Google Apps Scripts and Web Development Tutorials and Resources by Laurence Svekis
Google Apps Script is a powerful tool that helps you automate and extend Google Workspace apps like Sheets, Docs, Gmail, and Drive. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned scripter, these tips will help you write cleaner, faster, and more reliable code. ✅ 1. Use getActive() Sparingly While SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet() and DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() are convenient, they rely … Read more
When using Google Apps Script to copy data from one sheet to a log sheet, a common issue arises: the new sheet ends up with an empty first row. This typically happens when the data insertion starts from getLastRow() + 1, even when the sheet is brand new and completely empty. Here’s how we fix … Read more
🔥 Why element.style.color Is Still Valid (and Why VS Code Might Be Messing with Your JavaScript) If you’ve been following a JavaScript lesson and suddenly found your code being rewritten by your editor—you’re not alone. A developer recently shared that their simple color-toggle code wasn’t working as expected in VS Code. Here’s what they were … Read more
By Laurence Lars Svekis, Author of Ultimate Modern jQuery for Web App Development jQuery might not be the newest tool in the JavaScript ecosystem, but it remains one of the most efficient ways to add interactivity, animations, and functionality to websites—especially for beginners and those working on rapid prototypes or legacy codebases. In this short … Read more
When people hear “jQuery” in 2025, the reaction is often, “Isn’t that old?” It’s true—jQuery has been around since 2006. But here’s the surprising part: it’s still everywhere. Millions of websites run on jQuery, and for good reason—it makes web development easier, faster, and, honestly, a little more fun. When I wrote Ultimate Modern jQuery … Read more
🐱 Building a Simple “Cat Grid” Web Page with TheCatAPI Who doesn’t love cats? In this tutorial, we’ll walk through how to build a simple HTML page that fetches adorable cat photos from TheCatAPI and displays them in a grid layout. By the end, you’ll have a page that looks like a mini Instagram feed … Read more
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Why This Post Exists If you’ve tried to clone heading styles (H1–H6, Title, Subtitle) from one Google Doc to another using Apps Script, you probably hit this wall: Invalid JSON payload received. Unknown name “updateNamedStyles”… Yep—updateNamedStyles isn’t supported for write operations in the Docs API (at least for now). You can read the named styles, … Read more
A Huge Thank You — Grateful for Google I/O 2025 & the GDE Journey Opening a black box and finding a decommissioned Google Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) from the 4th/5th generation inside felt surreal. This little slab of silicon has helped train and serve some of the world’s most impactful AI models—and now it’s sitting … Read more
This document provides a comprehensive collection of Google Apps Script examples tailored for Google Docs. Each script is designed to automate common tasks, enhance productivity, and extend the functionality of your documents. 1. Basic Document Access & Creation These scripts cover the fundamental ways to access existing documents, create new ones, and get references to … Read more