therealjohnking / user-format-cells-sheets

Formats cell text color based on the user making edits in Sheets

Sheets User Edits Color Formatter

Introduction

The sheetsUserEditsColorFormatter.gs is a Google Apps Script designed to automatically change the font color of cells in a Google Sheet based on the email address of the user who edits the cell. This script is particularly useful for teams using Google Sheets to track changes and visually distinguish contributions by different team members.

How It Works

This script triggers whenever a cell in a Google Sheet is edited. It checks the email address of the user who made the edit against a predefined list of email addresses. Depending on the user's email, the script applies a specific font color to the edited cell:

• [email protected] changes the font color to green.
• [email protected] changes the font color to blue.
• [email protected] changes the font color to purple.

Usage

To use this script:

1. Open the Google Sheet where you want the script to run.
2. Go to Extensions > Apps Script.
3. Delete any existing code and paste the contents of sheetsUserEditsColorFormatter.gs.
4. Save and close the Apps Script tab.
5. The script will now run automatically when cells are edited.

Limitations

This script works automatically only for Google Workspace accounts where the user profiles and email visibility are appropriately configured to allow Apps Script to identify the email address of the person editing the sheet. Here are a few limitations to keep in mind:

• Email Visibility: The script can only retrieve the email address of the user if their email visibility is set appropriately in the Google Workspace domain's settings.
• Permissions: Users need to authorize the script initially to run and access the sheet data.
• Scalability: As the script runs on every edit, editing a large number of cells simultaneously or by many users at once may slow down the performance.

Compatibility

This script is intended for use within Google Workspace environments and may not function as expected in consumer Google accounts (e.g., @gmail.com accounts) or where profile settings restrict email visibility. Ensure that your Google Workspace settings allow scripts to access user emails.

Contributing

Feel free to fork this repository and submit pull requests to extend the functionality or enhance the existing script. For any questions or issues, please open an issue in the repository, and we'll address it as promptly as we can.

License

This project is released under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more details.