Aside from the data contained in its cells, a spreadsheet includes many other types of data, such as:
- Cell formats
- Cell borders
- Named ranges
- Protected ranges
- Conditional formatting
These are just some of the many kinds of data that control the appearance and
operation of a spreadsheet. The batchUpdate method lets you update any of
these spreadsheet details. Changes are grouped together in a batch so that if
one request fails, none of the other (potentially dependent) changes is written.
Categories of operation
The particular operations supported by batchUpdate can be grouped into the following broad categories:
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Add (and Duplicate) | Add new objects (sometimes based on old ones, as in the Duplicate requests). |
| Update (and Set) | Update certain properties of an object, usually leaving the old properties alone (whereas Set requests will overwrite the prior data). |
| Delete | Remove objects. |
These categories are used in the next section to describe the behavior of specific operations.
Batch update operations
The batchUpdate method works by taking one or more Request objects, each one specifying a single kind of request to perform. There are many different kinds of requests. Here's a breakdown on the types of requests, grouped into different categories.
There are also some additional requests that mimic user actions for manipulating data:
- AutoFillRequest
- CutPasteRequest
- CopyPasteRequest
- FindReplaceRequest
- PasteDataRequest
- TextToColumnsRequest
- SortRangeRequest
Field masks
Many of the "Update" requests require field masks. These are a comma-delimited list of fields that you want to update. The mask is required to make sure only fields you want to edit are updated. You can use a "*" as short-hand for updating every field (which means a field may revert to its default state if you don't specify a value for it in the request).
For example, to update just the Title of a spreadsheet, this would be the request:
Request:
POST .../v4/spreadsheets/spreadsheetId:batchUpdate
Request body:
{
"requests": [{
"updateSpreadsheetProperties": {
"properties": {"title": "My New Title"},
"fields": "title"
}
}]
}
Responses
When updating a spreadsheet, some kinds of requests may return responses. These are returned in an array, with each response occupying the same index as the corresponding request. Some requests do not have responses. For those requests, the response will be empty.
Typically the "Add" requests will have responses, so that you know information (such as the ID) of the newly added object. See Response for the list of supported responses.
Example
Protocol
The example below performs the following actions:
- Change the name of sheet ID '0' (the default first sheet on every spreadsheet).
- Insert the values 1, 2, 3 into the first row of the spreadsheet with a different background color in each.
- Write "=A1+1" into A2 and fill the formula across A2:C5 (so B2 is "=B1+1", C2 is "=C1+1", A3 is "=A2+1", etc.)
- Copy the format from A1:C1 and paste it into A2:C5, so the data in each column has the same background.
Request:
POST https://sheets.googleapis.com/v4/spreadsheets/spreadsheetId:batchUpdate
Request body:
{
"requests": [
{
"updateSheetProperties": {
"properties": {"sheetId": 0, "title": "New Sheet Name"},
"fields": "title"
}
},
{
"updateCells": {
"start": {
"sheetId": 0,
"rowIndex": 0,
"columnIndex": 0
},
"rows": [
{
"values": [
{
"userEnteredValue": {"numberValue": 1},
"userEnteredFormat": {"backgroundColor": {"red": 1}}
}, {
"userEnteredValue": {"numberValue": 2},
"userEnteredFormat": {"backgroundColor": {"blue": 1}}
}, {
"userEnteredValue": {"numberValue": 3},
"userEnteredFormat": {"backgroundColor": {"green": 1}}
}
]
}
],
"fields": "userEnteredValue,userEnteredFormat.backgroundColor"
}
},
{
"repeatCell": {
"range": {
"sheetId": 0,
"startRowIndex": 1,
"startColumnIndex": 0,
"endRowIndex": 6,
"endColumnIndex": 3
},
"cell": {"userEnteredValue": {"formulaValue": "=A1 + 1"}},
"fields": "userEnteredValue"
}
},
{
"copyPaste": {
"source": {
"sheetId": 0,
"startRowIndex": 0,
"startColumnIndex": 0,
"endRowIndex": 1,
"endColumnIndex": 3
},
"destination": {
"sheetId": 0,
"startRowIndex": 1,
"startColumnIndex": 0,
"endRowIndex": 6,
"endColumnIndex": 3
},
"pasteType": "PASTE_FORMAT"
}
}
]
}
Java
The example below performs the following actions:
- Change the name of sheet ID '0' (the default first sheet on every spreadsheet).
