Data Director for Forms - Official Website

What is Data Director for Forms?

It is a Google Forms Add-on. It will send emails, create PDF files, send data to different spreadsheets and make calendar events based upon how your users fill out your Google Form.

To stay informed about new features and updates join the Google Community at:

For information about specific topics choose a topic from the drop down menu

Data Director has many features

• Sends emails
• Add a guest to a calendar event
• Send the form data to different spreadsheet.
• Create a new Calendar Event
• Create PDF files
• Attach a PDF file to the outgoing email
• Start accepting Form responses at a certain Date/Hour
• Stop accepting Form responses at a certain Date/Hour
• Data Director can send a copy of the Form response to a different Google Spreadsheet than is currently receiving the Form response, or to a different sheet tab in the spreadsheet that is currently receiving the form response.

Send the Form Response to an Alternate destination:

• Send a copy of the form response to a Google spreadsheet.
• The same Google spreadsheet that is already receiving the Form response, or
• A different spreadsheet than is currently receiving the Form response.
• Exclude the timestamp from the copied response if you choose. The default is to include the timestamp.
• Create an Edit URL and save a link to the destination spreadsheet.
• Create a PreFilled URL and save the link to the destination spreadsheet.

Send Emails when the Form is Submitted:

• Send an email to the email address of your choice.
• CC the email to the address of your choice, or not.
• Includes the option to specify the subject line.
• The Body of the email can be written right in the sidebar setting for the email.
• Merge form data with the email
• Send two totally different emails, to different addresses.
• The email body can contain HTML - Just include your HTML in tags.
• Email one includes the option for advanced branching. You can send an email or not depending upon a value entered by the form user.

Add a Guest to a Calendar Event:

• Choose a calendar event from a calendar that you can add a guest to.
• Send a confirmation email to the email address of the guest

Report a Problem

To report an issue, send an email to: aj.addons@gmail.com

Common Problems

Stops Working:

If this add-on stops working, it may be an issue with the trigger service. A trigger is what causes the add-on code to run. This add-on uses two types of triggers:

If the add-on is not doing anything at all, then the "On Form Submit" trigger may have stopped working To create a new "On Form Submit" trigger, open the sidebar and click the ON / OFF button. Wait for a confirmation message to appear in the sidebar, and then turn the button back ON. This creates a new "On Form Submit" trigger.

You can open the Apps Script code editor, and from the "Edit" menu, choose "All Your Triggers" to see every trigger installed to your account.

The "On Form Submit" trigger is what causes the code to start running when the Form is submitted.

Authorization Error

You can receive an authorization error, if you are logged into multiple accounts. Either log out of all accounts and log back into the account that installed the add-on, OR open an incognito window and log into the account that installed the add-on.

Multiple Emails sent from FROM address -

If there are multiple collaborators on a Form, I've had one user report that multiple emails were being sent from multiple accounts. They needed to remove the collaborators, and make one account the owner.

"You do not have permissions to access the requested document."

make sure that the spreadsheet that is set up as an alternate destination is either owned by you, or has edit permissions allowed if it's a shared spreadsheet.

Error when making settings

If there is an error when making your settings, an alert message will pop-up. In that situation, I need to know what you were doing when the error occurred. For example, you clicked on a certain button.

Email me at aj.addons@gmail.com

If you encounter any errors or problems.

Updates and Issues

Announcements are posted to the Google Community named: Data Director for Forms

Every time that a new version is published, an announcement is posted to the Google Community

To get an email every time that a new version is published, email me at aj.addons@gmail.com and ask to be put on the list.

The G+ community has both an Issue Tracker and Feature Requests section.

Problems that you experience can be caused by:

• "bugs" in the Add-on code - Something that I need to fix
• An issue at Google - For example - Failure to run a trigger.
• User error - You made a setting wrong.

Check the Google Community for current issues that haven't been fixed.

Don't spend a lot of time trying to get something to work if you are having trouble. Email me, and I'll determine whether it's something I need to fix.

Server errors at Google or Google services being "down" are outside of the control of the Add-on.

You can check for Google service disruptions at:

Re-Install

If you are using "New" Google Forms and want to un-install the Add-on, do the following:

In "New" Google Forms, click the icon with three dots stacked vertically. Then choose, Add-ons. In the Search box, type Data Director for Forms and hit Enter. When Data Director for Forms shows in the list, you will see a "Manage" button. Click "Remove"

To un-install an Add-on from the "Old" Google Forms:

• Click the "Add-ons" menu.
• Click "Manage Add-ons"
• Click the green "Manage" button
• Click "Remove"

Contact Us

To contact me, send an email to: aj.addons@gmail.com

About

For information about the add-on version, click the "About" menu item in the add-on menu from your Google Form edit mode. This website is hosted on Firebase hosting.

