Dan's GSheets Data Embedder Plugin

Dan’s Google Sheets Data Embedder was created out of a need for non-technical users to move complex calculations outside WordPress and into a more familiar spreadsheet environment, as well as the ability to share just the pieces of information needed from a spreadsheet rather than sharing the entire document.

Dan’s GSheets allows you to embed the values for either an individual cell, or for ranges directly via shortcode. No need to import data or manage it directly in WordPress. All you need is a public Google Sheets Document (or multiple!) and a free, easy to get API key.

Suggested Uses

• Offload all of your complex calculations to Google Sheets! Take data from Google forms, or wherever else you wish, and just display the results

• Have a non-techinical client or user that needs to be able to update a specific message? Just map that spot to a Google Sheets Cell via shortcode, and share that document with them with edit abilities

• Create a nice front end in WordPress, and update live scores via Google Sheets as a spreadsheet

• Did you come up with something else? We’d love to hear about it! Share in your review or via a message on my site.

Features

• Displays public Google Sheet Document data in an easy-to-format view

• Live updates on page load. Just change your data in your sheet, and it’s live on site!

• Displays cells or ranges of cells from any public Google Sheet

• Individual cells are displayed as spans

• Spans of cells displayed as tables, with optional headers

• