I’m trying to make invoices using Google Docs API. I have a template with a sample table row, but I need to add more rows based on an array. The number of items can change.
Here’s what I want to do:
- Start with my template
- Add rows to the table based on my data
- Fill in the cells with info from my array
I’ve been stuck on this for a while. Is there an easy way to do it?
My data looks like this:
[
['Item A', '5', '$10', '$50'],
['Item B', '2', '$15', '$30'],
['Item C', '1', '$25', '$25']
]
The array can have any number of items.
I’m using PHP with the Google API Client Library. I can replace text in the doc, but I’m not sure how to handle the table. Any ideas?
I’ve tackled a similar challenge with the Google Docs API. First, create a template with a single row in your table using placeholders such as {{Item}} and {{Quantity}}. Then, in your PHP script, fetch the document and locate the table. For each item in your data array, insert a new row, duplicate the content from the template row, and replace the placeholders with the actual information. The key is managing the row indexing accurately during the table operations and using batch updates to reduce the number of API calls. Also, be mindful of potential formatting issues when copying rows, which may require explicit cell style adjustments, and incorporate error handling for edge cases where the table or data array might be missing.
hey, i’ve done something similar before. you can use the insertTableRow request to add new rows, then copyTableRange to duplicate your template row. after that, just use replaceAllText to swap out placeholders with your actual data. it’s a bit tricky with the indexing, but once you get it working it’s pretty smooth. just make sure to batch your requests to keep things efficient. good luck!
I’ve actually implemented something similar for a client recently. Here’s what worked well for me:
Instead of trying to manipulate the table directly, I found it easier to use a JSON template approach. I created a JSON structure representing the entire document, including the table layout. Then I used string interpolation to populate the JSON with data from the PHP array.
Once the JSON was fully populated, I used the Docs API to completely replace the content of the existing document. This avoided tricky table manipulation and ensured consistent formatting.
The trickiest part was getting the JSON structure right initially, but once that was done, it was very flexible for different numbers of invoice items. I also added some basic error handling to catch any issues with malformed data.
This method was much more reliable than trying to insert/copy rows, especially when dealing with varying numbers of items. Hope this helps give you another approach to consider!