Alan Wells lives in the Northeastern United States, in the state of Maine, where he grew up and spent most of his life. He works full time developing Add-ons. Alan graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in Business Administration. He also served in the military, and spent time overseas. As the developer of productivity Apps, he wants to provide free and low cost, but powerful tools that will give opportunities for success in business, education and organizations around the world.

Profile Page

Set Up

The Data Director Settings and Info sidebar is the starting point to configure your custom setup.

When you click a button in the sidebar a dialog box opens in the middle of the window. The Data Splitter settings are for sending data to different spreadsheets. None of the Add-on settings affect the Forms built-in settings in any way. The Data Director setting for the Data Splitter is not the same as the destination set in the Form. You can set a destination spreadsheet in your Google Form, that is different then the spreadsheet settings in the Add-on. The Settings dialog presents the option to select a spreadsheet file using the File Picker, or create a new spreadsheet file.

Detailed help is provided by clicking the Help button shown at the top of each feature section.

When a new version of Data Director is published, you do not need to do anything. The new version automatically updates.

If you are using a paid Google account, and have a "domain administrator", the domain administrator can make settings that affect whether this Add-on works or not. The administrator can control permissions and access to different services, like email. So, even if you accept the permissions, if the domain administrator has turned off access to something like being able to send an email, then the email feature will not work.

How it Works

Google has a programming language named Apps Script. Apps Script is the central location for integrating many different Google products. Your Google Form can detect and respond to an "Event." One type of event is the Google Form being submitted. That is an "On Form Submit" event. Apps Script has an "On Form Submit" trigger, that can either be attached to a Form or a Spreadsheet. This Add-on works from an "On Form Submit" trigger attached to the Google Form. When the "ON / OFF" button is clicked in the sidebar, the Add-on code creates an "On Form Submit" trigger. The On Form Submit trigger is given the name "Data_Director_FormSbmt". You can see all triggers associated with your account by opening the Apps Script code editor, clicking the "Edit" menu, and then clicking "All your triggers"

Usage Tips

When a new Add-on version is published, some users need to re-authorize the Add-on. If the Add-on looses it's authorization, it will not work correctly. Users in paid Google accounts with a domain administrator may need to re-authorize the Add-on after a new version is published. There are times when lots of new updates get published very frequently. You need to check for error emails being sent to the account that the Add-on is installed on. You need to check sent emails, and calendar events to make sure the Add-on is working correctly. When an error occurs, you get an email. When errors occur, there is no way to provide immediate feedback to the Google Form. So, the Add-on sends an email when there is a problem. The email comes from your account.

Troubleshooting

Press the f12 key when the browser tab with your Google Form is showing. A developer tools window should open. There is a tab named "Console" make sure that is selected. Open the dialog box for Data Director for Forms, and see if there is an error message that appears in the log of the console. If there is an error message, email me the error message at aj.addons@gmail.com

Data Director creates a "trigger" for every Google Form that it is installed in. A "trigger" detects when an "Event" happens, and then runs some specific code. The trigger that detects when the Form is submitted is called an "On Form Submit" trigger. Data Director has a function named:

You can see all your triggers from inside the Apps Script code editor. To open up the code editor, and look at the "triggers" that you have. Put the following link into your browser:

https://script.google.com

You can also open the Apps Script code editor from the Google Form. In "New" Google Form, click the icon with three dots, and then choose Script Editor. If you get a web page instead of the code editor, click the button or link to use Apps Script. Once you are inside the code editor, do the following:

• Click "Edit" in the menu
• Click "All your trigger's"

You can delete a trigger by clicking the "X", then click "Save"

You should see one or more trigger names (If at least one Form has Data Director turned ON) named

If you are only using Data Director in one Form, and you see multiple triggers named "Data_Director_FormSbmt", then delete them all by clicking the "X", then click "Save". Then make sure to turn the ON / OFF button in the sidebar OFF, and then back ON

Click a Sub-menu of "Privacy/Terms/Permissions"

The Privacy Policy, Terms of Use and Permissions are explained in the sub pages of the "Privacy/Terms/Permissions" menu.

