Apps Script Setup Guide

Click the Google Sheet link included with your purchase (email / WhatsApp / dashboard). It opens in a new tab in read-only preview mode — that's expected, you'll make it editable in the next step.

This is the critical step — it clones the entire Sheet, including the embedded Apps Script code, into your account:

• Top-left menu → File
• Click Make a copy
• A dialog appears — you can:
  • Rename the sheet (e.g. strip the "Copy of" prefix)
  • Pick a destination folder in your Drive (optional)
  • Leave "Share it with the same people" unchecked unless you really mean it
• Click the blue Make a copy button to confirm

After a second or two, the copied sheet opens automatically in a new tab. Quick checks:

• The title shows "Copy of …" (unless you renamed it) — you can rename any time from the title bar
• The top-right avatar shows your Google account, not ours
• You can click into any cell and type — no read-only banner at the top
• Open drive.google.com — the sheet appears in Recent

From inside your copied Sheet:

• Top menu → Extensions
• Click Apps Script
• A new tab opens with the editor — the code that powers your tool is already there in files named Code.gs, index.html, etc.

If you do see a block like this near the top of the script, you'll need to fill in the IDs:

// Configuration — update these IDs
const SHEET_ID  = 'your-sheet-id-here';
const FOLDER_ID = 'your-folder-id-here';

Finding your Sheet ID

• Open your copied Google Sheet in the browser
• Look at the URL in the address bar — it looks like:
• https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AbC…xyZ/edit
• The Sheet ID is the long string between /d/ and /edit
• Select it, copy it (Ctrl/Cmd+C), paste it between the quotes for SHEET_ID

Finding your Folder ID

• Open the Google Drive folder you want the script to read/write from
• Look at the URL in the address bar — it looks like:
• https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XyZ…aBc
• The Folder ID is the string after /folders/
• Paste it between the quotes for FOLDER_ID

Once the code looks right (or if you didn't need to change anything):

• Click the Save project icon in the toolbar, or press Ctrl/Cmd+S
• Wait for the "Project saved." toast in the bottom-left

• Top-right of the Apps Script editor → Deploy button
• Pick New deployment
• On the left side of the dialog, click the gear icon next to "Select type"
• Choose Web app

You'll see three fields — set them as follows:

• Description — anything readable; e.g. "Initial deployment". This shows up in the deployment list later.
• Execute as → Me (your email)
  This means the script runs with your permissions whenever someone opens it. Required so it can reach your Sheet and Drive.
• Who has access — choose based on how you'll use it:
  • Only myself — private; only you can open the URL. Best for personal dashboards.
  • Anyone with Google account — any signed-in Google user can use it (they authenticate). Good for internal tools.
  • Anyone — truly public, no login required. Use for public-facing tools like calculators or landing pages.

Click the blue Deploy button.

• Google prompts for permissions — click Authorize access
• Pick your Google account
• You may see a scary "Google hasn't verified this app" screen — this is normal for personal scripts. Click Advanced → Go to [project name] (unsafe) — it's safe because you are the author
• Review the permissions it needs (Sheets, Drive, etc.) → click Allow
• You'll see two URLs:
  • Web app URL — this is what you share / bookmark
  • Deployment ID — rarely needed; ignore unless instructed
• Click Copy on the Web app URL and paste it somewhere safe

• Apps Script editor → Deploy → Manage deployments
• You'll see a list of every deployment with its URL and timestamp

To keep the same URL and just push updated code:

• Save your code changes first (Ctrl/Cmd+S)
• Back in Manage deployments, find your existing deployment
• Click the Edit icon
• In the Version dropdown, pick New version
• Add a short description (e.g. "fix filter bug")
• Click Deploy

What's happening: Google shows this warning for any script that hasn't gone through their (paid, week-long) formal verification. It has nothing to do with the script being unsafe — it's the default for every personal Apps Script on Earth.

How to proceed:

• Click Advanced at the bottom-left of the warning
• Click Go to [your project name] (unsafe)
• It's safe because you are the author — you're authorising your own code to run in your own account

Try in order:

• Double-check SHEET_ID / FOLDER_ID values if your script uses them (Part 2, step 2) — a single missing character breaks them
• Confirm you saved the code (Ctrl+S) before deploying
• Publish a new version — a stale deployment can keep serving old broken code
• Open Executions in the left sidebar of the Apps Script editor — the failed run will be there with a specific error line you can screenshot and send us

• Confirm you're working in the copied Sheet, not the original preview link — the original is read-only forever
• If the script reaches into a Drive folder, make sure that folder belongs to the same Google account you're logged in as
• Re-authorise: Deploy → Manage deployments → edit → Deploy again and re-allow permissions

• Make sure you're in Google Sheets, not Excel Online or the Sheets mobile app (Apps Script editor is desktop browser only)
• Path is Extensions → Apps Script; on older accounts it may say Tools → Script editor
• If the menu item is greyed out, your Google Workspace admin may have disabled Apps Script — try a personal Gmail account instead