arrayformula that can "skip" rows - google-sheets

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!

Related

How to modify data whilst importing in 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

Remove rows based on duplicates in a single column in Google Sheets

I have spreadsheet similar to this:
I'd like to remove all duplicates of row based on the first column data.
So from this screenshot row, 1 and 2 would be kept, and row 2 would be removed. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. In my case I have columns from A to AU and rows from 2 to 9500.
Thank you.
Maya's answer and the solution AJPerez linked both work.
You can also use Filter View, which doesn't require deleting rows or creating new rows/sheets.
First create a helper column, say to the left of all your data. If your data starts on row 1, then create a blank row above all your data; if not, you are fine. Afterwards, on the first row where you have data, say row 2, write in the formula
=iserror(match(B2,B$1:B1,0))
Replace "2" with the row number of the first row of your data and "1" with that number minus 1. Also populate the rest of the column with the formula. (Unfortunately, arrayformula doesn't work here.) The formula outputs TRUE when the entry in B# has not occurred in cells above.
Note that this assumes your data now starts with column B and column B is where you want the filter to base. If that's not the case, just edit the column index too accordingly.
Select this new helper column. Go to Data -> Filter Views... -> Create a new Filter. Select filter by value and check TRUE only.
Caveat: this filter can only work if there are actually rows with TRUE value. This will always be the case as some entries are always unique.
If you want to avoid the caveat in your future applications, you can use filter by conditions with custom formula. The formula b2 should work.
But to begin with, even without the helper column, the above formula should work. Why doesn't it? That would be a good question for Google Support should it exist.
You can also use a google apps script to do this. To open the script editor from google sheets:
Choose the menu Tools > Script Editor.
Copy and paste the following script:
function removeDuplicates() {
var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
var data = sheet.getDataRange().getValues();
var newData = [];
var ids = [];
for (var i in data) {
var row = data[i];
var duplicate = false;
if (ids.indexOf(row[0]) > -1) {
duplicate = true;
} else {
duplicate = false;
ids.push(row[0]);
}
if (!duplicate) {
newData.push(row);
}
}
sheet.clearContents();
sheet.getRange(1, 1, newData.length, newData[0].length).setValues(newData);
}
This assumes that you want to dedupe based on the contents of the first row of you sheet. If not you can adjust the row references from the 0 index to any other index you wish.
I would...
Create a new sheet
For column A, do =Unique(Sheet1!A:A)
Simply use VLOOKUP to populate the other columns. This will deliver the first value associated with the duplicates.

Creating a Macro in google spreadsheet to search and then write text

What I am trying to accomplish is I would like to search for a term in one cell, if that cell has the term write text to another cell. My specific example would be I would like to search for the term 'DSF' in column 4. If I find 'DSF' it would then write 'w' in column 5 & write '1.2' in column 3. This is searched per row.
I do understand the the .setvalue will write the needed text, but I do not understand how to create a search function. Some help would be greatly appreciated.
EDIT
Here is the code I am working with at the moment. I am modifying it from something I found.
function Recalls()
{
var sh = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
var data = sh.getDataRange().getValues(); // read all data in the sheet
for(n=0;n<data.length;++n){ // iterate row by row and examine data in column D
if(data[n][3].toString().match('dsf')=='dsf'){ data[n][4] = 'w'}{ data[n][2] = '1.2'};// if column D contains 'dsf' then set value in index [4](E)[2](C)
}
//Logger.log(data)
//sh.getRange(1,1,data.length,data[3].length).setValues(data); // write back to the sheet
}
With the Logger.log(data) not using the // It works properly but it overwrites the sheet, which will not work since I have formulas placed in a lot of the cells. Also, Maybe I did not realize this but Is there a way to do a live update, as in once I enter text into a cell it will research the sheet? Otherwise having to 'run' the macro with not save me much time in the long run.
Try this. It runs when the sheet is edited. It only captures columns C,D,&E into the array and only writes back those columns. That should solve overwriting your formulas. It looks for 'DSF' or 'dsf' in column D (or contains dsf with other text in the same cell either case). Give it a try and let me know if I didn't understand your issue.
function onEdit(){
var sh = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
var lr = sh.getLastRow()// get the last row number with data
var data = sh.getRange(2,3,lr,3).getValues(); // get only columns C.D,& E. Starting at row 2 thur the last row
//var data = sh.getDataRange().getValues();// read all data in the sheet
for(n=0;n<data.length-1;++n){ // iterate row by row and examine data in column D
// if(data[n][0].toString().match('dsf')=='dsf'){
if(data[n][1].match(/dfs/i)){ //changed to find either upper or lower case dfs or with other text in string.
data[n][2] = 'w';
data[n][0] = '1.2'};
}
sh.getRange(2,3,data.length,data[3].length).setValues(data); // write back to the sheet only Col C,D,& E
}

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.

Formula with custom script doesn't update in Google Spreadsheet

I have some trouble with a spreadsheet: as said in the title, I put in a column a formula which is calling a custom script based on the value of another cell, but when I modify this other cell, the formula does not update... This seems to work with standard formulas, but, in my cell calling my script:
If I try to add a blank in the fomula cell, the result is still not updated.
If I clear the formula cell, and re-type the formula, it's still showing the old value.
If I copy paste the formula cell in another one, the new cell is up-to-date.
Here is my script. If few words: for given 'company' parameter, it search for all rows matching this criterion and store the 3rd column cell in a variable, finally returned ( so return the last value ):
function getLastStatut(company) {
var values = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet().getDataRange().getValues();
var out = "not found";
var row;
for(i in values){
row = values[i];
if(row[1]==company){
out = row[2];
}
}
return out;
}
And for example:
A1 : Date
A2 : Test
A3 : Running
A4 : =getLastStatut(B1)
So A4 display "Running", but if I change A3, it still shows "Running", whereas it should display the value of A3.
Is this a bug or is there something I'm doing wrong? Any help is welcome.
Alexis
The problem is with the caching "feature" for custom functions. I explain it in this other thread, please read.
But the bottom line here is, a custom function should not access data that is not static, all variable information should be passed as parameter. In your case, the whole data set should be a parameter of your script. Custom functions should never get any range at all.
//getting values like this is wrong (for a custom function)
var values = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet().getDataRange().getValues();

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