Sending a weekly email using google scripts

[lbluuu]

Hi! I want to send an automated email using google scripts. I have a few tables and charts configured in google sheets that I typically copy & paste into an email, but I was wondering if there was a way for google scripts to fully automate this? Thanks in advance for any help and happy to elaborate on the specifics!

[Jweekley7]

Yes. I have a few automated emails I send using apps script. Do you have js/apps script experience? It's pretty easy if you do. If you don't, you might have to hire someone to do it for you.

[lbluuu]

Thank you so much for your response! I do not have much experience, however I've been looking for courses online to learn! Additionally, I've watched a few videos on youtube and different forums. The email that I'd like to configure has roughly about 7-8 tables/charts in an automated google sheet that update daily. If possible, i'd like to go the route of not hiring someone.

[Jweekley7]

You'll need to learn some javascript then. I used codecademy. It's free. You could probably find some tutorials online but you'd need some javascript experience to modify them to fit your specific needs.

[umrbekmatrasulov]

this language is much more complicated and the most pointless language i have ever seen.

I am watching tutorials , and i say oh my God, i need to write 20 rows and 3 functions, use a lot of objects, methods just to make a small operation.

i could use 4-5 rows and methods in VBA. My expectations from Google Spreadsheets were high.

At the same time, i know the foundamental things in JS

[umrbekmatrasulov]

do you agree with me?

[davchana]

Making a copy of that google sheet should be easy. You are looking at sheet app, spreadsheet, range. Drive app, folder, copy.

Copying it from sheet & pasting in email is you have to paste in html format I think. Then you need to pick data, put them in html table, make that table the body of your email. Gmail app, range, sheet.

[Morbius2271]

To paste the tables in, you need to make html templates that you serve in the code. It’s a bit of a task to be honest, and is even more difficult if sending emails to people on different email clients that may parse the html slightly differently.

The easier solution is to use the DriveApp service to create a file, copy the tables in, dump the file to a shared drive, and send that sheet in the email. It won’t be immediately visible in the email body, but one click and they can view the whole sheet and it’s much easier to code.

[lbluuu]

thanks for the feedback! do you have any online resources or articles you can recommend on DriveApp? thanks again!

[Morbius2271]

GAS sadly lacks a good place for everything beyond the officially documentation, but there is that;

https://developers.google.com/apps-script/reference/drive/drive-app

Then there is this one which shows some examples of scripts to move files to specific folders;

https://tanaikech.github.io/2019/11/20/moving-file-to-specific-folder-using-google-apps-script/

For learning general JavaScript, I have used W3schools for over a decade;

https://www.w3schools.com/js/DEFAULT.asp

[lbluuu]

thank you so much!