I’m working on a Google Apps Script that automatically sends a spreadsheet as a PDF via email using scheduled triggers. The issue I’m facing is that Google’s built-in time triggers only allow approximate times within a one-hour period.
I need my automation to execute exactly at 10:10 AM every day or every other day, and not within the 10-11 AM time window as it currently does. This one-hour range is far too broad for my needs.
Is there a method to achieve more precise timing for Google Apps Script triggers? Can I find a way to overcome this limitation and schedule my script to run with exact minute accuracy?
Google’s trigger timing can be quite limiting for tasks that require precision. One effective strategy I’ve used is to set a daily trigger for 10:00 AM and then utilize the Utilities.sleep() method to pause the execution until 10:10 AM. However, this can sometimes lead to timeouts if the trigger fires too early.
Alternatively, a more reliable method is to set a trigger to run every 15 minutes within your target hour. This way, you can program your script to check if the current time matches your desired execution time. While this might not be the cleanest solution, it allows you to achieve the accuracy you need without relying solely on Google’s time constraints.
honestly, just use a minute trigger and check if it’s 10:10 before running your code. set it to run every minute during that hour, then add if (new Date().getMinutes() === 10) at the top. yeah, it wastes some executions but you’ll hit exactly 10:10 without the sleep() timeout issues.
Google Apps Script triggers don’t do exact minute precision - it’s just how they’re built. But here’s a workaround that’s worked great for me: Set your trigger for the earliest time you want in that hour, then add a time check right at the start of your script. When it runs, it checks the current time and only continues if you’re in your target window (like 10:10-10:15 AM). Too early? Script just exits without doing anything. This gives you way better control over when things actually run. Yeah, your script might fire a few times before hitting the right window, but the precision is worth it. I’ve been doing this for daily reports and it beats Google’s vague time windows by miles.