- Insert the values 1, 2, 3 into the first row of the spreadsheet with a different background color in each.
- Write "=A1+1" into A2 and fill the formula across A2:C5 (so B2 is "=B1+1", C2 is "=C1+1", A3 is "=A2+1", etc.)
- Copy the format from A1:C1 and paste it into A2:C5, so the data in each column has the same background.
List<Request> requests = new ArrayList<>();
// Change the spreadsheet's title.
requests.add(new Request()
.setUpdateSpreadsheetProperties(new UpdateSpreadsheetPropertiesRequest()
.setProperties(new SpreadsheetProperties()
.setTitle(title))
.setFields("title")));
// Find and replace text.
requests.add(new Request()
.setFindReplace(new FindReplaceRequest()
.setFind(find)
.setReplacement(replacement)
.setAllSheets(true)));
// Add additional requests (operations) ...
BatchUpdateSpreadsheetRequest body =
new BatchUpdateSpreadsheetRequest().setRequests(requests);
BatchUpdateSpreadsheetResponse response =
service.spreadsheets().batchUpdate(spreadsheetId, body).execute();
FindReplaceResponse findReplaceResponse = response.getReplies().get(1).getFindReplace();
System.out.printf("%d replacements made.", findReplaceResponse.getOccurrencesChanged());
Node.js
The example below performs the following actions:
- Change the name of sheet ID '0' (the default first sheet on every spreadsheet).
- Insert the values 1, 2, 3 into the first row of the spreadsheet with a different background color in each.
- Write "=A1+1" into A2 and fill the formula across A2:C5 (so B2 is "=B1+1", C2 is "=C1+1", A3 is "=A2+1", etc.)
- Copy the format from A1:C1 and paste it into A2:C5, so the data in each column has the same background.
var spreadsheetId = '123abc';
var requests = [];
// Change the name of sheet ID '0' (the default first sheet on every
// spreadsheet)
requests.push({
updateSheetProperties: {
properties: {sheetId: 0, title: 'New Sheet Name'},
fields: 'title'
}
});
// Insert the values 1, 2, 3 into the first row of the spreadsheet with a
// different background color in each.
requests.push({
updateCells: {
start: {sheetId: 0, rowIndex: 0, columnIndex: 0},
rows: [{
values: [{
userEnteredValue: {numberValue: 1},
userEnteredFormat: {backgroundColor: {red: 1}}
}, {
userEnteredValue: {numberValue: 2},
userEnteredFormat: {backgroundColor: {blue: 1}}
}, {
userEnteredValue: {numberValue: 3},
userEnteredFormat: {backgroundColor: {green: 1}}
}]
}],
fields: 'userEnteredValue,userEnteredFormat.backgroundColor'
}
});
// Write "=A1+1" into A2 and fill the formula across A2:C5 (so B2 is
// "=B1+1", C2 is "=C1+1", A3 is "=A2+1", etc..)
requests.push({
repeatCell: {
range: {
sheetId: 0,
startRowIndex: 1,
endRowIndex: 6,
startColumnIndex: 0,
endColumnIndex: 3
},
cell: {userEnteredValue: {formulaValue: '=A1 + 1'}},
fields: 'userEnteredValue'
}
});
// Copy the format from A1:C1 and paste it into A2:C5, so the data in
// each column has the same background.
requests.push({
copyPaste: {
source: {
sheetId: 0,
startRowIndex: 0,
endRowIndex: 1,
startColumnIndex: 0,
endColumnIndex: 3
},
destination: {
sheetId: 0,
startRowIndex: 1,
endRowIndex: 6,
startColumnIndex: 0,
endColumnIndex: 3
},
pasteType: 'PASTE_FORMAT'
}
});
var batchUpdateRequest = {requests: requests}
service.spreadsheets.batchUpdate({
spreadsheetId: spreadsheetId,
resource: batchUpdateRequest
}, function(err, response) {
if(err) {
// Handle error
console.log(err);
}
});
PHP
The example below updates the title of the spreadsheet and replaces some text.
