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New Apps Script features at Google I O—again!

This Wednesday is the start of our annual developer conference, Google I/O, and we can’t wait to share a bunch of new features that will help developers do more with Apps Script. So let’s not wait! Check out these new features launching today:

Scripts in Google Docs

Many of you have told us that you want to be able to extend Google Docs just like Google Sheets, with custom menus, dialogs, and triggers. Starting today, you can do just that (plus custom sidebars, too). To learn more about Apps Script in Docs—including a couple of secret features that we can’t tell you about yet!—please tune into the live stream with me and Jonathan Rascher on Thursday at 3:30pm PT.

Forms Service / Scripts in Google Forms

In response to another top request, you can now use the Forms Service to programmatically create and modify Google Forms, including triggers and a better way to respond to form submissions. (We’ve created a new 5-minute quickstart to get you going.) You can also extend the Google Forms editor with the same custom menus, dialogs, and sidebars as Google Docs. If you’re at I/O, learn how to build Forms with Apps Script by joining Eric Koleda and Matthew Ziegelbaum on Wednesday at 1:55pm PT.

Drive Service

For those of you who use the DocsList Service to automate your Google Drive, a newer version is now available. Drive Service comes with new features like setting the owner of a file or folder or changing the sharing settings. We designed the new service from the ground up to make it easier to work with large numbers of files and also fixed a lot of bugs. If you’re at I/O, Arun Nagarajan and John McGowan will give you more insight into Drive integration on Thursday at 1:40pm PT.

Faster HtmlService

At Google I/O 2012, we launched HtmlService to let you build custom user interfaces with secure client-side scripting. Starting today, you can enable an experimental version of the client-side sandbox that runs significantly faster in any browser that supports ECMAScript 5 strict mode.

Improved Authorization Flow and API Console Integration

You’ve also told us that authorizing a script takes too many steps. Now, you can opt in to an experimental new authorization flow that requires fewer clicks. In addition, every script that uses the new flow automatically creates a project in the Google APIs Console. This makes it much easier to use Google APIs that aren’t built in to Apps Script. To upgrade a script to the new flow, select File > Upgrade authorization experience. If you’re at I/O, Arun Nagarajan and Christoph Schwab-Ganser will demonstrate the new flow in their session on using the YouTube Analytics API with Apps Script on Wednesday at 1:55pm PT.

As you can see, we’ve been working hard to improve Apps Script for you. We hope you enjoy the new features!

Saurabh Gupta   profile | twitter | blog As the product manager for Google Apps Script, Saurabh is responsible for Apps Script’s overall vision and direction.