' timelines as any other recently posted photo would? Essentially what I want to do is sneak in a photo or two from a while back just to add to my profile, but not have it show up in my friends' feeds, and I was wonder if changing the date would accomplish this. If it doesn't, is there any way to make such a post?
AI: If you want add a photo and do not want to show it to your friends feed, change the audience settings. Choose Only Me option in audience selector and post. After sometime (say one day) you can change the audience and it will not show friends newsfeed until some activity will not happen on the post.
When we post a photo there is no option to change the date, but once it posted we can use edit button and change the date, description and location. But it will show in edited section and anyone can see what changes have made. |
H: How to add a string to the start and end of a cell?
I have lots of cells that contain unique text.
I'd like to add a <p> to the start of the cell and a </p> to the end of the string in the cell.
Turning this:
Here is some text I've written. It's different in each cell.
into this:
<p>Here is some text I've written. It's different in each cell.</p>
I've tried =CONCATENATE("<p>",A1) but can't find a way to add something to the end of the cell as well?
AI: You can just add another parameter to your CONCATENATE:
=CONCATENATE("<p>", A1, "</p>")
(you might have to use ; instead of , depending on your locale)
See documentation
This can be shortened to
="<p>" & A1 & "</p>"
since & is the string concatenation operator. |
H: Google Sheets query() with "Order By" doesn't print in same order as displayed
I have this issue where Google Sheets does not print a spreadsheet's rows in the same order as it displays them on screen.
This specifically applies to dates in a sheet, which has a query() including an Order By B (where B = date). NOTE, queries in this setup reference other combined queries, so it gets a little confusing, but here is my best attempt at explanation:
Issue Example: Google Sheets Example
In summary,
Sheets A, B, and C are input sheets for inputting tasks
Sheet D combines those lists via =query({'Sheet A'!A3:N20;'Sheet B'!A3:N20;'Sheet C'!A3:N20})
Sheet E takes content of Sheet D and sorts by date via =query(Sheet D!A3:E999,"Select A,B,C Where A > -1 and A < 54 Order by B")
the problem is that when tasks originating on different sheets have the same date, Google Sheets orders them differently on screen than it does when I print.
then if notes have been added on the Sheet E, they fall out of sync with their respective tasks if printed, as they DO remain in the same order!
I have tried adding a timestamp to the date (which worked) to differentiate the items, but that is really not convenient from an input POV.
AI: If you would like that Google change this behaviour send your feedback to Google. To do that click on Help > Report a problem
An alternative workaround is to add a second column to Order by that uniquely makes unique pairs, i.e.
=query(Handler!A3:E999,"Select A,B,C Where A > -1 and A < 54 Order by B,C") |
H: The same pictures in different albums
I have private album in Google Photos and I want part of this album made public and shared as another album.
Can I do this without uploading the the same pictures a second time, just have two albums that share the pictures?
AI: Yes, you can.
Open existing album, select picture, then in top right corner press more options and select Add to album:
After just choose album to which you want to add.
And this picture belongs to 2 albums. |
H: Where to go to see "mockup" texts in draw.io
This is my question: How to make a grid control in Draw.io?, but I don't know where to go to see "mockup" texts?....
AI: After I read an answer about how to make a table in Draw.io, I wanted to ask the same question. Because there were no answers, I had to find one myself. Thanks to sufficient caffeine concentration in my blood, the search was successful :) Here goes:
On the bottom of the "shapes" menu there is a button named "More shapes..." - click it.
Alternatively, you can click the "View" menu on the toolbar, and then choose "Shapes...".
In the new "Shapes" window, find the "Software" part.
Check the box called "Mockups" and click OK.
In the main draw.io window, in shapes library You will see a lot of new "Mockup ..." categories. One of them is the desired "Mockup Text".
Enjoy :) |
H: Can a Google for Work account be changed to a personal account?
I'm tired of running into the limitations of having my account as a "Google for Work" account and would like to convert it to a personal account. Is this possible?
If not, is there any way to migrate the current email address along with Google Play, Google Apps and other and so on to another account?
AI: I got a response from Google. Seems like it isn't possible.
... you'll need to delete your Google for Work account and create an
email address using your custom domain through a different provider so
you can have an email account using this domain name. Please have in
mind that when deleting the account, all the data inside of it will be
deleted too.
There isn't any option on Google for Work to convert it into a
personal account, however, once you create your email address through
a different provider, you can sign up for a Google account using that
email address (check this link for more info: http://goo.gl/QPnwxl ),
this will allow you to use any Google service (except Gmail). Please
make sure you completely delete your Google for Work account (as this
article describes: http://goo.gl/RbFrZl ) before creating the email
address through a different provider. -VS |
H: Trello banner saying : "You are almost out of backup verification codes." - what does it mean?
