Dialogs and Sidebars in Google Workspace Documents

    Scripts that are bound to Google Docs, Sheets, or Forms can display several types of user-interface elements — prebuilt alerts and prompts, plus dialogs and sidebars that contain custom HTML service pages. Typically, these elements are opened from menu items . (Note that in Google Forms, user-interface elements are visible only to an editor who opens the form to modify it, not to a user who opens the form to respond.)

    Alert dialogs

    An alert is a prebuilt dialog that opens inside a Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, or Forms editor. It displays a message and an "OK" button; a title and alternative buttons are optional. It is similar to calling window.alert() in client-side JavaScript within a web browser.

    Alerts suspend the server-side script while the dialog is open. The script resumes after the user closes the dialog, but JDBC connections do not persist across the suspension.

    As shown in the following example, Google Docs, Forms, Slides, and Sheets all use the method Ui.alert() , which is available in three variants. To override the default "OK" button, pass a value from the Ui.ButtonSet enum as the buttons argument. To evaluate which button the user clicked, compare the return value for alert() to the Ui.Button enum.

      function 
  
 onOpen 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 SpreadsheetApp 
 . 
 getUi 
 () 
  
 // Or DocumentApp or SlidesApp or FormApp. 
  
 . 
 createMenu 
 ( 
 "Custom Menu" 
 ) 
  
 . 
 addItem 
 ( 
 "Show alert" 
 , 
  
 "showAlert" 
 ) 
  
 . 
 addToUi 
 (); 
 } 
 function 
  
 showAlert 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 var 
  
 ui 
  
 = 
  
 SpreadsheetApp 
 . 
 getUi 
 (); 
  
 // Same variations. 
  
 var 
  
 result 
  
 = 
  
 ui 
 . 
 alert 
 ( 
  
 "Please confirm" 
 , 
  
 "Are you sure you want to continue?" 
 , 
  
 ui 
 . 
 ButtonSet 
 . 
 YES_NO 
 , 
  
 ); 
  
 // Process the user's response. 
  
 if 
  
 ( 
 result 
  
 == 
  
 ui 
 . 
 Button 
 . 
 YES 
 ) 
  
 { 
  
 // User clicked "Yes". 
  
 ui 
 . 
 alert 
 ( 
 "Confirmation received." 
 ); 
  
 } 
  
 else 
  
 { 
  
 // User clicked "No" or X in the title bar. 
  
 ui 
 . 
 alert 
 ( 
 "Permission denied." 
 ); 
  
 } 
 }

    Prompt dialogs

    A prompt is a prebuilt dialog that opens inside a Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, or Forms editor. It displays a message, a text-input field, and an "OK" button; a title and alternative buttons are optional. It is similar to calling window.prompt() in client-side JavaScript within a web browser.

    Prompts suspend the server-side script while the dialog is open. The script resumes after the user closes the dialog, but JDBC connections do not persist across the suspension.

    As shown in the following example, Google Docs¸ Forms, Slides, and Sheets all use the method Ui.prompt() , which is available in three variants. To override the default "OK" button, pass a value from the Ui.ButtonSet enum as the buttons argument. To evaluate the user's response, capture the return value for prompt() , then call PromptResponse.getResponseText() to retrieve the user's input, and compare the return value for PromptResponse.getSelectedButton() to the Ui.Button enum.

      function 
  
 onOpen 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 SpreadsheetApp 
 . 
 getUi 
 () 
  
 // Or DocumentApp or SlidesApp or FormApp. 
  
 . 
 createMenu 
 ( 
 "Custom Menu" 
 ) 
  
 . 
 addItem 
 ( 
 "Show prompt" 
 , 
  
 "showPrompt" 
 ) 
  
 . 
 addToUi 
 (); 
 } 
 function 
  
 showPrompt 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 var 
  
 ui 
  
 = 
  
 SpreadsheetApp 
 . 
 getUi 
 (); 
  
 // Same variations. 
  
 var 
  
 result 
  
 = 
  
 ui 
 . 
 prompt 
 ( 
  
 "Let's get to know each other!" 
 , 
  
 "Please enter your name:" 
 , 
  
 ui 
 . 
 ButtonSet 
 . 
 OK_CANCEL 
 , 
  
 ); 
  
 // Process the user's response. 
  
