Leveraging Google Apps Script Functions to Craft Requests for Batch Updates via Google Docs API

Other Questions Google docs
1

I successfully merged cells in a Google Docs table using the Google Docs API through a Google Apps Script function (in JavaScript). Below are the steps my function follows:

  1. Iterate over the document's content.
  2. Locate a specific table based on an identifier above it, labeled table_marker.
  3. Create the updateRequests variable.
  4. Execute this variable using batchUpdate.

As a result, cells between startCell and endCell are merged.

function mergeTableCells(docId, tableMarker, startCell, endCell) {
  let documentContent = Docs.Documents.get(docId).body.content;

for (var index = 0; index < documentContent.length; index++) {

if (documentContent[index].table != null) {

let marker = documentContent[index - 1].paragraph.elements[0].textRun.content.trim();

if (marker === tableMarker) {

tableIndex = documentContent[index].startIndex;

break;  // exit loop

}

}

}


let updateRequests = [{

mergeTableCells: {

tableRange: {

tableCellLocation: {

tableStartLocation: {index: tableIndex},

rowIndex: startCell[0],

columnIndex: startCell[1]

},

columnSpan: endCell[1] - startCell[1] + 1,

rowSpan: endCell[0] - startCell[0] + 1

}

}

}];

Logger.log(updateRequests);

return updateRequests;

}

When I invoke this function from another function, it operates flawlessly:

function mainFunction1() {
    let activeDocId = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getId();
    mergeTableCells(activeDocId, '<>', [1, 2], [2, 3]);
}

Currently, I am attempting to modify the last line within the function to replace Docs.Documents.batchUpdate({ requests }, docId); with return(updateRequests); and subsequently invoke it from a main function as demonstrated below:

function mainFunction2() {
    let activeDocId = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getId();
    let requestsToUpdate = mergeTableCells(activeDocId, '<>', [1, 2], [2, 3]);
    Logger.log(requestsToUpdate);
    Docs.Documents.batchUpdate({ requests: requestsToUpdate }, activeDocId);
}

The log output for updateRequests matches what is returned by requestsToUpdate, yet I encounter the following error when executing mainFunction2: GoogleJsonResponseException: API call to docs.documents.batchUpdate failed with error: Invalid JSON payload received. Unknown name "requestsToUpdate": Cannot find field. What steps should I take to correctly pass requestsToUpdate to batchUpdate?