Ive logged into Trello.com this morning and there is a yellow banner across the top saying :
You are almost out of backup verification codes. Generate new backup codes.
(see below screenshot)
The generate new backup codes is a link that when clicked on asks me to log into trello .. even though im already logged in and able to access my boards ?
Any ideas what this is ?
AI: Trello Support says this happens if you have 2FA enabled but have never generated any recovery codes, which is the case for me:
https://twitter.com/trellosupport/status/771466148697210880
Unsure what triggered the warning though, since I have had an account for a good long while now with 2FA enabled. |
H: How to search for exact phase with punctuation?
I was trying to find text in StackOverflow and web that contain "using:" exactly that way with colon. No way. Search engines simply discard it and return using results only. How to search for that exact phrase?
AI: While it might come off as a possible opinion (due to it's suggestive nature), searching around for an engine (or a way) to search with symbols included lead me to SymbolHound .. the other engines usually exclude punctuation as it's mostly irrelevant to the casual searcher and can speed up search queries, while right on the front page of SymbolHound they state:
We hope SymbolHound will help programmers find information about their chosen languages and frameworks more easily.
So it might help those in need of specific queries like using: |
H: Google Sheets can not use Google form data in formulas
I have a Google Spreadsheet with two sheets. The first uses formulas to manipulate the second sheet row by row, and the second is fed by a Google form. My first sheet has formulas as such:
A2: int('Form Responses 1'!A2)
B2: 'Form Responses 1'!B2&" and "&'Form Responses 1'!C2
This is copied down 100 rows, where each row references the same row in the second sheet. However, when I submit the Google form, the formulas point to the next row, skipping entirely over the form data.
If I submit the form once:
A2: int('Form Responses 1'!A3)
B2: 'Form Responses 1'!B3&" and "&'Form Responses 1'!C3
Each row points to the next row in the second sheet. This repeats for every form submition, so after three submitions, the formulas look like:
A2: int('Form Responses 1'!A5)
B2: 'Form Responses 1'!B5&" and "&'Form Responses 1'!C5
I can also reproduce this problem if I insert a row above the row where the formulas point to. It seems they point to an actual row, and move their references when the row moves, rather than pointing to a certain row number and column number. How can I get out of this?
AI: The described behavior occurs because a new row is inserted into the response sheet each time that a new response is submitted to the linked form.
In many cases it's possible to solve problem by changing the formulas to array formulas.
An array formula is a formula that returns an array of values instead of single values. Below are the adaptation of the formulas presented in the question.
=FILTER(int('Form Responses 1'!A2:A),LEN('Form Responses 1'!A2:A))
=FILTER('Form Responses 1'!B2:B&" and "&'Form Responses 1'!C2:C,LEN('Form Responses 1'!A2:A))
The above formulas use FILTER to avoid to populate the whole column with 0 or andand to keep the recalculation time as short as possible. |
H: Automatic onload, and periodic, save
I would like to save a form the moment it loads and continue to automatically save it every few seconds. NOTE: it should be saved as an entry in the form's database - not locally!
Is this possible?
I imagine that this would essentially be like replicating the "Save button"'s save functionality.
The reason for all this is because the form gets prefilled with some data, including user information such as email. This information/form should be saved and shared with the user right away, not after the user press save or submit.
AI: I work for support for Cognito Forms. We don't have that feature; the Save and Resume feature is available but it does require the user to manually press the Save button. |
H: Sending formulas with Google Forms
I'm trying to give a formula using the equal sign, when submitting a Short answer in a Google Form. If I'm writing
=6+3
into the form and then submit it, I get the string
'=6+3
in the Google Sheet Response sheet. It does not seem to calculate this function automatically.
When trying to getValue() this cell, I cannot find the quote, and so I cannot execute this function.
Does anyone have any good idea to solve this problem? Is it possible to execute this function in the Response sheet?
AI: The following function gets the active range value and set it as the active cell formula:
function stringToFormula() {
var rng = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveRange();
var value = rng.getValue();
rng.setFormula(value);
}
If the cell value is '=6+7 the cell formula will be =6+7 and the cell display value will be 13 |
H: Convert string to value within array formula
I'm using the following formula to create an auto increment to form responses. I need the starting value of "100000" and all subsequent values to be a number, not a string.
Formula
=arrayformula( if( len(A2:A), text(row(A2:A) - row(A2) + 1, "100000"), iferror(1/0) ) )
How can I update the above formula so it outputs a number value, not a string showing a number?
