How to Use Google Apps Script to Work with All Cells in a Spreadsheet?

Google Apps Script is a powerful tool for automating tasks in Google Sheets. One common task that requires working with all cells in a spreadsheet is data manipulation. In this article, we’ll explore how to use Google Apps Script to work with all cells in a spreadsheet.

The first step is to create a Google Sheets file with sample data. For this example, we’ll create a file with three columns and ten rows of random data:

Now let’s explore how to work with all cells in this spreadsheet using Google Apps Script.

1. Getting All Cells

To work with all cells in a spreadsheet using Google Apps Script, we first need to get a reference to the sheet. We can do this by using the SpreadsheetApp class and calling the getActiveSheet() method:

function getCells() {
    var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
    var cells = sheet.getDataRange().getValues();
    Logger.log(cells);
}

In this example, we use the getDataRange() method to get a reference to all cells in the sheet. We then use the getValues() method to get the data in those cells. Finally, we log the data using the Logger class.

2. Updating All Cells

Now that we have a reference to all cells in the sheet, we can update their values. Let’s say we want to add the value “test” to all cells in the spreadsheet:

function updateCells() {
    var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
    var cells = sheet.getDataRange();
    cells.setValue("test");
}

In this example, we use the setValue() method to set the value of all cells to “test”. Note that we do not use the getValues() method, as we are not interested in the current values of the cells.

3. Formatting All Cells

We can also format all cells in a spreadsheet using Google Apps Script. For example, let’s say we want to set the background color of all cells in the spreadsheet to red:

function formatCells() {
    var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
    var cells = sheet.getDataRange();
    cells.setBackground("red");
}

In this example, we use the setBackground() method to set the background color of all cells to red.