Get data from Google Sheets without Sheets API

Question

I have created an app (React Native) where I am required to show the responses of a google form, so I created the Responses Sheet.

Though Sheets API would be the best sol

Answer 1

I believe your goal as follows.

• You want to retrieve the values from Google Spreadsheet without using Sheets API.
  • I understood that in this case, you want to retrieve the values without using the access token and API key.
• You want to achieve this using Javascript.

Issue and workaround:

When Google Spreadsheet is used with Sheets API, the access token and the API key are required to be used. When you want to retrieve the values from Google Spreadsheet without using the access token and the API key, in this answer, I would like to propose the following workaround using Web Apps created by Google Apps Script. The flow of this workaround is as follows.

1. Request to Web Apps from Javascript.
2. At Web Apps, the values are returned from Google Spreadsheet.
   • In this workaround, the Google Spreadsheet is not required to be shared publicly.
3. Retrieve the values from Web Apps at Javascript.

Usage:

Please do the following flow.

1. Create new project of Google Apps Script.

Sample script of Web Apps is a Google Apps Script. So please create a project of Google Apps Script.

If you want to directly create it, please access to https://script.new/. In this case, if you are not logged in Google, the log in screen is opened. So please log in to Google. By this, the script editor of Google Apps Script is opened.

2. Prepare script.

Please copy and paste the following script (Google Apps Script) to the script editor. This script is for the Web Apps.

function doGet(e) {
  const id = e.parameter.spreadsheetId;
  const sheetName = e.parameter.sheetName;
  const sheet = SpreadsheetApp.openById(id).getSheetByName(sheetName);
  const values = sheet.getDataRange().getValues();
  return ContentService.createTextOutput(JSON.stringify({values: values})).setMimeType(ContentService.MimeType.JSON);
}

3. Deploy Web Apps.

1. On the script editor, Open a dialog box by "Publish" -> "Deploy as web app".
2. Select "Me" for "Execute the app as:".
   • By this, the script is run as the owner.
3. Select "Anyone, even anonymous" for "Who has access to the app:".
   • In this case, no access token is required to be request. I think that I recommend this setting for your goal.
   • Of course, you can also use the access token. At that time, please set this to "Anyone". And please include the scope of https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly and https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive to the access token. These scopes are required to access to Web Apps.
4. Click "Deploy" button as new "Project version".
5. Automatically open a dialog box of "Authorization required".
   1. Click "Review Permissions".
   2. Select own account.
   3. Click "Advanced" at "This app isn't verified".
   4. Click "Go to ### project name ###(unsafe)"
   5. Click "Allow" button.
6. Click "OK".
7. Copy the URL of Web Apps. It's like https://script.google.com/macros/s/###/exec.
   • When you modified the Google Apps Script, please redeploy as new version. By this, the modified script is reflected to Web Apps. Please be careful this.

4. Run the function using Web Apps.

You can retrieve the values from Google Spreadsheet using the following script.

const baseUrl = "https://script.google.com/macros/s/###/exec";  // Please set your Web Apps URL.
const para = {
  spreadsheetId: "###",  // Please set your Google Spreadsheet ID.
  sheetName: "Sheet1"  // Please set the sheet name you want to retrieve the values.
};
const q = new URLSearchParams(para);
const url = baseUrl + "?" + q;
fetch(url)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => {
    const values = res.values;
    console.log(values);
  });

If you want to test the above Web Apps using a curl command, you can also use the following curl command.

$ curl -L "https://script.google.com/macros/s/###/exec?spreadsheetId=###&sheetName=Sheet1"

Note:

• When you modified the script of Web Apps, please redeploy the Web Apps as new version. By this, the latest script is reflected to the Web Apps. Please be careful this.
• In my environment, recently, I have confirmed that when the values are retrieved from the publicly shared Spreadsheet and the published Spreadsheet to Web using Javascript, the error related to CORS occurs. I'm worry that such issue might also occur at your environment. So in order to achieve your goal, I proposed to use Web Apps. In this case, I have already confirmed that no error occurs.

References:

• Web Apps
• Taking advantage of Web Apps with Google Apps Script