AI: Short answer
To numerate rows in a table, like the form responses, starting on 100000, use the following formula:
=FILTER(ROW(A2:A) - 2 + 100000,LEN(A2:A))
Explanation
ROW(A2:A) - 2 returns a array of consecutive numbers starting on 0.
+ 100000 makes that the array of consecutive numbers start on 100000.
LEN(A2:A) as the filtering criteria argument of FILTER, makes that only the rows with responses be numerated. |
H: Avoiding "need to reauthenticate" when unfollowing Twitter users
When I do some cleanup in my Twitter contacts on Crowdfire, I sometimes get a popup that requires me to re-authenticate on Twitter (which requires me to enter the password). Sometimes clicking once to unfollow a single user is enough to trigger the reauthentication.
AI: In my experience, this happens when you are mistakenly unfollowing users which you recently followed (less than a week ago or even a couple of days). This makes sense, because it's not nice to unfollow users shortly after following them (it's rude enough to harm you too).
In particular, there seems to be a limit of about 500 such unfollows every multiple hours: once you've hit that limit, it doesn't matter at which rate you unfollow further users, you just have to wait some hours or a day before you can unfollow more (Crowdfire suggests to wait 24 hours).
Hitting the limit is easier if you use the nonFollowers tool. The tool shows oldest non-followers first and should filter out those you followed less than 7 days ago, but sometimes fails to do so, perhaps so you have someone to unfollow even when you've already unfollowed all/most old non-followers.
In contrast, unfollowing users you followed weeks or months ago is not a problem: you can easily unfollow thousands in a row (I tried with manual clicks). |
H: How to grant permission to self-defined functions?
I have in Google Sheets a table with the name of a contact in column 1 and want to retrieve their email address in column two.
This is the code I have used:
function email(name) {
var contacts = ContactsApp.getContactsByName(name);
var emailAdd = contacts[0].getPrimaryEmail();
return emailAdd;
}
I now try to test this function in a Sheet, by writing =email(A1) (for example) in column 2, and get the following error message:
You do not have permission to call getContactsByName.
How can I overcome this problem? I have tried to go into Resources>Advanced Google services and enabling the contacts API, without more luck.
AI: Custom functions can't call services that require authorization. Source: https://developers.google.com/apps-script/guides/sheets/functions.
The way to overcome the problem is to use another way for calling the function, like assign the script to a custom menu, an image, an installable trigger or by running it from the Script Editor. |
H: Google Sheets querying and sorting data from multiple sheets
OK, so I have six main sheets in question...
"Overall Team Assignments"
"Design Team Assignments"
"Mechanical Team Assignments"
"Programming Team Assignments"
"Communications Team Assignments"
"Media Team Assignments"
I want to take data from sheets two through six, from cells B3:D, and insert it into "Overall Team Assignments" in C3:E. I also want to sort it by the dates from column D.
This seems like something that should be fairly simple with QUERY, but everything I try either throws an error or doesn't physically change anything.
Here's the example spreadsheet that's uneditable, just in case something happens to the editable one.
Here's the editable one for anyone that wants one to copy, or a playground to try your hand at.
EDIT: This question was referenced, raising question as to whether or not my question was a duplicate. The difference being that I need to sort the data that is being queried as well (that is, sorted by a certain column within each sheet that is being queried from).
EDIT2: From the reference in the previous edit, this...
={filter(A:A, len(A:A)); filter(B:B, len(B:B)); filter(C:C, len(C:C))}
is how to filter out and stack the results of the cells that I want. The problem being that I don't want one of the columns that seperates the first part of the data that I want from the second part. So if I grab the data in two seperate cells (one for the data before the column that I don't want and one for the data after said column) then I have no way to ensure that there isn't some issue with only some of the cells in each row being filled (on the spreadsheet that is being grabbed from) which would mean that if the formula removed empty cells, it could misalign rows in the transfer from one sheet to another. So I need the formula to not match up things from seperate rows when it cuts out empty space (i.e. it needs to make sure that the rows were not altered from one sheet to another).
EDIT3: OK, now that I've finally had some time to work on this again, I've gotten the chance to try to use FILTER, but it can only grab a single row or column at a time. So that means that the results would be stacked up in each column without any way to sort said columns retroactively (after the data has been updated if something has changed, that is) other than manually.
In short, FILTER won't work for what's being done.
But I did figure out what will work. See my answer below.
AI: To sort a query you simply have to wrap it in SORT.