Privacy Policy

The Data Director for Forms Add-on does collect and save information. The following statement describes the information that is collected and saved:

Synopsis:

If you uncheck the box to send me (The Developer, Alan Wells) information, then I can guarantee you, that the only information that I will ever get, is the account name / email address of the account that installed the Add-on, and usage data about how many times the Form was submitted. If the Data Director for Forms Add-on becomes a paid service, then the Add-on will also save information about whether the account has paid or not.

Details:

When the Add-on is installed, it collects the email address of whatever account was used to install the Add-on. (Free / Consumer Account , Paid Account, GSuite) The email address is saved in order to send notification messages, if there is an error. The email account name is also used in association with usage data, as described below.

The number of Form submissions made by a Form with the Data Director for Forms Add-on. The number of Form submission made is associated with the email address of the account that installed the Add-on. The number of Errors encountered from the Data Director for Forms Add-on for each user of the Add-on. In the case of on an error in the Add-on, a copy of the error message is saved to a spreadsheet in the account of alcraprojects@gmail.com An email is also sent to the email address that was retrieved when you installed the Add-on, or an email address that you provide. Because the email is sent from your account to your account, it may not show up in your Inbox, but it will be in your "Sent" folder. I do keep error message information in the spreadsheet until the issue is resolved, and then delete the information.

The information sent to the spreadsheet contains:

• Time the error occurred
• The error message generated by Google (Apps Script)
• My own custom error message
• The Add-on Version number
• The email of the account that installed the Add-on
• Local Time
• The name of the function that the error came from
• The "Stack" - This is the line number of the code where the error came from.

The vast majority of the time, no personal information is obtained or sent when an error occurs. However, the error generated by Apps Script may have information specific to the account or an answer in the Form. For example, a file ID or calendar URL might be included in the error message. It's possible that a value from an answer might be included in the error message. I intentionally avoid collecting answers or any information that is personal. I can not guarantee that a piece of personal information is never included in an error message. I can guarantee that I will never use any personal information for anything other than debugging a programming error. I will never share any personal information that is obtained. You can prevent any and all error information from being sent by un-checking the check box in the "Errors" tab of the "Settings / Utilities" dialog box that indicates that no information will be sent when there is an error. Usage information associated with the account will always be collected. That can not be turned off. The reason for this, is that if I make the Add-on a paid service, it will be on the basis of usage.

Error messages that may include private information are encrypted before being sent.

Summary:

• The email address from the account that installed the Add-on is always collected
• Usage data associated with the account about how many Form submissions are made is always collected.
• Error messages that might contain personal information can be turned off in the "Errors" tab of the "Settings / Utilities" dialog. Doing this insures that I will never get any personal information, except for the account name (email address) of the account
• Any personal information that is obtained will never be shared with anyone.
I intentionally avoid collecting and sending any personal information when an error occurs, but can not guarantee that it will never happen.

The above explanation includes all situations in which data is collected, the type of data collected, and how that data is stored and transmitted. It also provides an explanation of how to stop most information from being transmitted, except for the account name (email address) and number of Form submissions.

Terms

By using the Data Director for Forms Add-on, you agree to the following terms and conditions.

Terms:

By using Data Director for Forms, you agree to allow the Add-on to do the following:

• Collect and save "Usage Data". For example; the number of Form submissions made in a given time period. Or the number of errors. See the Privacy Policy for more information.
• Collect and transmit "Error Information" when Data Director for Forms encounters an error. When an error occurs, the Data Director Add-on makes an HTTPS POST request to my aj.addons@gmail.com account with error information. When permissions for the Add-on are given, the permission for an External Request, is needed for this. You can turn OFF error collection and transmission in the "Errors" tab of the "Settings / Utilities" dialog box.
• Send an error email from the Google account that was used in the installation, to the same email address. In other words, send an email from your account to the same account. For errors that are user errors, the developer does not want or need to be notified. For example, if the user failed to enter a date for a calendar event. Or it the person who installed the Add-on failed to make a required setting. You can turn OFF error collection and transmission in the "Errors" tab of the "Settings / Utilities" dialog box.
• Possibly collect and transmit Form data when there is an error. The data is used for purposes of correcting programming errors in the Add-on. The majority of the time no personal information and no Form information is transmitted. There is the option in the Settings to prevent error emails from being sent. If there is an error, there may be situations where the answer to a Form question is sent with the error information. For example, if there is an invalid email. Users sometime enter something other than an email, like a date, or text. You can turn OFF error collection and transmission in the "Errors" tab of the "Settings / Utilities" dialog box.
• You agree to possibly getting emails from aj.addons@gmail.com concerning error messages, and/or promotional advertising for the Add-on. You always have the option to block emails from aj.addons@gmail.com and/or ask to be removed from any mailings.

