Class Ui

An instance of the user-interface environment for a Google App that allows the script to add features like menus, dialogs, and sidebars. A script can only interact with the UI for the current instance of an open editor, and only if the script is container-bound to the editor.

// Display a dialog box with a title, message, input field, and "Yes" and "No"
// buttons. The user can also close the dialog by clicking the close button in
// its title bar.
const ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi();
const response = ui.prompt(
    'Getting to know you',
    'May I know your name?',
    ui.ButtonSet.YES_NO,
);

// Process the user's response.
if (response.getSelectedButton() === ui.Button.YES) {
  Logger.log('The user\'s name is %s.', response.getResponseText());
} else if (response.getSelectedButton() === ui.Button.NO) {
  Logger.log('The user didn\'t want to provide a name.');
} else {
  Logger.log('The user clicked the close button in the dialog\'s title bar.');
}

Properties

Property	Type	Description
`Button`	`Button`	An enum representing predetermined, localized dialog buttons returned by an alert or `PromptResponse.getSelectedButton()` to indicate which button in a dialog the user clicked.
`ButtonSet`	`ButtonSet`	An enum representing predetermined, localized sets of one or more dialog buttons that can be added to an alert or a prompt.

Methods

Method	Return type	Brief description
`alert(prompt)`	`Button`	Opens a dialog box in the user's editor with the given message and an "OK" button.
`alert(prompt, buttons)`	`Button`	Opens a dialog box in the user's editor with the given message and set of buttons.
`alert(title, prompt, buttons)`	`Button`	Opens a dialog box in the user's editor with the given title, message, and set of buttons.
`createAddonMenu()`	`Menu`	Creates a builder that can be used to insert a sub-menu into the editor's Extensions menu.
`createMenu(caption)`	`Menu`	Creates a builder that can be used to add a menu to the editor's user interface.
`prompt(prompt)`	`PromptResponse`	Opens an input dialog box in the user's editor with the given message and an "OK" button.
`prompt(prompt, buttons)`	`PromptResponse`	Opens an input dialog box in the user's editor with the given message and set of buttons.
`prompt(title, prompt, buttons)`	`PromptResponse`	Opens an input dialog box in the user's editor with the given title, message, and set of buttons.
`showModalDialog(userInterface, title)`	`void`	Opens a modal dialog box in the user's editor with custom client-side content.
`showModelessDialog(userInterface, title)`	`void`	Opens a modeless dialog box in the user's editor with custom client-side content.
`showSidebar(userInterface)`	`void`	Opens a sidebar in the user's editor with custom client-side content.

Deprecated methods

Method	Return type	Brief description
`showDialog(userInterface)`	`void`	Opens a dialog box in the user's editor with custom client-side content.

Detailed documentation

`alert(prompt)`

Opens a dialog box in the user's editor with the given message and an "OK" button. This method suspends the server-side script while the dialog is open. The script resumes after the user dismisses the dialog, but Jdbc connections and LockService locks don't persist across the suspension. For more information, see the guide to dialogs and sidebars.

// Display "Hello, world" in a dialog box with an "OK" button. The user can also
// close the dialog by clicking the close button in its title bar.
SpreadsheetApp.getUi().alert('Hello, world');

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`prompt`	`String`	The message to display in the dialog box.

Return

Button — The button the user clicked.

`alert(prompt, buttons)`

Opens a dialog box in the user's editor with the given message and set of buttons. This method suspends the server-side script while the dialog is open. The script resumes after the user dismisses the dialog, but Jdbc connections and LockService locks don't persist across the suspension. For more information, see the guide to dialogs and sidebars.

// Display a dialog box with a message and "Yes" and "No" buttons. The user can
// also close the dialog by clicking the close button in its title bar.
const ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi();
const response = ui.alert(
    'Are you sure you want to continue?',
    ui.ButtonSet.YES_NO,
);

// Process the user's response.
if (response === ui.Button.YES) {
  Logger.log('The user clicked "Yes."');
} else {
  Logger.log(
      'The user clicked "No" or the close button in the dialog\'s title bar.',
  );
}

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`prompt`	`String`	The message to display in the dialog box.
`buttons`	`ButtonSet`	The button set to display in the dialog box.

Return

Button — The button the user clicked.

`alert(title, prompt, buttons)`

Opens a dialog box in the user's editor with the given title, message, and set of buttons. This method suspends the server-side script while the dialog is open. The script resumes after the user dismisses the dialog, but Jdbc connections and LockService locks don't persist across the suspension. For more information, see the guide to dialogs and sidebars.

