How to modify data whilst importing in google sheets? - google-sheets

I have more than 20k form responses (google sheet and google form) where some guys have selected the wrong data which is visible in my responses. How I know its wrong is because they needed to select the activity (an attribute) but they selected the similar activity name (let's call it X) which was for the previous year and this year's activity (let's call it Y) should have been the different one.
I know that after a certain date all the X activities are Y, so I need to modify the data while importing it from the responses.
I tried conditional formatting on the data but then the importrange doesn't work, it needs cells to be empty to work.
I learned about query statements but it doesn't allow UPDATE.
Please help me do this, I am okay if we need to use a macro. I'm looking for something like this (note that the following is the logic I'm looking for and not the actual code):
if date>"a date" and FC==X:
FC=Y
#FC being the column I wanna modify
Edit: I am unable to share the table as its confidential. Can tell you that first column is date/time of form and then there are 149 columns, one of them I need to modify based on the date. Let's Assume it has just 2 columns, A: date, B: activity (has 20 activities). So, if they have filled "X" activity after then change that activity to Y. I hope it helps in understanding.
Edit 2: Have put a dummy file as asked. So now the problem statement is after 21 May 2022 (inclusive) all "6" activity must be "2"

Try
function onOpen() {
SpreadsheetApp.getUi().createMenu('⇩ M E N U ⇩')
.addItem('👉 Update', 'myFunction')
.addToUi();
}
function myFunction() {
// parameters
var param = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getSheetByName('Param')
var from = param.getRange('A2').getValue()
var before = param.getRange('B2').getValue()
var after = param.getRange('C2').getValue()
// data
var sh = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getActiveSheet()
var range = sh.getDataRange()
var data = range.getValues()
data.filter(r => (r[0] >= from && r[1] == before)).forEach(r => r[1] = after)
range.setValues(data)
}
To avoid hardcoding and potential issue with dates, I put all parameters in a new tab called "Param" as follows

Related

How do I use ARRAYFORMULA and IF to apply a script to an entire column in Google Sheets?

I have little to no coding knowledge, so apologies if the solution is too obvious!
I am trying to add a Last Modified column to a Google Sheets file. To do this, I am using an AppScript function with the following code:
function setTimestamp(x) {
if(x != ""){
return new Date();
}
}
This works fine when I use setTimestamp(x) in my file. However, I am combining this with a Zapier action that creates a new row whenever new media is added. Every time a new row is created, any existing formulas are removed.
I assume I need to use ARRAYFORMULA to apply the setTimestamp formula to newly-created rows, but it must only apply to rows that aren't blank.
I have tried the following:
={"Last Modified";ARRAYFORMULA(setTimestamp(A2:A))} -> Only worked on first row
={"Last Modified";ARRAYFORMULA(B2:B=setTimestamp(A2:A))} -> Broke the file
={"Last Modified";ARRAYFORMULA(IF(A2:A)=1,setTimestamp(A2:A),"")} -> Expected 1 argument, got 3
Is there a way I can combine the IF into the script or a better way to solve the problem?