DISCLAIMER:

(i) PROVIDED WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT; AND (ii) IN NO EVENT WILL THE PROVIDER OF THE Data Director for Forms Add-on BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOST REVENUES, PROFIT OR DATA, OR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, HOWEVER CAUSED AND REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY, EVEN IF I (Alan Wells) HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE ADD-ON * THE Data Director for Forms Add-on to Google Forms IS PROVIDED BY IT'S DEVELOPER "AS IS" AND * ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED * WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE * DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL Alan Wells BE LIABLE FOR ANY * DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES * (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; * LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND * ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT * (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS * ADD-ON, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. *

The "Data Director for Forms" Add-on asks for permissions. For the Add-on to function correctly, you must accept the permissions.

• View an Manage your Files in Google Drive - This Add-on will save the PDF template file to your Drive as a text file if you choose to do that. If you change the folder for where the PDF template file should be, then Data Director will attempt to copy the file and delete the original. Also, the File Picker needs to get a list of folders and files in chosen folders. And if you choose to have a PDF file created, the Add-on will create a new PDF file.
• Send email on your behalf - Gmail - Data Director for Forms has the capability to send emails when a Google Form is submitted. Data Director for Forms does not read, delete or manage your email. It will send one or more emails if you have "set-up" the Email feature. Data Director for Forms will never delete an email. It doesn't "manage" your email. It will check your remaining available quota, to determine whether it's possible to send another email or not. And Data Director for Forms will never read your email. Even if you don't have the email feature set up, in some cases, Data Director for Forms may send and email from your account to your account, if there was a user error in the settings. (You made a mistake in the settings) For most of the errors, and email is sent from my account to your account. That's to make sure that you see the error email. Sometimes emails sent from your own account to yourself don't show up in your Inbox. This Add-on does attempt to get the email address of the account that installed the Add-on. See the Privacy Policy for more information.
• Manage your Calendars - A popular feature of Data Director is to create a new calendar event from the Form submission. That's the main reason that this permission is needed. No new calendars are ever created. No calendars are ever deleted. If an option is ever added to edit a calendar event if a Form submission is edited, then the Add-on will create a new event and delete the old one if it's a new data/time.
• View and manage your spreadsheets - Data Director does need to write data to one or more spreadsheets that you own if you set up the "Data Split" feature. Also, Data Director can create a new spreadsheet file. It never deletes a spreadsheet file.
• Display and run Third-party web content in prompts and sidebars inside Google Applications - The Add-on uses a dialog box to allow you to make and save settings, like the date to turn the Form OFF from accepting responses. The code that formats, styles and operates the dialog box was programmed by me, Alan Wells. I am the "third-party". There is no other content from any other source other than me or Google in the Add-on.
• Allow this application to run when you are not present - This is for the "On Form Submit" trigger. When a Form response is submitted, it's very often submitted by someone other than you. So, you are not "present." Also, if you use the feature to start accepting responses at a certain date/hour and stop accepting responses at a certain date/hour, that is done with a "time-based trigger."
• Connect to an external service - The Add-on sends data to my error logging spreadsheet if there is an error. Although, you can turn that OFF in the "Error Handling Settings." For more information see the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. This Add-on will send error information to my account for error logging, and to send you an error email from my account.
• View and Manage your Forms in Google Drive - The code must get the last form response in order to use the Data from the Form response. This Add-on can also add questions to your Form. The only Forms this Add-on accesses are Forms that you have saved settings to. It never deletes a Form. The utilities can to things like download your Form data, or copy data from one Form to another Form.

• The file (Spreadsheet, Form, PDF, etc) has not been created yet. There can not be a link to a file that does not exist.
• No file was chosen yet for the setting.
• You chose a file, but did not save the settings.
• If you clicked a link in the Data Splitter feature:
• There are multiple options for determining which spreadsheet will receive the Form data.

Choose an existing spreadsheet file with the File Picker Enter a Spreadsheet File ID Enter a new Spreadsheet name and Sheet Tab name to be created when the Save button is clicked Have a spreadsheet automatically created when a Form question is answered in a certain way. Use the File Naming tab to set up how the new Spreadsheet Name will be created.