Become great at automation with Apps Script
Online course
By David Sottimano,
Independent consultant
Course length: 5h 06min
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Learn by example and by building mini applications to automate your daily workflow. This course focuses on practical skills and touch on theory when it is required.
Understanding what’s possible, where to find information, and understanding general concepts are more important than memorization, therefore no prior programming experience is required.
Advanced concepts will be broken down into manageable chunks and make sure you’re confident before heading into the next phase of learning.
Introduction video (4 minutes)
Skills you will master
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After taking this course you’ll…
- Develop a file explorer in Google docs that allows access to your entire organization’s repository.
- Understand the basics of Google Apps Script, where it can be used, it’s limitations, and how you can use Apps Script to automate your workflow.
- Since Apps Script is JavaScript, you’ll learn the basics of this programming language as well. We’ll go through data types, functions, object, methods and more.
- You’ll learn how to approach a problem with a developer mindset. Programming isn’t about memorization, it’s about problem solving and being able to find the answer.
David Sottimano
Independent consultant
David’s marketing career has taken him from sales/PR all the way to technical SEO and development. He’s worked and lived in 3 continents for prestigious clients and agencies across the world, specializing, but not limited to technical SEO. For the past 3 years, he’s dedicated most of his time to self-teaching development to automate most of his work and deliver better results for clients.
Notable roles: Senior consultant with Distilled/DMG, previous Moz associate and has been running his own consultancy for the past 5 years.
Your course curriculum
Automation with Apps Script
1 What is Apps Script?
For the beginner, we take a look at what Apps Script is, what it can do, where it lives in the Google Workspace environment, and talk about permissions.
Topics covered:
- What Apps Script is, where to write Apps Script code in Docs, Sheets, Slides and how to run the code using the web IDE.
- Understand the difference between client side, server side and add-on's for Apps Script.
- Introduce the web IDE
2 Your first script
We'll write our first function that checks if a cell contains any word in a list.
Topics covered:
- Write your first Apps script function in Sheets
- Learn how to run the function as a custom function from a Sheet cell and in the web IDE
- Learn basics of JavaScript, variable and function declaration, returning values, parameters and primitive data types.
3 First look at the Apps Script Documentation
Being able to read and understand the documentation is the key to success, also, being able to describe your problem accurately so you can search stackoverflow will be essential. We'll go through some lingo and explore the documentation together.
Topics covered:
- Understand which Apps Script documentation you should be looking at, depending on what you're trying to make and in which product (Docs, Sheets, etc.)
- Understand a Class and it's methods, and how to use auto-complete when writing Apps Script
- Fast track learning with Macros
4 Writing pseudocode and pulling data from an API
The goal is to pull data in from an API and output to a sheet. Before we even start writing code, we'll correctly step through the problem first and write code last.
Topics covered:
- Understand the basics of an API, HTTP request, JSON, and how to pull this data into Apps Script and dump it in a Spreadsheet
- How to write pseudocode
- Make a real world application to classify data with wit.ai
5 Refactoring our first function
Refactoring (or rewriting) our first function to include error handling, logging, JS DOC and more.
Topics covered:
- Understand all the weird ways you can declare a function in Apps Script (JS) , subtle differences of ES6 including variable types and explanation of hoisting and script execution order.
- How to include error handling in your code
- How to write JS DOC for Apps script, JS DOC is a way to document your functions for ease of use and to help others understand how the function should work.
6 Storage, caching and permissions in Apps Script
We'll go through how to store data efficiently in Apps Script while exploring how roles/permissions affect storage of data and how to share scripts securely.
Topics covered:
- Learn how to store/retrieve data in Properties Service
- Learn how to use the caching service
- Create a classification application using wit.ai
7 Create a bookmarking service
We'll create our first mini application that will allow you to turn a spreadsheet into a bookmarking service
Topics covered:
- How to create a web app
- Create a useful application using more advanced Apps Script features
- Make an application you'll use everyday
8 Building your first add-on
We'll look at the mechanics behind building a Sheets add-on, what the necessary components are and how to communicate between the client and server side.
Topics covered:
- Write your first sheets add-on
- Understand how to communicate between the add-on and the server side
- Interact with Google Drive
- Course Exam
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Learn Apps Script: FAQ
What will you learn in this course?
After taking this course, you will:
- Develop a file explorer in Google docs that allows access to your entire organization’s repository.
- Understand the basics of Google Apps Script, where it can be used, it’s limitations, and how you can use Apps Script to automate your workflow.
- Since Apps Script is JavaScript, you’ll learn the basics of this programming language as well. We’ll go through data types, functions, object, methods and more.
- You’ll learn how to approach a problem with a developer mindset. Programming isn’t about memorization, it’s about problem solving and being able to find the answer.
What does the course include?
Our Apps Script training includes 9 lessons, 38 downloadable resources, 5h 06min of video material, several assignments, and a final exam.
Are subtitles available for the lessons?
Lessons have English subtitles and transcriptions available.
Will I receive a certificate of completion?
After taking this course, you will receive the Apps Script Certification from CXL, with credentials that you can add to your LinkedIn profile.
What is the refund policy?
All plans come with a 7-day refund period .
How long will it take for me to finish it?
This is entirely up to you – it’s how many study hours per week you can put in. This course is 5h 06min long.