A public version of my file is available here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13zkVRPr2Wh5bHjCT8cenInHnBk7qkMkuEMdwUxC_cRU/edit?usp=sharing
All data is dummy data and stock photos.
Unfortunately, arrayformula does not function as an array map function for custom functions. (Even for native functions where you may expect it to work that way, it does not always, sadly.)
To handle array range, we need the custom function to handle array range directly. That also limits the number of individual calls to custom functions, which materially saves execution time.
To handle array range, there are 2 ways. I'll comment on both.
Array range directly as input of custom function
If the input is a single cell, it is read directly
If the input range spans more than a single cell, the data is read as nested lists: a list of lists of rows.
For example, A1 will be read as the data in A1. A1:B2 will be read as [[A1, B1], [A2, B2]].
You can remember it as columns of rows.
As for the input data format, numbers are taken without the display format. Texts are taken as strings.
If output is an array range, the result will automatically expend.
Thus, in your example, in B2 you can almost do
=setTimestamp(A2:A)
where setTimestamp() has been modified to
function out = setTimestamp(arr) {
out=Array(mat.length);
for (i=0;i<mat.length;i++){
j=0
if(arr[i][j] != ""){
out[i]=new Date();
}
}
return out
}
For more details, see the official help page. (Over the years, more details have become available.)
Almost, but not quite. For your direct question, above provides the answer. However, you seem to have an implicit requirement that your custom function is executed every time a new URL is found. Be careful that what happens here is that every time Google Sheet updates cell content, a new Date() is created and outputted.
Array range read within custom function
Since you know your URLs are in A2:A, and you want the output of your custom function to be B2:B, you can read and modify those ranges directly within your custom function via the Range Class.
In this route, you may find getLastRow(), getLastColumn() in Sheet and getNextDataCell() in Range convenient.
When you need to execute your custom function, you can run it manually or add onEdit() trigger to your custom function. (But onEdit() itself can mean substantial UI lag when using the sheet. It's usually more appropriate for sheets that parse external data automatically. See other triggers in the link for motions.)
In your example, you can almost do
function setTimestamp() {
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var sheet = ss.getSheets()[0];
var lastRow = sheet.getLastRow();
var row=1;
var cell = sheet.getRange(row,1).getValue();
while (row<=lastRow) {
if(cell.getValue() != ""){
sheet.getRange(row,2).setValue(new Date());
}
cell = sheet.getRange(row,1,lastRow).getNextDataCell(SpreadsheetApp.Direction.DOWN);
row=cell.getRow();
}
}
which will scan for all URLs in A2:A and write current time to B2:B when executed.
Again, your example implicitly points to updating only when a new URL is found. So be careful about that. Use triggers as needed.
As for the need to place formula in B1, you can (and should) reference the output of your other application in a different sheet so that you or a different application of yours can edit without conflict.
Thus, for what was asked, we have everything.