$requests = array();
// Change the spreadsheet's title
$requests[] = new Google_Service_Sheets_Request(array(
'updateSpreadsheetProperties' => array(
'properties' => array(
'title' => $title
),
'fields' => 'title'
)
));
// Find and replace text
$requests[] = new Google_Service_Sheets_Request(array(
'findReplace' => array(
'find' => $find,
'replacement' => $replacement,
'allSheets' => TRUE
)
));
// Add additional requests (operations) ...
$batchUpdateRequest = new Google_Service_Sheets_BatchUpdateSpreadsheetRequest(array(
'requests' => $requests
));
$response = $service->spreadsheets->batchUpdate($spreadsheetId,
$batchUpdateRequest);
$findReplaceResponse = $response->getReplies()[1]->getFindReplace();
printf("%s replacements made.\n",
$findReplaceResponse->getOccurrencesChanged());
Python
The example below updates the title of the spreadsheet and replaces some text.
requests = []
# Change the spreadsheet's title
requests.append({
'updateSpreadsheetProperties': {
'properties': {
'title': title
},
'fields': 'title'
}
})
# Find and replace text
requests.append({
'findReplace': {
'find': find,
'replacement': replacement,
'allSheets': True
}
})
# Add additional requests (operations) ...
body = {
'requests': requests
}
response = service.spreadsheets().batchUpdate(spreadsheetId=spreadsheet_id,
body=body).execute()
find_replace_response = response.get('replies')[1].get('findReplace')
print('{0} replacements made.'.format(
find_replace_response.get('occurrencesChanged')))
Ruby
The example below performs the following actions:
- Change the name of sheet ID '0' (the default first sheet on every spreadsheet).
- Insert the values 1, 2, 3 into the first row of the spreadsheet with a different background color in each.
- Write "=A1+1" into A2 and fill the formula across A2:C5 (so B2 is "=B1+1", C2 is "=C1+1", A3 is "=A2+1", etc.)
- Copy the format from A1:C1 and paste it into A2:C5, so the data in each column has the same background.
spreadsheet_id = '123abc'
requests = []
# Change the name of sheet ID '0' (the default first sheet on every
# spreadsheet)
requests.push({
update_sheet_properties: {
properties: {sheet_id: 0, title: 'New Sheet Name'},
fields: 'title'
}
})
# Insert the values 1, 2, 3 into the first row of the spreadsheet with a
# different background color in each.
requests.push({
update_cells: {
start: {sheet_id: 0, row_index: 0, column_index: 0},
rows: [
{
values: [
{
user_entered_value: {number_value: 1},
user_entered_format: {background_color: {red: 1}}
}, {
user_entered_value: {number_value: 2},
user_entered_format: {background_color: {blue: 1}}
}, {
user_entered_value: {number_value: 3},
user_entered_format: {background_color: {green: 1}}
}
]
}
],
fields: 'userEnteredValue,userEnteredFormat.backgroundColor'
}
})
# Write "=A1+1" into A2 and fill the formula across A2:C5 (so B2 is
# "=B1+1", C2 is "=C1+1", A3 is "=A2+1", etc..)
requests.push({
repeat_cell: {
range: {
sheet_id: 0,
start_row_index: 1,
end_row_index: 6,
start_column_index: 0,
end_column_index: 3
},
cell: {user_entered_value: {formula_value: '=A1 + 1'}},
fields: 'userEnteredValue'
}
})
# Copy the format from A1:C1 and paste it into A2:C5, so the data in
# each column has the same background.
requests.push({
copy_paste: {
source: {
sheet_id: 0,
start_row_index: 0,
end_row_index: 1,
start_column_index: 0,
end_column_index: 3
},
destination: {
sheet_id: 0,
start_row_index: 1,
end_row_index: 6,
start_column_index: 0,
end_column_index: 3
},
paste_type: 'PASTE_FORMAT'
}
})
batch_update_request = {requests: requests}
service.batch_update_spreadsheet(spreadsheet_id, batch_update_request, {})
There are a number of different ways to achieve the same result—the above request is just one way of doing it.