The issue I am facing is trying to automate my weekly occurrence of coping an entire Spreadsheet to make a copy of it. Each week I need to hit "File --> Make a copy --> share with same people" and after doing so on the copy I need to hit "Allow Access" multiple times for each table that requires access, if I do not do this, there is no data displayed.
So I am wondering if there is a way to create a copy of a Spreadsheet where the copy contains entirely plain text and no formulas or links that way all the data can be read as soon as a copy is made.
This could be a separate question, but if anyone also knows how to automate hitting the "allow access" button for multiple tables in the copy that would also be helpful.
*To give an idea of the layout, essentially I have a main Spreadsheet (the one I make a copy of) that references data from other Spreadsheets (that are linked to google forms), and then I make a copy of the main Spreadsheet, and in making this copy is where I am required to hit the access button for each table.
Answer:
You can do this with Apps Script.
Code Example:
function duplicateSpreadsheet() {
const idOfSheetToCopy = "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
var file = DriveApp.getFileById(ifOfSheetToCopy).next()
const newFile = file.makeCopy()
SpreadsheetApp.openById(newFile.getId()).getSheets().forEach(function(sheet) {
sheet.getDataRange().setValues(sheet.getDataRange().getDisplayValues())
})
}
Code Rundown:
Define Template Sheet ID
Make a copy of the sheet using DriveApp
Get the ID of the newly created sheet and open it with SpreadsheetApp
Loop through all sheets in the new copy and replace all cell values for the cell's display value
Instead of pasting with "Ctrl+V" use "Ctrl+Shift+V" for pasting without formatting. This will ignore things like links, font, and font size.
Not sure about the allow access button.
Related
I want to copy and paste dropdown below that original dropdown by using a VBA. It will copy & paste just below the last of the dropdown with the same lookup list every time VBA runs. I am trying it in word but can't get any clue whatsoever however seems a simple task so any help would be appreciated.(Want to avoid manual copy paste)
Generally, can you disable Notes in a Google sheet temporarily?
More detail:
I can use GAS to export sheets to PDF, no issue there. But I've added a timestamp function which adds a 'Note' to a cell when it is edited using the OnEdit built in trigger. This is great because I can see when each cell was edited last without messing with revision history.
Unfortunately when I print to PDF, manually or via GAS, I get this ugly last page that includes each comment listed numerically. Anyway around this besides deleting the notes when I want to export? number of pages will be variable so I can't try to remove all but the first page each time.
There's probably a better way, but I would copy the Spreadsheet, delete all notes, export to PDF and delete the copied Spreadsheet.
You can make sure that you add all your "comments" in the same column, and then hide that column(s) before downloading as PDF.
But the best advice is to use the "Comment" feature of Google Sheets, which allows you to add Comments linked to a cell or range, which are not visible when you download as a PDF. You can insert a "comment" by going to the desired cell and from the menu "Insert" choose the item "Comment", or simply right click the cell and choose "Insert Comment".
So, yes, there is not only a way, but multiple ways of doing this. (Sad to see people respond negatively, vaguely or inaccurately without proper knowledge or even trying to solve the problem, understanding the question or attempt an answer).
I Created a simple script to do it for me:
Go to tool->script editor to create it, then copy/paste the code.
After you add the Menu, you need to refresh to see it.
Use: Click on Custom Utilities->Copy No Notes then type in the name of the sheet, it will create "copy of sheet" that has no notes.
Warning: This script deletes a page named "Copy of [sheet]" where [sheet] is the name of the text you type in. (if it exists)
function onOpen(){
var ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi();
ui.createMenu('Custom Utilities').addItem('Copy No Notes', 'copyNoNotes').addToUi();
}
function copyNoNotes(){
var ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi();
var response = ui.prompt('Copy Sheet', 'Source Sheet?', ui.ButtonSet.YES_NO);
if (response.getSelectedButton() == ui.Button.YES) {
var source = response.getResponseText();
var newSheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActive().getSheetByName("Copy of " + source);
if(newSheet != undefined){
SpreadsheetApp.getActive().deleteSheet(newSheet);
}
var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActive().getSheetByName(source);
newSheet = sheet.copyTo(SpreadsheetApp.getActive());
newSheet.clearNotes();
}
}
I'm uploading an excel file that contains sheets, to my server which encodes to base 64 so I decode it as required and process it by adding data in sheet 5 as column1 and column2 with certain number of rows. At the time of uploading, this sheet has some specific formulas on sheet 5 that makes changes in other sheets. So on opening the file which I send as response after editing from server, There comes this prompt that reads
"Excel Found unreadable content in 'MyDownloadedExcelData.xlsx'. Do you want to recover the contents of this workbook?If you trust the source of this workbook, click Yes', with Yes and no buttons
and when I click on yes and open the sheet, all the formulas are deleted.