// Display a dialog box with a title, message, and "Yes" and "No" buttons. The
// user can also close the dialog by clicking the close button in its title bar.
const ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi();
const response = ui.alert(
    'Confirm',
    'Are you sure you want to continue?',
    ui.ButtonSet.YES_NO,
);

// Process the user's response.
if (response === ui.Button.YES) {
  Logger.log('The user clicked "Yes."');
} else {
  Logger.log(
      'The user clicked "No" or the close button in the dialog\'s title bar.',
  );
}

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`title`	`String`	The title to display above the dialog box.
`prompt`	`String`	The message to display in the dialog box.
`buttons`	`ButtonSet`	The button set to display in the dialog box.

Return

Button — The button the user clicked.

`createAddonMenu()`

Creates a builder that can be used to insert a sub-menu into the editor's Extensions menu. The menu isn't actually be updated until Menu.addToUi() is called. If the script is running as an add-on, the sub-menu name matches the add-on's name in the web store; if the script is bound to the document directly, the sub-menu name matches the script's name. For more information, see the guide to menus.

// Add an item to the Add-on menu, under a sub-menu whose name is set
// automatically.
function onOpen(e) {
  SpreadsheetApp.getUi()
      .createAddonMenu()
      .addItem('Show', 'showSidebar')
      .addToUi();
}

Return

Menu — The new menu builder.

`createMenu(caption)`

Creates a builder that can be used to add a menu to the editor's user interface. The menu isn't actually be added until Menu.addToUi() is called. For more information, see the guide to menus. The label for a top-level menu should be in headline case (all major words capitalized), although the label for a sub-menu should be in sentence case (only the first word capitalized). If the script is published as an add-on, the caption parameter is ignored and the menu is added as a sub-menu of the Extensions menu, equivalent to createAddonMenu().

// Add a custom menu to the active document, including a separator and a
// sub-menu.
function onOpen(e) {
  SpreadsheetApp.getUi()
      .createMenu('My Menu')
      .addItem('My menu item', 'myFunction')
      .addSeparator()
      .addSubMenu(
          SpreadsheetApp.getUi()
              .createMenu('My sub-menu')
              .addItem('One sub-menu item', 'mySecondFunction')
              .addItem('Another sub-menu item', 'myThirdFunction'),
          )
      .addToUi();
}

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`caption`	`String`	The label for the menu, with all major words capitalized for a top-level menu, or only the first word capitalized for a sub-menu.

Return

Menu — The new menu builder.

`prompt(prompt)`

Opens an input dialog box in the user's editor with the given message and an "OK" button. This method suspends the server-side script while the dialog is open. The script resumes after the user dismisses the dialog, but Jdbc connections and LockService locks don't persist across the suspension. For more information, see the guide to dialogs and sidebars.

// Display a dialog box with a message, input field, and an "OK" button. The
// user can also close the dialog by clicking the close button in its title bar.
const ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi();
const response = ui.prompt('Enter your name:');

// Process the user's response.
if (response.getSelectedButton() === ui.Button.OK) {
  Logger.log('The user\'s name is %s.', response.getResponseText());
} else {
  Logger.log('The user clicked the close button in the dialog\'s title bar.');
}

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`prompt`	`String`	The message to display in the dialog box.

Return

PromptResponse — A representation of the user's response.

`prompt(prompt, buttons)`

Opens an input dialog box in the user's editor with the given message and set of buttons. This method suspends the server-side script while the dialog is open. The script resumes after the user dismisses the dialog, but Jdbc connections and LockService locks don't persist across the suspension. For more information, see the guide to dialogs and sidebars.

// Display a dialog box with a message, input field, and "Yes" and "No" buttons.
// The user can also close the dialog by clicking the close button in its title
// bar.
const ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi();
const response = ui.prompt('May I know your name?', ui.ButtonSet.YES_NO);

// Process the user's response.
if (response.getSelectedButton() === ui.Button.YES) {
  Logger.log('The user\'s name is %s.', response.getResponseText());
} else if (response.getSelectedButton() === ui.Button.NO) {
  Logger.log('The user didn\'t want to provide a name.');
} else {
  Logger.log('The user clicked the close button in the dialog\'s title bar.');
}

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`prompt`	`String`	The message to display in the dialog box.
`buttons`	`ButtonSet`	The button set to display in the dialog box.

Return

PromptResponse — A representation of the user's response.

`prompt(title, prompt, buttons)`

Opens an input dialog box in the user's editor with the given title, message, and set of buttons. This method suspends the server-side script while the dialog is open. The script resumes after the user dismisses the dialog, but Jdbc connections and LockService locks don't persist across the suspension. For more information, see the guide to dialogs and sidebars.

