How to Create Google Apps Script to Save More Time

10 minutes read

If you’re a frequent Google Workspace user, learning how to create Google Apps Script is a game-changer. It allows you to improve your productivity by automating routine tasks and saving time—without requiring advanced coding skills.

While Apps Script works across various Google Workspace apps, Google Sheets is where it truly shines and is most commonly used.

This article will discuss how to create Apps Scripts in Google Sheets and mention examples of how you can automate your work.

Let’s dig in!

What is Google Apps Script?

First things first – what even is this tool? It’s a scripting language that can be used to create custom scripts for Google Workspace platforms. It is based on JavaScript and can be used to automate tasks within the spreadsheet.

Some examples of the tasks you can automate? You can create custom functions, set up triggers, and even connect to external APIs.

The study framework, presented at the International Conference on Innovation, Communication, and Engineering in 2024, highlights the potential of Apps Script as a powerful tool for automating social media content publishing.

For marketers social media is the dominant force in digital marketing, thus making content publishing automation more valuable than ever.

How to Create Apps Scripts?

When writing the code, it is important to follow certain JavaScrypt rules. For example, you must use the correct JavaScript syntax and remember it is case-sensitive.

Once you’ve written your code, test it by running the script—just click “Run” and select the function you want to execute.

Well done if your code works! However, we must mention that not only functionality but also look matters: a well-designed and visually appealing spreadsheet is just as important.

Learning how to make professional-looking spreadsheets can make a big difference and we advise you to start mastering this skill!

How to debug a wrong code?

If the code works correctly, you will see the results in Google Sheets but if it doesn’t, it has to be debugged.

When you’re stuck in the annoying estate of not understanding where is the bug hiding and the error messages don’t help, you can just not bother resolving the code and use Google Apps Script Generator that will generate the correct code for you.

If you feel like Dora The Explorer and want to “explore” the issue until the gran victory, there are also debugging tools like Google Apps Script Debugger that can help.

This AI code debugger is a tool we use frequently. It not only resolves bugs in a few seconds but also explains what changes were made, so we can learn from our mistakes.

Google Apps Scripts without coding

Not everyone is familiar with JavaScript or has the time (and patience!!) to write code. That’s why we created the Google Apps Scripts Generator – a free tool that translates your requirements into working code.

Want to see it in action? Watch this quick video tutorial:

For further explanation, feel free to read our Google Apps Script Generator guide and learn how to generate your script code in seconds.

How do we use Google Apps Script?

In our daily work routine, we also use Apps Script. However, we use it only with AI Code Generator – we prefer saving time and improving productivity whenever it is possible.

Our example
Here’s how we used to manage subscription invoices and send reminder emails for due payees (Spoiler alert – it took a lot of time):
Checked payment status. Then manually send an email to every single payee checking the email address from this table:

With the eyes of 2025 – it seems like such a waste of time.

Why?

This is the prompt we gave to the Ajelix AI code generator:

After a few seconds, we received the AI-generated code and used the amazing Copy-Paste function. Pasted the code in the Google Apps Script platform and voilà – automated email sending kick-started in less than a minute:

What are the biggest changes we’ve noticed in our routine now? Automated email sending is our best friend now, and we have gained more time! It’s time that we now dedicate to different important tasks.

Examples of Automated Tasks

Once you have created the Apps Script, you can use it to automate different tasks within the Google Sheets. Not only email automation, of course.

Here are some common examples:

Custom Functions

You can create custom functions that can be used within Google Sheets. For example, you can create a function that calculates the total amount of purchase based on the items purchased.

Useful for quickly calculating totals for invoices or tracking expenses. An easy solution for staying on top of your finances is creating a personal financial dashboard—a smart way to visualize spending, track trends, and stay in control of your budget.

Triggers

You can set up triggers. Triggers are events that will cause Apps Script to run when certain conditions are met. For example, you can set up a trigger that will run the script when a new row is added to the sheet.

Useful for automatically calculating totals or sending notifications when certain conditions are met.

Connecting to External APIs

You can connect to external APIs, which can be used to pull data into the Google Sheets. For example, you can use it to pull data from a web service or a database.

Useful for quickly and easily populating data in the sheet.

Conclusion

The power (and more earned time) is in your hands now! Apps Script is a must-have for everyone who uses Google Sheets in their daily work routine and wants to manage data more efficiently.

Start exploring its potential today—and if you need help, check out our AI Code Generator and Explainer!

For all the Doras out there, Apps Script Debugger is for you – work smart, not hard!