How to generate random data of birth dates using google spreadsheets for a specific years?

I want a formula to generate random data of birth dates for a specific years (Example: 1995 to 2002) and make it Array like this:
Sheet URL: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XHoxD-hNmpUOMVm_u-cz-4ESrabodsrS0fIfaN-n4js/edit
That might not be the best approach but it will get you closer to what you want:
=DATE(RANDBETWEEN(1995,2002),RANDBETWEEN(1,12),RANDBETWEEN(1,31))
There are two issues with this approach:
you might get a day that does not exist for the particular month. For example, 2/28/2021 exists, but 2/29/2021 does not exist.
I wasn't able to generate an array but only drag down formulas. When I generate an array, the same random numbers are used and as a result the dates are the same.
For the first issue, you can use isdate to check if the random date returned is correct. For example, 2/29/2021 is a wrong date (I hardcopied that date).
but I guess you can filter out the FALSE cases.
I really hope other people can come up with a better approach.
You could try (as I demonstrated in your sheet):
=ARRAY_CONSTRAIN(SORT(SEQUENCE(DATE(1992,12,31)-DATE(1900,1,1),1,DATE(1900,1,1)),RANDARRAY(DATE(1992,12,31)-DATE(1900,1,1)),1),COUNTA(A2:A),1)
SEQUENCE(DATE(1992,12,31)-DATE(1900,1,1),1,DATE(1900,1,1)) - Is used to create an array of valid numeric representations of true dates between 1-1-1900 and 31-12-1992.
SORT(<TheAbove>,RANDARRAY(DATE(1992,12,31)-DATE(1900,1,1)),1) - Is used to sort the array we just created randomly.
ARRAY_CONSTRAIN(<TheAbove>, COUNTA(A2:A),1) - Is used to only return as many random birth-dates we need according to other data.
Note that this is volatile and will recalculate upon sheet-changes and such. Also note that this is just "slicing" a given array and may fall short when you try to use it on a dataset larger than the given array.
As Google Sheets can deal with dates as integers (~ number of days since 1900), choosing a random date between two dates can be a single call to RANDBETWEEN (with the output formatted as Date).
With your initial date written in B1 and your end date in B2, the formula is simply:
=RANDBETWEEN($B$1,$B$2)
You can paste this formula in as many cells as you want, to generate N different random dates.
Of course, as other answers involving random generators in your sheet, the formula will be recomputed at each change. My suggestion to overcome this would simply be to copy/paste the output, using the "Paste special > Values only" option (right click or "Edit" menu).
Script Solution
Just for sake of completeness, here is a solution using a script
Initial Considerations
This cannot function like a in sheet function/formula.
https://developers.google.com/apps-script/guides/sheets/functions
Custom function arguments must be deterministic. That is, built-in spreadsheet functions that return a different result each time they calculate — such as NOW() or RAND() — are not allowed as arguments to a custom function. If a custom function tries to return a value based on one of these volatile built-in functions, it will display Loading... indefinitely.
A custom function cannot affect cells other than those it returns a value to. In other words, a custom function cannot edit arbitrary cells, only the cells it is called from and their adjacent cells. To edit arbitrary cells, use a custom menu to run a function instead.
So a normal script is needed.
The Script
/**
* Sets the values of a range to random dates.
*/
function generateRandomBdays(range, start, end) {
let height = range.getHeight();
let width = range.getWidth();
let output = [];
for (let i = 0; i != height; i++) {
let row = [];
for (let j = 0; j != width; j++) {
row.push(randomBday(start, end));
}
output.push(row)
}
range.setValues(output);
}
/**
* Generates a random date beween start and end
*/
function randomBday(start, end) {
if (start < 2000) start = start - 1900
start = new Date(`${start}`);
if (end < 2000) end = end - 1900
end = new Date(`${end}`);
let bday = new Date(
start.getTime() + (Math.random() * (end.getTime() - start.getTime()))
);
return bday;
}
/**
* Gets active selection and fills with random dates
*/
function main(){
let file = SpreadsheetApp.getActive();
let sheet = file.getActiveSheet()
let range = sheet.getActiveRange();
// ============
generateRandomBdays(range, 1995, 2002); // Change these years to your liking
// ============
}
/**
* Creates menu when sheet is opened.
*/
function onOpen() {
var ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi();
ui.createMenu('Generate Birthdays')
.addItem('Generate!', 'main')
.addToUi();
}
Which works like this:
Installation
You will have to copy it into your script editor and then run one of the functions to authorize the script with the permissions it needs. Then next time you open the sheet you should have the menu available.
Alternatively you can delete the onOpen function and just use it from the script editor.
Within the main function, customize the range of years you need.
References
Apps Script
Overview of Spreadsheet Service in Apps Script

How can I concatenate text to a filtered column in Google Sheets?

