Appsheet talking to Sheets (not Sheets as the data for Appsheet)

[kevinhtre]

Hi there.

Can anyone point me to any hooks or tools available for sending information from Appsheet Database *TO* Google sheets? Some things just are better for a spreadsheet, or the users are there, or whatever. Here's the scenario:

I have a wonderfully functioning and new Appsheet Database and Appsheet App combo that has all sorts of data in it, including Customers. I have a Customers table with relevant data.

I want Google Sheets to be able to 'see' who my customers are (the keys of the Appsheet Customers table) so I can do something like list all the customers in a sheet and do whatever. Or cross reference some sheet data by filtering it based on the Customers. Etc.

Thanks!

[WillowMobileSys]

You can have multiple datasource in your AppSheet app.  So...you can use both the AppSheet Database and the Google Sheet and pull them both into the same app using AppSheet tables - some tables pulling from Sheets and some tables pulling from Database.

Since you definitely want your Customers in the Google sheet, my recommendation is to simply use the Google Sheet as the source for the customers and NOT have that data in the AppSheet database at all.

If for some reason you want your Customers in BOTH datasources, then pick one as the primary. You probably already have it in the database) so lets say its the primary.  Then in your target sheet add a tab named maybe "Customers_Sheet" and also add it to the app as a table.  Now, you will need to create a process (or processes) to replicate that data into the sheet.  The easiest way is with Bots.  On an ADD to the Customers table,  a Bot runs to also add it to the "Customers_Sheet" table.  If a Customer row is edited, then a second Bot finds the row in the "Google_Sheet" table and updates it.

I hope this helps!

[kevinhtre]

Thanks for the reply, but I wasn't clear enough.

I want to reference the data in an appsheets database inside a google sheet -- NOT inside Appsheet.

[WillowMobileSys · Accepted solution]

Ok, I am not completely clear.  My description above were ways to have the Customers data, as a whole, available to the Sheet so the sheet can reference it as needed from within itself.

If you are asking for a way in the sheet to reference/retrieve data as needed from the AppSheet Database, there is no direct connection to the database like there is for an SQL database.  At least no presently, maybe in the future?

The only way to get piece-meal data for use on a Google Sheet is by way of a Google Script calling into the AppSheet API.

[kevinhtre]

okay great thanks. that's what i was trying to figure out, a connector between the two. i will take a look at a google script that queries the appsheet api to pull the data i need.