# Create posts from Google Forms responses
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/create-posts-from-google-forms-responses/21008
**Category:** Administrators
**Tags:** how-to
**Created:** [October 10, 2014, 11:01am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/create-posts-from-google-forms-responses/21008 "2014-10-10T11:01:44Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@lightyear](https://meta.discourse.org/u/lightyear)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2014, 11:01am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/create-posts-from-google-forms-responses/21008/1 "2014-10-10T11:01:44Z")
Heyah,
I have written a short script **automatically posting new Google-Form-Entries to Discourse**. You can use it to allow any kind of 3-party Data input into discourse for example:
- Anonymous Feedback
- Support-Request
- Membership-Applications (this is what we do with it)
### The script
The script is small and simple:
```javascript
// ----- MINIMUM CONFIGURATION !!!!
// generate this at /admin/api
API_KEY = "d29dXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX70"
// use full qualified domain name in url to discourse index
TARGET_INSTALLATION = "http://DISCOURSE.EXAMPLE.ORG/"
// ----- Optional Configuartion
// which category to post this to? Default: 'uncategorized'
CATEGORY = 'uncategorized'
// which user should be the one posting? Default: 'system'
POSTER = "system"
// you probably wanna activate this, when using templates
INCLUDE_RAW_DATA = true
// the title to post at,
// should contain any 'form'-replacer or Discourse might complain it already has that title
TITLE_TEMPLATE = "New Form Entry: {{Name}}"
// Wanna have it look pretty?
TEMPLATE = "# {{Name}}\n\n - Water Type: {{Water}}" +
function _compile(source, values){
var processed = source;
for (key in values) {
processed = processed.replace("{{" + key + "}}", values[key]);
}
return processed;
}
function _compile_data_from_form(formResponse){
var data = {},
itemResponses = formResponse.getItemResponses();
for (var j = 0; j < itemResponses.length; j++) {
var itemResponse = itemResponses[j];
data[itemResponse.getItem().getTitle()] = itemResponse.getResponse();
}
return data;
}
function postToDiscourse(evt) {
var vals = evt.namedValues || _compile_data_from_form(evt.response),
title = _compile(TITLE_TEMPLATE, vals),
text = _compile(TEMPLATE, vals);
if (INCLUDE_RAW_DATA) {
var entries = [];
for (key in vals){
entries.push(" - **" + key + "** : " + vals[key]);
}
text += "\n Raw Values: \n\n" + entries.join('\n');
}
UrlFetchApp.fetch(TARGET_INSTALLATION + "/posts", {'method': 'post', 'payload':{
'category': CATEGORY,
'auto_track': false,
'title': title,
'raw': text,
'api_key': API_KEY,
'api_username': POSTER
}});
}
function API_TEST(){
//var form = {namedValues:{'Name': 'Benji', 'Email': 'Testi'}};
var form = FormApp.openById("1RnCD4I2VgWpzTiJTq-0qq6u-v-LEpEKQgOBmhafTsQo"),
formResponses = form.getResponses(),
newestResponse = formResponses[formResponses.length -1];
postToDiscourse({response: newestResponse});
}
```
### Installation
1. Generate an ADMIN-Key of your installation at /admin/api
2. Add Script to a new googles form or existing one via `Tools-> Script Editor`
3. Copy the entire script into the new Editor that opens
4. Replace the API-Key in the script with the one from your installation,
Change the Installation-Target-Name
5. Save and check your configuration by running the “API\_TEST” function:
 
6. A new post should show up in your Discourse.
– you might want to do redo this one until the configuration (posting user, posting in proper category) are all figure out
7. Connect function to trigger by going to `Resources->All Triggers` and an on-form-submit-trigger connected to the `postToDiscourse` function:
 
(you might be asked to give permission when saving the first time: yes, please do so)
**Voilá, you’ll receive new posts (including all update and email features) of forms submitted in your discourse instance from now on.**
You might want to also take a look at my [“automatically email form-data” script and add that one](https://gist.github.com/ligthyear/5488787), too. As always, feel free to posts questions, feedback and praise right down here as replies 🙂 .
---
### Author:  [@lightyear](https://meta.discourse.org/u/lightyear)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/create-posts-from-google-forms-responses/21008/2 "2014-10-14T18:24:14Z")
Looks like there was a tiny bug in the form, where it didn’t succeed when using form-only-forms. Updated the original Post with the fix.
---
### Author:  [@SGTGunner](https://meta.discourse.org/u/SGTGunner)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/create-posts-from-google-forms-responses/21008/3 "2016-11-13T19:51:30Z")
This still works really well. Thought the Google forms UI has changed a little, easy to work out.
But there is a bug in the code if folks are not aware of:
> [@lightyear](#):
>
> TEMPLATE = “# {{Name}}\n\n - Water Type: {{Water}}” +
Need to remove the + on the end. I suspect that there was more content but wasn’t finished.
Great job!
~Cheers
---
### Author:  [@thaidb](https://meta.discourse.org/u/thaidb)
#### Post date: [February 22, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/create-posts-from-google-forms-responses/21008/4 "2020-02-22T16:08:53Z")
Can you build a plugin for easier setup google form 🙂
---
### Author:  [@srmrox](https://meta.discourse.org/u/srmrox)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2021, 1:04am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/create-posts-from-google-forms-responses/21008/5 "2021-06-18T01:04:11Z")
Since the API changed, the code for Google Forms (Google App Script) changed too. Here is a sample with a single question in the form.
```plaintext
FORM_ID = ""
ITEM_ID = // int value
URL = ""
CATEGORY = // int value
API_KEY = ""
POSTER = ""
MAX_TITLE_SIZE = 50 // this is just to keep title size in control
function onFormSubmit() {
var form = FormApp.openById(FORM_ID),
item = form.getItemById(ITEM_ID), // repeat this for all items in the form or use alternative means of getting all items
formResponses = form.getResponses(),
newestResponse = formResponses[formResponses.length - 1],
response = newestResponse.getResponseForItem(item).getResponse(); // this reads only the single item noted above
console.log(response)
if (response.length < 20) {
response = "New topic posted: " + response // just to make sure response captured is > 20 characters
}
var title = response.substring(0,Math.min(MAX_TITLE_SIZE,response.length)); // just to make sure the title is not too big
const url = URL + "posts";
const fetched = UrlFetchApp.fetch(url, {
"method": "POST",
"headers": {
"Api-Key": API_KEY,
"Api-Username": POSTER,
"Content-Type": "multipart/form-data",
"Accept": "application/json",
"Content-Type": "application/json"
},
"muteHttpExceptions": true,
"followRedirects": true,
"validateHttpsCertificates": true,
"contentType": "application/json",
"payload": JSON.stringify({"title":title,"raw":response,"category":CATEGORY})
});
Logger.log("Response code is %s", fetched.getResponseCode());
Logger.log(fetched.getContentText());
}
```
I hope this helps anyone looking for something similar for the original topic but with the new API.