I'm working with google forms and google sheets. I'm trying to create a summary sheet that will automatically update as the form is being filled.
I've been able to pull the data from the other sheets using a FILTER function. Now I want to add a column that shows the name of a country to the filtered column. I tried using concatenate but it didn't work as well as I'd hoped. Can someone help me figure out how to solve this problem.
Please see here for an example of the problem.
Well this is a very inelegant brute force way, but I think it works. See Solution-GK in your sheet.
=QUERY({
{TRANSPOSE(SPLIT(REPT("Nigeria~",ROWS(UNIQUE(FILTER(NIGERIA!A:E,NIGERIA!C:C<TODAY(),NIGERIA!B:B="Charity Fundraiser")))),"~")),
UNIQUE(FILTER(NIGERIA!A:E,NIGERIA!C:C<TODAY(),NIGERIA!B:B="Charity Fundraiser"))};
{TRANSPOSE(SPLIT(REPT("Sierra Leone~",ROWS(UNIQUE(FILTER('SIERRA LEONE'!A:E,'SIERRA LEONE'!C:C<TODAY(),'SIERRA LEONE'!B:B="Charity Fundraiser")))),"~")),
UNIQUE(FILTER('SIERRA LEONE'!A:E,'SIERRA LEONE'!C:C<TODAY(),'SIERRA LEONE'!B:B="Charity Fundraiser"))}},
"select Col1,Col2,Col3,Col4, Col5 where Col2 is not null")
I've added a hard coded literal of the country name, repeated it the number of times needed for the matching data rows, and made it into the first column in your existing data array. I repeat this for the second array you have for the second country.
I'm sure there are far more elegant ways to do this, so we'll see what else is proposed. If you had a list somewhere in your sheet of your country names - ie. Nigeria and Sierra Leone, possibly many more - I'm sure an elegant solution would cycle through those names, pulling the name to build the concatenated data ranges, and also adding the name as the text for each row.
Without needing a list in the sheet, a little bit of code could find all of your tab names, and exclude the non data ones, eg. Solution Here and Summary, and process all of the rest as data.
Note: I'm not clear that you need your UNIQUE statements, unless you are expecting duplicates for some reason. Also, the outer QUERY doesn't seem to be necessary - the inner FILTERs seem to do everything you need.
You could do this with an Apps Script Custom Function.
First, open a bound script by selecting Tools > Script editor, and copy the following functions to the script (check inline comments for more details about the code):
// Copyright 2020 Google LLC.
// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
function SUMMARIZE_FUNDRAISING_EVENTS(sheetNames, ...ranges) {
const ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
sheetNames = sheetNames.split(","); // Comma-separated string to array of sheet names
const filteredData = sheetNames.map(sheetName => { // Iterate through each sheet name
const sheet = ss.getSheetByName(sheetName);
if (sheet) { // Check if sheet exists with this name
const sheetData = sheet.getRange(2,1,sheet.getLastRow()-1,4).getValues(); // Source sheet data
const filteredData = sheetData.filter(rowData => {
return rowData[1] === "Charity Fundraiser" && rowData[2] < new Date()
}); // Filter data according to date and type of event
filteredData.forEach(filteredRow => filteredRow.unshift(sheetName)); // Add sheet name to filtered data
return filteredData;
}
}).flat();
return filteredData;
}
Once it is defined, you can use the function SUMMARIZE_FUNDRAISING_EVENTS the same you would any sheets built-in function. This function would accept a series of parameters:
A comma-separated string with the names of the sheets whose data should be summarized (don't add blank spaces after the comma or similar).
The different source ranges (in your case, NIGERIA!A:E and 'SIERRA LEONE'!A:E).
Both of these are necessary, because, on the one side, specifying the source ranges as parameters makes sure that the function executes and updates the summarized data every time the source ranges are edited, and on the other side, when passed as parameters, these source ranges don't contain information about the sheet names, which the script will need when returning the summarized data.
Example of calling the function:
Reference:
Custom Functions in Google Sheets

How do I update the content selected from a dropdown cell if the source subsequently changes? (Insert cell reference instead of literal value.)