 var 
  
 button 
  
 = 
  
 result 
 . 
 getSelectedButton 
 (); 
  
 var 
  
 text 
  
 = 
  
 result 
 . 
 getResponseText 
 (); 
  
 if 
  
 ( 
 button 
  
 == 
  
 ui 
 . 
 Button 
 . 
 OK 
 ) 
  
 { 
  
 // User clicked "OK". 
  
 ui 
 . 
 alert 
 ( 
 "Your name is " 
  
 + 
  
 text 
  
 + 
  
 "." 
 ); 
  
 } 
  
 else 
  
 if 
  
 ( 
 button 
  
 == 
  
 ui 
 . 
 Button 
 . 
 CANCEL 
 ) 
  
 { 
  
 // User clicked "Cancel". 
  
 ui 
 . 
 alert 
 ( 
 "I didn't get your name." 
 ); 
  
 } 
  
 else 
  
 if 
  
 ( 
 button 
  
 == 
  
 ui 
 . 
 Button 
 . 
 CLOSE 
 ) 
  
 { 
  
 // User clicked X in the title bar. 
  
 ui 
 . 
 alert 
 ( 
 "You closed the dialog." 
 ); 
  
 } 
 }

    Custom dialogs

    A custom dialog can display an HTML service user interface inside a Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, or Forms editor.

    Custom dialogs do not suspend the server-side script while the dialog is open. The client-side component can make asynchronous calls to the server-side script using the google.script API for HTML-service interfaces.

    The dialog can close itself by calling google.script.host.close() in the client side of an HTML-service interface. The dialog cannot be closed by other interfaces, only by the user or itself.

    As shown in the following example, Google Docs, Forms, Slides, and Sheets all use the method Ui.showModalDialog() to open the dialog.

    Code.gs

     function 
  
 onOpen 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 SpreadsheetApp 
 . 
 getUi 
 () 
  
 // 
  
 Or 
  
 DocumentApp 
  
 or 
  
 SlidesApp 
  
 or 
  
 FormApp 
 . 
  
 . 
 createMenu 
 ( 
 'Custom Menu' 
 ) 
  
 . 
 addItem 
 ( 
 'Show dialog' 
 , 
  
 'showDialog' 
 ) 
  
 . 
 addToUi 
 (); 
 } 
 function 
  
 showDialog 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 var 
  
 html 
  
 = 
  
 HtmlService 
 . 
 createHtmlOutputFromFile 
 ( 
 'Page' 
 ) 
  
 . 
 setWidth 
 ( 
 400 
 ) 
  
 . 
 setHeight 
 ( 
 300 
 ); 
  
 SpreadsheetApp 
 . 
 getUi 
 () 
  
 // 
  
 Or 
  
 DocumentApp 
  
 or 
  
 SlidesApp 
  
 or 
  
 FormApp 
 . 
  
 . 
 showModalDialog 
 ( 
 html 
 , 
  
 'My custom dialog' 
 ); 
 }

    Page.html

    Hello, world! <input type="button" value="Close" onclick="google.script.host.close()" />

    Custom sidebars

    A sidebar can display an HTML service user interface inside a Google Docs, Forms, Slides, and Sheets editor.

    Sidebars do not suspend the server-side script while the dialog is open. The client-side component can make asynchronous calls to the server-side script using the google.script API for HTML-service interfaces.

    The sidebar can close itself by calling google.script.host.close() in the client side of an HTML-service interface. The sidebar cannot be closed by other interfaces, only by the user or itself.

    As shown in the following example, Google Docs, Forms, Slides, and Sheets all use the method Ui.showSidebar() to open the sidebar.

    Code.gs

     function 
  
 onOpen 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 SpreadsheetApp 
 . 
 getUi 
 () 
  
 // 
  
 Or 
  
 DocumentApp 
  
 or 
  
 SlidesApp 
  
 or 
  
 FormApp 
 . 
  
 . 
 createMenu 
 ( 
 'Custom Menu' 
 ) 
  
 . 
 addItem 
 ( 
 'Show sidebar' 
 , 
  
 'showSidebar' 
 ) 
  
 . 
 addToUi 
 (); 
 } 
 function 
  
 showSidebar 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 var 
  
 html 
  
 = 
  
 HtmlService 
 . 
 createHtmlOutputFromFile 
 ( 
 'Page' 
 ) 
  
 . 
 setTitle 
 ( 
 'My custom sidebar' 
 ); 
  
 SpreadsheetApp 
 . 
 getUi 
 () 
  
 // 
  
 Or 
  
 DocumentApp 
  
 or 
  
 SlidesApp 
  
 or 
  
 FormApp 
 . 
  
