External event not triggering on Google Forms to Sheets update

[Distantspaces]

I'm unable to receive external events triggers for a bot in my app. The bot is listening for adds and updates to a Google Sheet (which is a response sheet for a google form). The trigger then changes the value of some columns in the table.

However, when I input a new entry through submitting the google form, nothing happens. The bot does not trigger at all, even though a new row gets added to my sheet. I have the AppSheet events extension installed in the Google Sheet, and the correct tab is selected for sending events.

Has anyone managed to make this integration with Forms work? According to Appsheet help documentation, this should work even through Google Forms: https://support.google.com/appsheet/answer/11520310

"When you modify the sheet in Google Sheet, you should see the event trigger after a few seconds. For Google Forms, new rows added to the response sheet through direct interaction with the Google Form can also trigger events."

Thanks for all your help in advance.

[dbaum]

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@Distantspaces wrote:

Has anyone managed to make this integration with Forms work?

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Yes

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@Distantspaces wrote:

The bot does not trigger at all, even though a new row gets added to my sheet

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If you didn't already, confirm whether this is the case by checking the automation monitor. Potentially, the automation indeed triggers but encounters some error that precludes it from "changes the value of some columns in the table".

[Distantspaces]

Thanks. I look at the automation monitor and the audit log. There was an error with a required column that wasn't a part of the payload. I fixed it and now it works partially.

The bot is supposed to change the status column for the newly created record, and then send an email. I've now managed to make it send the email, but it still doesn't update the status column, even though it marks the operation as success in the audit log. 

I expect it to select the row that was just added, and update only its status column. Later on, I'd create an expression to update status based on the information from the other columns in the row, but I'm first trying to just make it work with a static text string.

 

 

[dbaum]

If the Status column is from the Form, I wonder whether there's a conflict between data from the Forms app and changes to that data from AppSheet. Consider reviewing the cell's edit history to see whether maybe AppSheet indeed revised the value but then Forms reverted it.

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@Distantspaces wrote:

an expression to update status based on the information from the other columns in the row

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If the Status column is not from the Form, consider just using an app formula instead.

[Distantspaces]

The status column is not from the form. I've added it to the sheet myself. The record can have multiple statuses, but the initial status is chosen based on the information provided in the form.

I tried using the formula in the 'initial value' field of the status column, because I'd need to be able to edit the status to other possible options later. Even though it is able to compute the status correctly (using the test feature), I am not able to see the status displayed in the actual views, nor am I able to filter by status. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

[dbaum]

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@Distantspaces wrote:

I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

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I wouldn't expect a row added outside of AppSheet to have initial values populated by AppSheet. Other than that, I'm not sure either.

I have Forms that save data in a Sheet that includes non-Form columns for each row, and I have Forms that save data in a Sheet that serves as a data source for an AppSheet app. However, I don't have any Forms that both have non-Form columns in the Sheet and also are connected to AppSheet.

In an app table connected to a Sheet populated via Forms, I do reliably use virtual columns with app formulas.

ICYMI, there's a handy list of Google Forms Integrations: Best Practices - Google Cloud Community.