Class TriggerBuilder

  • TriggerBuilder is a generic builder used for creating script triggers in Apps Script.

  • It provides methods to create trigger builders for specific Google services such as Documents, Forms, Spreadsheets, and Calendar.

  • TriggerBuilder also allows the creation of time-based triggers using the timeBased() method.

  • Each method returns a specialized builder for the respective service or time-based triggers.

  • Creating triggers requires appropriate authorization scopes depending on the service being used.
TriggerBuilder

A generic builder for script triggers.

Methods

MethodReturn typeBrief description
forDocument(document)DocumentTriggerBuilderCreates and returns a DocumentTriggerBuilder tied to the given document.
forDocument(key)DocumentTriggerBuilderCreates and returns a DocumentTriggerBuilder tied to the document with the given ID.
forForm(form)FormTriggerBuilderCreates and returns a FormTriggerBuilder tied to the given form.
forForm(key)FormTriggerBuilderCreates and returns a FormTriggerBuilder tied to the form with the given ID.
forSpreadsheet(sheet)SpreadsheetTriggerBuilderCreates and returns a SpreadsheetTriggerBuilder tied to the given spreadsheet.
forSpreadsheet(key)SpreadsheetTriggerBuilderCreates and returns a SpreadsheetTriggerBuilder tied to the spreadsheet with the given ID.
forUserCalendar(emailId)CalendarTriggerBuilderReturns a builder for building calendar triggers.
timeBased()ClockTriggerBuilderCreates and returns a ClockTriggerBuilder for building time-based triggers.

Detailed documentation

forDocument(document)

Creates and returns a DocumentTriggerBuilder tied to the given document. 

ScriptApp.newTrigger('myFunction')
    .forDocument(DocumentApp.getActiveDocument())
    .onOpen()
    .create();

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
documentDocumentthe document

Return

DocumentTriggerBuilder — the new DocumentTriggerBuilder

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

forDocument(key)

Creates and returns a DocumentTriggerBuilder tied to the document with the given ID. 

ScriptApp.newTrigger('myFunction')
    .forDocument('1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz')
    .onOpen()
    .create();

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
keyStringthe ID for the document

Return

DocumentTriggerBuilder — the new DocumentTriggerBuilder

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

forForm(form)

Creates and returns a FormTriggerBuilder tied to the given form. 

ScriptApp.newTrigger('myFunction')
    .forForm(FormApp.getActiveForm())
    .onFormSubmit()
    .create();

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
formFormthe form

Return

FormTriggerBuilder — the new FormTriggerBuilder

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/forms.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/forms

forForm(key)

Creates and returns a FormTriggerBuilder tied to the form with the given ID. 

ScriptApp.newTrigger('myFunction')
    .forForm('1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz')
    .onFormSubmit()
    .create();

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
keyStringthe ID for the form

Return

FormTriggerBuilder — the new FormTriggerBuilder

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/forms.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/forms

forSpreadsheet(sheet)

Creates and returns a SpreadsheetTriggerBuilder tied to the given spreadsheet. 

ScriptApp.newTrigger('myFunction')
    .forSpreadsheet(SpreadsheetApp.getActive())
    .onEdit()
    .create();

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
sheetSpreadsheetthe spreadsheet

Return

SpreadsheetTriggerBuilder — the new SpreadsheetTriggerBuilder

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheets.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheets

forSpreadsheet(key)

Creates and returns a SpreadsheetTriggerBuilder tied to the spreadsheet with the given ID. 

ScriptApp.newTrigger('myFunction')
    .forSpreadsheet('1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz')
    .onEdit()
    .create();

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
keyStringthe ID for the spreadsheet

Return

SpreadsheetTriggerBuilder — the new SpreadsheetTriggerBuilder

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheets.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheets

forUserCalendar(emailId)

Returns a builder for building calendar triggers.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
emailIdStringemail ID of the user calendar the trigger monitors.

Return

CalendarTriggerBuilder — The new CalendarTriggerBuilder.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.readonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.events
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.events.readonly
  • https://www.google.com/calendar/feeds

timeBased()

Creates and returns a ClockTriggerBuilder for building time-based triggers. 

ScriptApp.newTrigger('myFunction').timeBased().atDate(2013, 10, 31).create();

Return

ClockTriggerBuilder — the new ClockTriggerBuilder

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/script.scriptapp