Google Sheets Automation: A Step-by-Step Guide

Automating your tasks on Google Sheets can save you time, reduce repetitive work, and make your reporting more reliable. Depending on your technical background and coding experience, you can choose from a range of automation options, including built-in formulas, macros, and custom Google Apps Scripts. 

Explore available Google Sheets automation options and find the right one for you with this step-by-step guide. Plus, learn how to take your automations one step further by setting up time-based triggers.

What is Google Sheets automation?

Google Sheets automation refers to using built-in tools like automated formulas, macros, and Google Apps Script to automatically complete tasks without manual effort on your part. The way you choose to automate your Google Sheets will depend on your technical expertise and what level of automation you’re looking for.

If you want a simple, no-code way to automate your spreadsheet, start with built-in formulas. Built-in formulas are a simple automation tool, updating your outputs as your data changes. Functions like ARRAYFORMULA, QUERY, and IMPORTRANGE offer live calculations and importations without requiring setup or scripting.

If you don’t have any coding knowledge and want to go beyond built-in formulas, creating a macro is an easier route. Macros are essentially “recipes” that record specific steps you take and then automate these steps. This type of automation is useful for things like formatting a data set or auto-filling formulas.

If you want more advanced automation and are comfortable writing a few lines of code, you can use Google Apps Script. This is an application development platform that allows you to write code that can automate spreadsheet creation, updates, cell data and formulas, formatting, custom buttons and menus, data imports and exports, and data access.

Why automate Google Sheets?

Spending a little extra time upfront to automate your Google Sheet tasks can make your life easier later. While benefits will depend on what you’re using automation for, you might choose automation to:

• Save time on recurring tasks like copying formulas and formatting cells

• Reduce errors caused by manual data entry

• Stay up-to-date with self-updating reports that reflect the latest information

• Improve collaboration by providing real-time updates to your team

• Track sheet changes with automatic alerts and logging

What can you use Google Sheets automation for?

Once you learn how to use different automation capabilities, you can use your creativity to try out different use cases and see how they improve your workflow. You might choose to automate:

• Data formatting

• Chart building

• Data syncing

• Reporting

• Notifications

• Sheet sorting

• Auto-filling formulas

• Data refresh

• Custom functions and calculations

• Importing or exporting data 

• Sending alerts 

How to create simple Google Sheets automation

You can start simple and build your way up to more advanced Apps Script. To begin, start with basic function automation, then move your way to building macros. 

Automate your reports with formulas.

A simple automation approach is to use built-in formulas in Google Sheets. These formulas can apply functions to entire columns or data sets, allowing you to perform bulk actions without manually needing to go row by row. Functions you can use for simple automations include:

• ARRAYFORMULA: You can apply a formula to an entire column without needing to copy the formula into each row.

• QUERY: You can provide SQL-like instructions for a specific data range. For example, you can order your data by keyword, perform calculations on entire data sets, and import data automatically from third-party sites. 

• IMPORTRANGE: You can pull data automatically from another spreadsheet.

Each function will automatically update its outputs as your data changes. This allows you to adjust your data in real time without manually recalculating or re-importing it.

Use macros for simple automation.

As a beginner, learning how to build a simple macro is a great step toward building more advanced automations. Consider a simple series of actions that would be helpful to automate, like formatting a row or inserting formulas. Once you decide on your intended macro, follow these steps. 

1. Open Google Sheets.

2. Go to Extensions > Macros > Record macro.

3. Choose the type of cell reference you want to use (absolute or relative).

4. Complete your desired steps and click Save.

5. Name your macro, create a shortcut if desired, and click Save.

6. Use the macro by going to Extensions > Macros > Your macro.

Once you create a macro, it creates an Apps Script automatically. You can edit your macro by going to Tools > Script editor and editing the sheet, or to Extensions > Macros > Manage macros and making your changes before clicking Update.

To practice creating and using macros, you can complete the Microsoft Excel VBA and Macros on Coursera, which provides instruction on how to implement macros to automate repetitive tasks, enhancing your productivity.

