Locating the initial zero in a Google Sheets column using Apps Script

Other Questions Google Sheets
1

I’m working on a Google Sheets project and need some help with Apps Script. I have a column of numbers from B3 to B300. My goal is to find the first cell that has a zero in it. Once I find that cell, I want to know which row it’s in. I plan to use this row information later in my script for other calculations. Does anyone know how to do this efficiently? I’ve tried a few things but can’t seem to get it right. Any tips or code snippets would be really helpful. Thanks in advance for your assistance!

2

I’ve dealt with similar issues in my projects. Here’s a neat trick I discovered:

Instead of looping through each cell, you can use the MATCH function in Apps Script. It’s super efficient for large datasets. Here’s how:

function findFirstZero() {
  var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
  var formula = '=MATCH(0, B3:B300, 0)';
  var result = sheet.getRange('A1').setFormula(formula).getValue();
  
  if (result instanceof Number) {
    return result + 2; // Adjust for the starting row
  } else {
    return 'No zero found';
  }
}

This method is blazing fast as it leverages Google Sheets’ built-in functions. It’ll return the row number of the first zero, or ‘No zero found’ if there isn’t one. You can then use this result in your other calculations. Hope this helps streamline your script!

3

hey, try this: get the range B3:B300, grab values as an array then loop thru them. when you hit a 0, return i+3 as row num. hope it helps!

4

I’ve tackled a similar problem before. Here’s a more efficient approach using Apps Script:

function findFirstZero() {
  var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
  var range = sheet.getRange('B3:B300');
  var values = range.getValues();
  
  for (var i = 0; i < values.length; i++) {
    if (values[i][0] === 0) {
      return i + 3; // Adding 3 because we start at row 3
    }
  }
  return 'No zero found';
}

This function fetches all values at once, reducing API calls. It then iterates through the array, returning the row number when it finds a zero. It’s fast and avoids unnecessary sheet interactions. You can call this function elsewhere in your script to get the row number for further calculations.