I see something like
Excel was able to open the file by repairing ot removing the unreadable content.
Removed Records :Formula from /xl/calcChain.xml Part
Repaired Records : Cell Information from /xl/worksheets/sheet1.xml part etc
So, How do I make sure my formulas in the sheet are retained?
Using VBA you could have an on close event that pastes values and an on open event that recreates the formulas. Your file would essentially save with static data, but then be used with functions intact.
If this solution is of interest I can help provide some coding framework.
The scenario: I have an Excel workbook with a macro that uses a template (from "C:\Users\User1\Desktop\1.xltx") to create customized sheets.
The problem: I need to make Excel to use the template from the same workbook - I have added the template as a separate sheet ("temp1"). I can't seem to figure it out, even though it's probably very simple.
The current code:
Set wks = Sheets.Add(After:=Worksheets(Worksheets.Count), Type:="C:\Users\User1\Desktop\1.xltx")
You probably don't want individual copies of the template for each user. If something on the template changes, you would have to update every copy.
Have you thought of talking to your SysAdmin and storing the template (1.xltx) in a common location with Read Only permission for the users?
I have a LibreOffice Calc spreadsheet that uses some conditional formatting of cells. I would like to copy it into Writer as a table. The colours/formats of the cells should remain as they were due to the conditional formatting in Calc. Unfortunately when I do that, the formatting vanishes.
How can I copy it keeping the formatting?
Of course the Writer version no longer has to be conditional, but I need to keep current colours.
My work is done so eventually I can do the trick in Calc first (abandon the "conditional" part, and just preserve the formatting as - is). However due to amount of data I would prefer not to do it manually.
Is macro the only way to do that?
Use Insert -> Object -> OLE Object
Choose Create from file
Pick the right .ods file.
If you want to modify further (in my case - I need to create many tables from one spreadsheet as the original file is humongous - up to CL column) - do not tick "Link to the file" option.
After pressing OK, the spreadsheet is inserted as is (cloned and embedded), with the conditional formatting. Can be further modified (e.g. rows/cols can be deleted, hidden or whatever is needed). The conditional formatting remains active.
I personally prefer to copy as an image. This ensures the format is always exactly as it was in the spreadsheet and that no weird OLE/DDE links go wrong.
However, you specifically ask for a table. For that there are three (or 2.5) options:
Insert the entire as spreadsheet as an object. In Windows that can be done as Ister describes in his answer. This will be editable as an inline mini-sheet (Writer will invoke Calc for any editing actions).
Insert a part of the sheet as an object: Select what you want in the document, copy to the clipboard, go to Writer and select Edit->Paste Special. Then select the OLE option, or if on Linux, select "calc8". This will be editable as an inline mini-sheet.
Insert as HTML. This creates a standalone table. Formatting will not be 100% as in the sheet, as fonts, etc, will be reset by Writer, but it is a native Writer table that you can manipulate in Writer without invoking Calc. Colors, etc, are preserved.
If you use any of the object embedding options, you'll notice that formulae are kept intact (when not referring the data outside the pasted sheet or region). If you want all the data to be verbatim, then you need an intermediate step:
Select the data in your original sheet that you wish
Copy to the clipboard
Create a new sheet and place the cursor in the same spot as the first cell of the copied data (e.g. if your copied region is B4:X99, then place the cursor in B4 of the new sheet)
Select Edit->Paste Special
In the Paste Special window, check only the following options and click OK:
Text
Numbers
Date & Time
Formats