I have two sheets used to track a construction project.
On the first sheet, a list of tasks is incorporated into a timeline with cost projections, etc. The tasks are something like the following:
Cut Concrete
Pour new pad
Frame
Roof
The second sheet is for tracking individual purchases, each of which is associated with a task from the first sheet (e.g., Cut Concrete). It looks something like the following:
DATE PAYEE ITEM CATEGORY COST
----- ---------- ---------- -------- ------
10/25 Home Depot (10) 2x4's Frame ▽ $54.00
Using Data Validation, the Category dropdown in the second sheet references the list of items from the first sheet. This is working perfectly. Here's the problem...
If I change the item on the first sheet (for instance, "Frame" to "Framing"), although the dropdown is updated, any previously entered rows (such as the one shown above), just show a validation error (i.e., a red indicator in the right corner of the cell).
Since a construction project can easily have hundreds of items purchased, rather manually looking for data validation errors, is there a way to have the second sheet's values updated? For instance...
Add a script that watches for content changes in the first sheet. When the user starts editing a "task" cell, its original value is noted; and upon exiting the cell, if the value has changed, the script looks through the second spreadsheet for the original value and replaces it with the new one. (Seems like a lot of hassle.)
Find some way for the dropdown to insert a cell reference to the first sheet instead of the actual value. That way, the dropdown cell is always referencing the source item (i.e., the "task" cell's current content).
A more obvious feature I don't know about.
As per my favored possibility noted in my question, I figured out how to write a script that would run after a value was selected from the dropdown, thus overwriting the literal value with a cell reference.
The following script runs after the user makes a selection in the dropdown menu:
function onEdit(event){
var activeSheet = event.source.getActiveSheet();
var activeSheetName = activeSheet.getName();
var activeCell = activeSheet.getActiveCell();
var activeColumn = activeCell.getColumn();
if (activeSheetName == "Envelope (Spent)" && activeColumn === 4) {
var destinationCell = activeCell;
var destinationContent = destinationCell.getValue();
var sourceSheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getSheets()[0];
var sourceSheetName = sourceSheet.getName();
var sourceRange = sourceSheet.getRange("D:D");
var sourceValues = sourceRange.getValues();
for (var i = 0; i < sourceValues.length; i++) {
if (sourceValues[i] == destinationContent) {
var sourceRow = sourceSheet.getRange("D" + i + ":D" + i).getRow() + 1;
destinationCell
.setValue("='" + sourceSheetName + "'!D" + sourceRow)
.setNote(destinationContent)
;
}
}
}
}
To allow for an easy recovery in case the two sheets somehow get out of sync, the originally selected value, derived from the dropdown's data validation, is inserted as a note. I figured it was easier to clear all the notes in the future than to find myself with a bunch of entries that don't correspond with the source list of tasks.
The data validation in Google sheets is always inserting the Literals you type or pick so you can't link it to the original cell. You have to solve the whole thing through scripts
Get a list of all data validation items through onOpen()
Create an onEdit() function that runs if the data validation range is edited, checks which field is changed and then goes through the purchases, checks which purchases have the old value and replaces them with the new one.

arrayformula that can "skip" rows

I need to introduce functionality into a google spreadsheet that will allow the user to edit the result of an array formula. The reason for the requirement is that an ARRAYFORMULA sets a default value for a group of cells, but the user sometimes needs to overwite these defaults. I'd like to know if this is even remotely possible.
example:
Row(#)|Array_1 |Array_2
------------------------------------
1 |a |=arrayformula(Array_1)
2 |b |""
3 |c |""
4 |d |""
So all rows in Array_2 are populated by an array formula. However the user wants to go directly to the second cell in Array_2 and change its value. Of course, by design ARRAYFORMULA will break. Is there some way to modify ARRAYFORMULA, so that it will simply skip over the cell that the user has edited and continue on its way as if nothing has happeded?
I realize this is an old problem but I was searching for this today and made a script that works for me.
This script puts a formula in an adjacent cell when a cell is edited in the second column. This way you can just overwrite the formula if you need to input something manually and you don't need to have the formulas go into all of the rows beforehand. I had people accidentally edit the formula and mess it up most of the time when they were pre-filled, so this works better for me.
function onEdit() {
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var sheetList = ["Sheet1","Sheet2","Sheet3"]; // list of sheets to run script on
for (i = 0; i < sheetList.length; i++) {
var sheetName = ss.getSheetByName(sheetList[i]);
// only runs if sheet from sheetList is found
if (sheetName != null) {
var aCell = sheetName.getActiveCell();
var col = aCell.getColumn();
var adjacentCell = aCell.offset(0, -1);
var formula = 'INPUT FORMULA HERE'; // put the formula you want in the adjacentCell here. Don't use it in an arrayformula
// only runs if active cell is in column 2, if the adjacentCell is empty, and if the active cell is not empty(otherwise it runs if you delete something in column 2)
if(col==2 && adjacentCell.getValue()=="" && aCell.getValue()!="") {
adjacentCell1.setValue(formula);
}
}
}
}
Will changing the value not throw out the output of the remaining formulas?
If not, you could set up 2 new tabs: one which will receive the user over-ride values, and another "reflection" tab which you populate with
IF(tabOverride!Rx:Cy, tabOverride!Rx:Cy, tabArray!Rx:Cy)
basically the new tabs are cloned layouts of your array tab, creating an override input layer, plus a presentation layer that uses the IF('override value exists', 'then show override', 'else show array out put') logic to return the desired values.
hope that makes sense!

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