Custom sidebars – Apps Script

Custom sidebars in Google Sheets are a great way to add extra functionality to your spreadsheet. They allow you to create a custom user interface that can interact with the sheet data in real-time. Custom sidebars can be used to display data, charts, and other visualizations, or to provide tools for data manipulation, analysis, and reporting.

To create a custom sidebar, you first need to create a Google Sheets add-on or web app using Apps Script. Then, you can use the HtmlService class to create the user interface for your sidebar. You can use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create custom elements such as buttons, forms, and charts, and add event listeners to handle user interactions.

Here is an example code snippet that creates a simple custom sidebar with a form to filter data in a Google Sheet:

function onOpen() {
  var ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi();
  ui.createMenu('Custom Sidebar')
      .addItem('Show Sidebar', 'showSidebar')
      .addToUi();
}

function showSidebar() {
  var html = HtmlService.createHtmlOutputFromFile('Sidebar')
      .setTitle('Custom Sidebar')
      .setWidth(300);
  SpreadsheetApp.getUi()
      .showSidebar(html);
}

function filterData() {
  var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
  var data = sheet.getDataRange().getValues();
  var filter = document.getElementById('filter').value;
  var filteredData = data.filter(row => row.includes(filter));
  sheet.getRange(2, 1, sheet.getLastRow() - 1, sheet.getLastColumn())
      .clearContent()
      .setValues(filteredData);
}

In this example, the onOpen() function creates a custom menu in the Google Sheets UI that allows users to show the custom sidebar. The showSidebar() function creates an HtmlOutput object from an HTML file named “Sidebar” and displays it as a sidebar in the Google Sheets UI.

The “Sidebar” HTML file contains a simple form with a text input and a submit button:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <base target="_top">
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Filter Data</h1>
    <form>
      <label for="filter">Filter:</label>
      <input type="text" id="filter" name="filter">
      <button onclick="filterData()">Submit</button>
    </form>
    <script>
      function filterData() {
        google.script.run.filterData();
      }
    </script>
  </body>
</html>

The filterData() the function is called when the user clicks the submit button. It uses the google.script.run API to call the filterData() function in the server-side Apps Script code. The filterData() the function gets the active sheet in the spreadsheet, reads the data range, and filters the rows based on the value entered in the text input. Finally, it updates the sheet with the filtered data.

Custom sidebars in Google Sheets are a powerful tool for creating custom user interfaces that interact with sheet data. They can be used for various purposes, such as data filtering, charting, reporting, and analysis. You can create a custom sidebar that meets your needs with some HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.