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    4. Use Google Sheets with Workflow Builder

Use Google Sheets with Workflow Builder

When you combine Google Sheets and Workflow Builder, you can effortlessly bring data from your workflows into a spreadsheet, or pull data from Google Sheets into Slack.

 

Add Google Sheets to your workflows

When you install the Google Sheets for Workflow Builder app, you can create steps in a workflow that incorporate data from existing Google Sheets. The app only needs to be installed once, then, anyone with permission to create workflows can add steps that interact with a Google Sheet.

  1. Visit the Google Sheets for Workflow Builder page in the Slack App Directory.
  2. Click Add to Slack.
  3. Click Allow to finish.

Note: To use this app, a Google admin needs to ensure that your Google account can access Google Drive with the Drive SDK API.

 

Enable steps from apps

To start sending and receiving data between a Google Sheets and Workflow Builder, a workspace owner or workspace admin will need to enable Workflow Builder steps from apps.

  1. From your desktop, click on your workspace name in the top left.
  2. Select Settings & administration from the menu, then click on Workspace settings.
  3. Click on the Permissions tab at the top of the page.
  4. Scroll down to Workflow Builder steps from apps and click Expand.
  5. Tick the box next to Show steps from apps installed on this workspace in Workflow Builder.
  6. Click on Save.

 

Create a workflow with a step from Google Sheets

Once you've installed the app and enabled steps from apps, follow the instructions to add steps to a workflow. Your step library will now contain the following options from Google Sheets:

  • Add a spreadsheet row
    Add a row to your spreadsheet with the data from your workflow
  • Select a spreadsheet row
    Pull the data from a selected spreadsheet row into Slack
  • Update a spreadsheet row
    Update the value in a specific row from your spreadsheet using data from Slack.
  • Delete a spreadsheet row

Note: It’s not currently possible to adjust the time zone for your spreadsheet. Dates and times added to your spreadsheet will use the UTC+0 time zone.

Connect your Google Account

When you choose to add a Google Workflow step for the first time, you’ll need to connect your Google account.

  1. From your in progress workflow, choose to either Add, Select, Delete or Update a spreadsheet row from the step library.
  2. Next to Connect a new account, click Sign in with Google.
  3. From the authorisation prompt in the web browser, ensure that See and download all your Google Drive files and See, edit, create and delete all your Google Sheets spreadsheets are ticked, then click Continue.
  4. Return to Workflow Builder in Slack to resume editing your step.

Change your Google Account

The Google Sheets for Workflow builder app can only be connected to one Google account at a time. If you need to access a spreadsheet that’s saved to a different Google account, you’ll need to change which one is connected.

  1. From your in progress workflow, choose to either Add, Select, Delete or Update a spreadsheet row from the step library.
  2. Click the   three dots icon next to your connected account, then choose Change account.
  3. If you’d like to connect an existing account, Select an account from the drop-down menu. To connect a new account, click Sign in with Google.
  4. Repeat the steps to Connect your Google Account, then go back to editing your step in Workflow Builder

Note: Spreadsheets that you’d like to give Workflow Builder access to have to be saved to a personal Google Drive, not a Shared Drive.

 

Troubleshoot Google Sheets for Workflow Builder

If your workflow is unable to find the spreadsheet in your personal Drive, give the following steps a try to ensure that the correct permissions are set:

  1. Open Slack in a Chrome incognito window: https://my.slack.com.
  2. Open your Google account (https://myaccount.google.com/permissions) and remove the access for Slack.
  3. From your in progress workflow, choose to either Add, Select, Delete or Update a spreadsheet row from the step library.
  4. Click the   three dots icon next to your connected account, then choose Change account and select Sign in with Google.
  5. From the authorisation prompt in the web browser, ensure that See and download all your Google Drive files and See, edit, create and delete all your Google Sheets spreadsheets are ticked, then click Continue.
  6. Return to Workflow Builder in Slack to resume editing your step.
  7. If the error persists, contact us for additional assistance.
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