My Android app retrieves docs correctly except spreadsheets which return the HTML login page instead of CSV data. How can I obtain proper CSV output for spreadsheets?
I encountered a similar issue when working on an Android app that needed to fetch Google Sheets data. The key is to ensure you’re using the correct URL format and authentication method. Instead of the regular Google Sheets URL, try using the export URL format:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/{SHEET_ID}/export?format=csv&gid={SHEET_GID}
Replace {SHEET_ID} with your actual sheet ID and {SHEET_GID} with the specific sheet’s GID (usually 0 for the first sheet).
Also, make sure you’re properly handling authentication. If it’s a public sheet, this URL should work directly. For private sheets, you’ll need to implement OAuth 2.0 authentication in your app.
Lastly, check your user-agent string. Sometimes Google’s servers may return the login page if they don’t recognize the user-agent as a valid client. Setting a custom user-agent in your HTTP request headers can often resolve this issue.
Have you considered using a third-party library for handling Google Sheets API in Android? I’ve had success with the Google Sheets API v4 client library for Java. It simplifies the process of authentication and data retrieval.
To use it, add the dependency to your build.gradle file and implement the necessary API calls. You’ll need to set up OAuth 2.0 credentials in the Google Cloud Console and handle the authentication flow in your app.
Once set up, you can use the Sheets.Spreadsheets.Values.get() method to fetch data as a 2D array, which you can then easily convert to CSV format if needed. This approach bypasses issues with URL formatting and provides more robust error handling.
hey sophialee92, i had this problem too. try using the export url format instead of the regular sheets url. it should look like this:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/{SHEET_ID}/export?format=csv&gid={SHEET_GID}
Replace the stuff in {} with your actual sheet info. hope this helps!