Creating a Full Google Sheets App with Forms and Scripts

In this tutorial, we will create a complete Google Sheets App with Forms and Scripts that collect data from a Google Form, process it using Google Apps Script, and display it in a structured manner in your spreadsheet. You’ll learn how to collect data via Google Forms and then automate various tasks using Google Apps Script to build a simple yet useful app.

Step 1: Create a Google Form

Open Google Form

• Go to the Tools menu >> select Create a new form.
• A Google form will open in a new tab.

Design the Form

• Add questions or fields based on the data you want to collect. Such as;
  • Name (Short Answer)
  • Email (Short Answer)
  • Product (Dropdown)
  • Additional Notes (Paragraph)

Step 2: Link the Form to Google Sheets

Open the Google Sheet

• Go to the Response tab >> click on the Google Sheet icon to open the Google Sheet linked to the Form.

• This sheet will have a tab called Form Responses, which automatically stores the form data.

Organize Your Data [Optional]

• You can add more tabs in the Google Sheets file to organize your data.
• You can format other sheets to act as dashboards or data management interfaces.

Step 3: Use Google Apps Script to Automate Tasks

Google Apps Script allows you to extend Google Sheets functionality. You can write custom JavaScript-based scripts to automate data processing when new responses are submitted. Let’s create a script to automatically send email notifications on form submissions.

Open the Google Sheets Apps Script Editor:

• Go to the Extensions menu >> select Apps Script.
• This will open a script editor where you can write and deploy your scripts.
• Insert the following code in the editor.

function sendConfirmationOnFormSubmit(e) {

  var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
  var formData = e.values;  // Array of form responses
  var name = formData[1];   // Assume Name is the 1st field
  var email = formData[2];  // Assume Email is the 2nd field
  var product = formData[4]; // Product info

  var message = "Hello " + name + ",\n\n" + 
                "Hope you are doing well. Thank you for your order of " + product + ". We'll get back to you soon.";         

  MailApp.sendEmail({
    to: email,
    subject: "Order Confirmation",
    body: message
  });

Set Up a Trigger to Automate the Script

You can automate the script to run every time a form response is submitted. To set up a trigger for the function sendConfirmationOnFormSubmit to run on form submit.

• In the Apps Script editor >> from the left side click on Triggers (the clock icon).
• Select Add Trigger >> A dialog box will pop up.
  • Choose which function to run: sendConfirmationOnFormSubmit 
  • Select event source: From Spreadsheet
  • Select event type: On form submit
  • Failure notifications settings: Notify me daily
• Finally, click on Save.

Step 4: Test and Deploy Your App

By following the above steps your Google Form is set up, the linked Google Sheet is ready, and you’ve written your Google Apps Script code, you can test the app to deploy it.

Test Your App

• Go to the live form and submit some test data to ensure the form works as expected and that data populates into your linked sheet.
• Check email notifications are sent to the form users as per your script.

Deploy the App

Once you’ve tested everything, you can deploy your Google Sheets app in the following ways:

• Go to the Google Form >> click on Send.
• Send Form dialog box will pop up >> select any option (Email, Link, Embed HTML)
• Share the form with users via email, link, or embed it into a website.

Regularly check for issues or add more features using Google Apps Script as your app grows in complexity.

Final Output

Google Form

Google Sheet

Email Confirmation:

Conclusion

By following all of the outlined steps, you will be able to create a full Google Sheets App with Forms and Scripts. This app will help you collect data from users and send automated confirmation mail to them. You can customize this app further based on your needs. It’s an effective way to streamline workflows, improve data handling, and automate repetitive tasks within Google Sheets.