 . 
 showSidebar 
 ( 
 html 
 ); 
 }

    Page.html

    Hello, world! <input type="button" value="Close" onclick="google.script.host.close()" />

    File-open dialogs

    Google Picker is a JavaScript API to let users select or upload Google Drive files. The Google Picker library can be used in HTML service to create a custom dialog that lets users select existing files or upload new ones, then pass that selection back to your script for further use.

    Requirements

    There are several requirements for using Google Picker with Apps Script.

    Example

    The following example shows Google Picker in Apps Script.

    code.gs

    picker/code.gs
     /** 
 * Creates a custom menu in Google Sheets when the spreadsheet opens. 
 */ 
 function 
  
 onOpen 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 SpreadsheetApp 
 . 
 getUi 
 () 
  
 . 
 createMenu 
 ( 
 "Picker" 
 ) 
  
 . 
 addItem 
 ( 
 "Start" 
 , 
  
 "showPicker" 
 ) 
  
 . 
 addToUi 
 (); 
 } 
 /** 
 * Displays an HTML-service dialog in Google Sheets that contains client-side 
 * JavaScript code for the Google Picker API. 
 */ 
 function 
  
 showPicker 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 const 
  
 html 
  
 = 
  
 HtmlService 
 . 
 createHtmlOutputFromFile 
 ( 
 "dialog.html" 
 ) 
  
 . 
 setWidth 
 ( 
 800 
 ) 
  
 . 
 setHeight 
 ( 
 600 
 ) 
  
 . 
 setSandboxMode 
 ( 
 HtmlService 
 . 
 SandboxMode 
 . 
 IFRAME 
 ); 
  
 SpreadsheetApp 
 . 
 getUi 
 (). 
 showModalDialog 
 ( 
 html 
 , 
  
 "Select a file" 
 ); 
 } 
 /** 
 * Checks that the file can be accessed. 
 */ 
 function 
  
 getFile 
 ( 
 fileId 
 ) 
  
 { 
  
 return 
  
 Drive 
 . 
 Files 
 . 
 get 
 ( 
 fileId 
 , 
  
 { 
  
 fields 
 : 
  
 "*" 
  
 }); 
 } 
 /** 
 * Gets the user's OAuth 2.0 access token so that it can be passed to Picker. 
 * This technique keeps Picker from needing to show its own authorization 
 * dialog, but is only possible if the OAuth scope that Picker needs is 
 * available in Apps Script. In this case, the function includes an unused call 
 * to a DriveApp method to ensure that Apps Script requests access to all files 
 * in the user's Drive. 
 * 
 * @return {string} The user's OAuth 2.0 access token. 
 */ 
 function 
  
 getOAuthToken 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 return 
  
 ScriptApp 
 . 
 getOAuthToken 
 (); 
 }

    dialog.html

    picker/dialog.html
    <!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <link
      rel="stylesheet"
      href="https://ssl.gstatic.com/docs/script/css/add-ons.css"
    />
    <style>
      #result {
        display: flex;
        flex-direction: column;
        gap: 0.25em;
      }

      pre {
        font-size: x-small;
        max-height: 25vh;
        overflow-y: scroll;
        background: #eeeeee;
        padding: 1em;
        border: 1px solid #cccccc;
      }
    </style>
    <script>
      // TODO: Replace the value for DEVELOPER_KEY with the API key obtained
      // from the Google Developers Console.
      const DEVELOPER_KEY = "AIza...";
      // TODO: Replace the value for CLOUD_PROJECT_NUMBER with the project
      // number obtained from the Google Developers Console.
      const CLOUD_PROJECT_NUMBER = "1234567890";

      let pickerApiLoaded = false;
      let oauthToken;

      /**
       * Loads the Google Picker API.
       */
      function onApiLoad() {
        gapi.load("picker", {
          callback: function () {
            pickerApiLoaded = true;
          },
        });
      }

      /**
       * Gets the user's OAuth 2.0 access token from the server-side script so that
       * it can be passed to Picker. This technique keeps Picker from needing to
       * show its own authorization dialog, but is only possible if the OAuth scope
       * that Picker needs is available in Apps Script. Otherwise, your Picker code
       * will need to declare its own OAuth scopes.
       */
      function getOAuthToken() {
        google.script.run
          .withSuccessHandler((token) => {
            oauthToken = token;
            createPicker(token);
          })
          .withFailureHandler(showError)
          .getOAuthToken();
      }