// Display a dialog box with a title, message, input field, and "Yes" and "No"
// buttons. The user can also close the dialog by clicking the close button in
// its title bar.
const ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi();
const response = ui.prompt(
    'Getting to know you',
    'May I know your name?',
    ui.ButtonSet.YES_NO,
);

// Process the user's response.
if (response.getSelectedButton() === ui.Button.YES) {
  Logger.log('The user\'s name is %s.', response.getResponseText());
} else if (response.getSelectedButton() === ui.Button.NO) {
  Logger.log('The user didn\'t want to provide a name.');
} else {
  Logger.log('The user clicked the close button in the dialog\'s title bar.');
}

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`title`	`String`	The title to display above the dialog box.
`prompt`	`String`	The message to display in the dialog box.
`buttons`	`ButtonSet`	The button set to display in the dialog box.

Return

PromptResponse — A representation of the user's response.

`showModalDialog(userInterface, title)`

Opens a modal dialog box in the user's editor with custom client-side content. This method does not suspend the server-side script while the dialog is open. To communicate with the server-side script, the client-side component must make asynchronous callbacks using the google.script API for HtmlService. To close the dialog programmatically, call google.script.host.close() on the client side of an HtmlService web app. For more information, see the guide to dialogs and sidebars.

Modal dialogs prevent the user from interacting with anything other than the dialog. By contrast, modeless dialogs and sidebars let the user interact with the editor. In almost all cases, a modal dialog or sidebar is a better choice than a modeless dialog.

// Display a modal dialog box with custom HtmlService content.
const htmlOutput = HtmlService
                       .createHtmlOutput(
                           '<p>A change of speed, a change of style...</p>',
                           )
                       .setWidth(250)
                       .setHeight(300);
SpreadsheetApp.getUi().showModalDialog(htmlOutput, 'My add-on');

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`userInterface`	`Object`	An `HtmlOutput` representing the interface to display.
`title`	`String`	The title of the dialog; overrides any title set by calling `setTitle()` on the `userInterface` object.

Authorization

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

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/script.container.ui

`showModelessDialog(userInterface, title)`

Opens a modeless dialog box in the user's editor with custom client-side content. This method does not suspend the server-side script while the dialog is open. To communicate with the server-side script, the client-side component must make asynchronous callbacks using the google.script API for HtmlService. To close the dialog programmatically, call google.script.host.close() on the client side of an HtmlService web app. For more information, see the guide to dialogs and sidebars.

Modeless dialogs let the user interact with the editor behind the dialog. By contrast, modal dialogs do not. In almost all cases, a modal dialog or sidebar is a better choice than a modeless dialog.

// Display a modeless dialog box with custom HtmlService content.
const htmlOutput = HtmlService
                       .createHtmlOutput(
                           '<p>A change of speed, a change of style...</p>',
                           )
                       .setWidth(250)
                       .setHeight(300);
SpreadsheetApp.getUi().showModelessDialog(htmlOutput, 'My add-on');

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`userInterface`	`Object`	An `HtmlOutput` representing the interface to display.
`title`	`String`	The title of the dialog; overrides any title set by calling `setTitle()` on the `userInterface` object.

Authorization

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

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/script.container.ui

`showSidebar(userInterface)`

Opens a sidebar in the user's editor with custom client-side content. This method does not suspend the server-side script while the sidebar is open. To communicate with the server-side script, the client-side component must make asynchronous callbacks using the google.script API for HtmlService. To close the sidebar programmatically, call google.script.host.close() on the client side of an HtmlService web app. For more information, see the guide to dialogs and sidebars.

The sidebar displays on the right side of the editor for users whose environments use a left-to-right language and on the left side of the editor for right-to-left languages. All sidebars shown by scripts are 300 pixels wide.

// Display a sidebar with custom HtmlService content.
const htmlOutput = HtmlService
                       .createHtmlOutput(
                           '<p>A change of speed, a change of style...</p>',
                           )
                       .setTitle('My add-on');
SpreadsheetApp.getUi().showSidebar(htmlOutput);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`userInterface`	`Object`	An `HtmlOutput` representing the interface to display.

Authorization

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

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/script.container.ui

Deprecated methods

`showDialog(userInterface)`

Deprecated. As of March 2014, this method is deprecated. The direct replacement is showModelessDialog(userInterface, title), but showModalDialog(userInterface, title) is a better choice in almost all cases.

Opens a dialog box in the user's editor with custom client-side content. This method does not suspend the server-side script while the dialog is open. To communicate with the server-side script, the client-side component must make asynchronous callbacks using the google.script API for HtmlService. To close the dialog programmatically, call google.script.host.close() on the client side of an HtmlService web app. For more information, see the guide to dialogs and sidebars.

// Display a dialog box with custom HtmlService content.
const htmlOutput = HtmlService
                       .createHtmlOutput(
                           '<p>A change of speed, a change of style...</p>',
                           )
                       .setTitle('My add-on')
                       .setWidth(250)
                       .setHeight(300);
SpreadsheetApp.getUi().showDialog(htmlOutput);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`userInterface`	`Object`	An `HtmlOutput` representing the interface to display.

Authorization

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

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/script.container.ui