=SORT(
QUERY(
{SheetOne!C3:F;SheetTwo!C3:F;SheetThree!F4:G;SheetFour!F4:G}
)
, 1, TRUE)
For example, the above formula takes the data from the sheets inside the query, and then sorts by ascending order from column 1.
This also works well to solve the problem of row splitting, where some rows get split up if you use different queries to pull from rows you intend to keep uniform. |
H: Search for posts by user in private Facebook Group
I would like to view all the posts (and maybe comments) made by a single user in a private Facebook group. Searching by their name does not work because their name is mentioned so often in other people's posts.
Is there any advanced search functionality in Facebook private groups?
AI: Use Facebook Graph Search
"Posts in GroupName by FirstNameLastName"
https://www.facebook.com/search/str/GROUP_ID/stories-in/USER_ID/stories-by/intersect
Replace GROUP_ID for the private group ID and the USER_ID for the person you are checking.
(and maybe comments)
"Posts in GroupName commented on by FirstNameLastName"
https://www.facebook.com/search/str/GROUP_ID/stories-in/USER_ID/stories-commented/intersect |
H: Range not found error on user-defined function that use a cell reference as argument
I'm writing a UDF and get an error. From the documentation, it seems straightforward. My goal is to check the background color of a cell. The code is shown below and the calling format is "isColor(cell)". I get an error (Range not found (line 5, file "Code") on the line var cell = ...
I tried to pass the cell address as a string by making the calling format isColor(cell("address",A2))
function isColor(input) {
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var sheet = ss.getSheets()[0];
Logger.log(input);
var cell = sheet.getRange(input);
var color = cell.getBackground();
Logger.log(cell);
color = cell.getBackground();
Logger.log(color);
var result = false;
if (color == '#ffffff') {
result = false;}
else {
result = true;
}
return result;
}
AI: Short answer
Google Sheets pass custom function arguments as values, not as objects, in this case not as a cell/range.
Workaround
Use SpreadsheetApp.getActiveRange().getFormula() to get the cell formula and extract the reference from it.
Example
Note: Custom functions recalculates when their arguments changes their values. Changing the background of the referenced cell will not make that Google Sheets recalculate them.
function isColor(input) {
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var sheet = ss.getSheets()[0];
var activeRange = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveRange();
var activeSheet = activeRange.getSheet();
var formula = activeRange.getFormula();
try {
var rangeA1Notation = formula.match(/=\w+\((.*)\)/i)[1].split('!');
} catch(e) {
throw new Error('The reference isn\'t valid');
}
//
Logger.log(rangeA1Notation);
var cell = sheet.getRange(rangeA1Notation);
var color = cell.getBackground();
Logger.log(cell);
color = cell.getBackground();
Logger.log(color);
var result = false;
if (color == '#ffffff') {
result = false;}
else {
result = true;
}
return result;
}
Explanation
In the Google Sheets / Google Apps Script argot, user-defined functions are called custom functions.
From the custom functions official documentation:
Data types
Google Sheets stores data in different formats depending on the nature
of the data. When these values are used in custom functions, Apps
Script treats them as the appropriate data type in JavaScript. These
are the most common areas of confusion:
Times and dates in Sheets become Date objects in Apps Script. If the spreadsheet and the script use different time zones (a rare problem),
the custom function will need to compensate.
Duration values in Sheets also become Date objects, but working with them can be complicated.
Percentage values in Sheets become decimal numbers in Apps Script. For example, a cell with a value of 10% becomes 0.1 in Apps Script.
IMHO the documentation should include a note regarding cell/range references as the Spreadsheet service includes Range as class. |
H: Gmail stop redirecting me to Google Inbox
I access my Gmail account from Firefox and when I log into gmail.com, my account seems to redirect to Google Inbox (inbox.google.com) rather than the Gmail (mail.google.com) interface I want to see and that I thought was the default.
I have been unable to find anything in the settings to stop this behavior.
Any ideas?
AI: Short Version
Go to your mail account.
Settings -> Other -> uncheck Redirect Gmail to inbox.google.com
Detailed Version
Click here to show the Settings and other options (scroll down
if needed)
Click on Settings
Click on Other and be sure the Redirect Gmail to inbox.google.com is unchecked |
H: How can I tell at what time a YouTube video went online?
Looking at a YouTube video, I can only tell which date it went online. Is it possible to also see at what time (in hours and perhaps minutes) it was published?
AI: You can't get it using just YouTube, YouTube doesn't allow it.
You can get using a tool called YouTube Data Viewer.
Paste the URL in the input.
Click Go button.
You can convert the time in your time zone. |
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