Advanced automation: Writing Google Apps Script

Once you’re comfortable with automated functions and macros, you can explore Google Apps Script for more advanced automation. For Google Apps Script, you can write basic JavaScript code to automate your workflows and create custom functions. To do this, you:

1. Create a new Google Sheet.

2. Go to Extensions > Apps Script. This will open the Google Apps Script editor window.

3. Write or copy your custom function. You can find many pre-written Apps Script code and technical tutorials provided by Google Workspace here. 

4. Click Run or Debug to test your code. You may need to authorize access to your Sheet. If you are given an authorization request, accept the permissions.

5. Create a menu item to click on and access your script directly. Doing so requires a little bit more code in the editor. An outline for creating your own menu offered by Google is available here.

You can practice using Google Apps Script to create simple automations with Guided Projects on Coursera. To begin, you can complete the Google Apps Script: Access Google Sheets, Maps & Gmail in 4 Lines of Code guided project to learn how to access the Apps Script editor, save code, and run it for your projects. 

Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can practice using your skills with the Automating Team Communication with Google Sheets and Apps Script guided project to learn how to automate communication with your team.

Related tasks: Automating workflows with time-based triggers

You can automate both your macros and Apps Script to run based on time intervals or actions. For example, you might automate your calendar to update every morning at 8 a.m., or you might automate an alert to be sent every time someone edits your spreadsheet. You can add automations using the instructions below. 

For macros

You can schedule your macro to run based on your actions or time-based intervals. To do this, you:

1. Open your Google Sheet.

2. Click Tools > Script Editor.

3. Click Edit > Current project’s triggers at the top.

4. Click Add trigger at the bottom right and select the options you want.

5. Click Save.

For Google Apps Script

If you don’t want to press Run every time you want to run your Apps Script, you can create something known as a “Trigger.” Triggers run scripts automatically based on the time interval or action you select. To create a trigger:

1. Open your Google Sheet.

2. Open Extensions > Apps Script > Triggers. 

3. Click + Add Trigger.

4. Select the function you want to run.

5. Choose frequency (e.g., hourly, daily, weekly) or action you want to activate the trigger.

6. Click Save and authorize the trigger.

Outside of time-driven triggers, examples of action options include onOpen() to run when you open a spreadsheet, onInstall() to run when you install an Editor add-on, and onEdit() to run when you change a value in your sheet.

Common issues and alternatives 

While you have flexibility with automation options, being aware of the limitations and alternatives allows you to make the most of Google Sheets automation. Consider common issues you might face and how to respond.

• You have a script permission error. Go to Extensions > Apps Script > Run to review and approve permissions.

• Your Apps Script is timing out. Google Apps Script has a six-minute execution limit. Consider batch running to overcome this error. 

• Your macros aren’t working in Docs or Slides. Macros aren’t currently supported in other Workspace tools. Instead, use Apps Script for broader automation support.

Other limitations to be aware of that can help you avoid errors include:

• You can’t use macros outside of bound scripts.

• You can’t define macros as an add-on in Sheets.

• You can distribute macros using Apps Script libraries.

If you’re running into limitations with macros that you want to overcome, opting for Apps Script generally gives you more flexibility. For example, you can create a standalone Google Apps Script that isn’t bound to Google Sheets, allowing you to use it across other Google Workspaces like Docs and Slides.

Summary of automation steps

To use macros and Google Apps Script for automation, you just need to follow a few steps to get your automation up and running. For macros:

1. Open Google Sheets.

2. Go to Extensions > Macros > Record macro.

3. Complete your desired steps.

4. Name your macro.

5. Click Save.

For Google Apps Script:

1. Create a new Google Sheet.

2. Go to Extensions > Apps Script. 

3. Write or copy your custom function. 

4. Click Run or Debug to test your code.

5. Create a menu item to click on and access your script directly. 

Learn more about automation on Coursera

You can automate your workflow on Google Sheets using dynamic functions, macros, or Google Apps Script, allowing you to reduce errors while increasing productivity. While Google Sheets is a powerful way to automate your tasks, you can combine it with other functionality to analyze your data and generate custom insights. Consider completing the Excel Skills for Data Analytics and Visualization Specialization to explore how to bring your data to life using advanced Excel functions, creative visualizations, and powerful automation features.