      /**
       * Creates a Picker that can access the user's spreadsheets. This function
       * uses advanced options to hide the Picker's left navigation panel and
       * default title bar.
       *
       * @param {string} token An OAuth 2.0 access token that lets Picker access the
       *     file type specified in the addView call.
       */
      function createPicker(token) {
        document.getElementById("result").innerHTML = "";

        if (pickerApiLoaded && token) {
          const picker = new google.picker.PickerBuilder()
            // Instruct Picker to display only spreadsheets in Drive. For other
            // views, see https://developers.google.com/picker/reference/picker.viewid
            .addView(
              new google.picker.DocsView(
                google.picker.ViewId.SPREADSHEETS
              ).setOwnedByMe(true)
            )
            // Hide the navigation panel so that Picker fills more of the dialog.
            .enableFeature(google.picker.Feature.NAV_HIDDEN)
            // Hide the title bar since an Apps Script dialog already has a title.
            .hideTitleBar()
            .setOAuthToken(token)
            .setDeveloperKey(DEVELOPER_KEY)
            .setAppId(CLOUD_PROJECT_NUMBER)
            .setCallback(pickerCallback)
            .setOrigin(google.script.host.origin)
            .build();
          picker.setVisible(true);
        } else {
          showError("Unable to load the file picker.");
        }
      }

      /**
       * A callback function that extracts the chosen document's metadata from the
       * response object. For details on the response object, see
       * https://developers.google.com/picker/reference/picker.responseobject
       *
       * @param {object} data The response object.
       */
      function pickerCallback(data) {
        const action = data[google.picker.Response.ACTION];
        if (action == google.picker.Action.PICKED) {
          handlePicked(data);
        } else if (action == google.picker.Action.CANCEL) {
          document.getElementById("result").innerHTML = "Picker canceled.";
        }
      }

      /**
       * Handles `"PICKED"` responsed from the Google Picker.
       *
       * @param {object} data The response object.
       */
      function handlePicked(data) {
        const doc = data[google.picker.Response.DOCUMENTS][0];
        const id = doc[google.picker.Document.ID];

        google.script.run
          .withSuccessHandler((driveFilesGetResponse) => {
            // Render the response from Picker and the Drive.Files.Get API.
            const resultElement = document.getElementById("result");
            resultElement.innerHTML = "";

            for (const response of [
              {
                title: "Picker response",
                content: JSON.stringify(data, null, 2),
              },
              {
                title: "Drive.Files.Get response",
                content: JSON.stringify(driveFilesGetResponse, null, 2),
              },
            ]) {
              const titleElement = document.createElement("h3");
              titleElement.appendChild(document.createTextNode(response.title));
              resultElement.appendChild(titleElement);

              const contentElement = document.createElement("pre");
              contentElement.appendChild(
                document.createTextNode(response.content)
              );
              resultElement.appendChild(contentElement);
            }
          })
          .withFailureHandler(showError)
          .getFile(data[google.picker.Response.DOCUMENTS][0].id);
      }

      /**
       * Displays an error message within the #result element.
       *
       * @param {string} message The error message to display.
       */
      function showError(message) {
        document.getElementById("result").innerHTML = "Error: " + message;
      }
    </script>
  </head>

  <body>
    <div>
      <button onclick="getOAuthToken()">Select a file</button>
      <div id="result"></div>
    </div>
    <script src="https://apis.google.com/js/api.js?onload=onApiLoad"></script>
  </body>
</html>

    appsscript.json

    picker/appsscript.json
     { 
  
 "timeZone" 
 : 
  
 "America/Los_Angeles" 
 , 
  
 "exceptionLogging" 
 : 
  
 "STACKDRIVER" 
 , 
  
 "runtimeVersion" 
 : 
  
 "V8" 
 , 
  
 "oauthScopes" 
 : 
  
 [ 
  
 "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/script.container.ui" 
 , 
  
 "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.file" 
  
 ], 
  
 "dependencies" 
 : 
  
 { 
  
 "enabledAdvancedServices" 
 : 
  
 [ 
  
 { 
  
 "userSymbol" 
 : 
  
 "Drive" 
 , 
  
 "version" 
 : 
  
 "v3" 
 , 
  
 "serviceId" 
 : 
  
 "drive" 
  
 } 
  
 ] 
  
 } 
  
 }
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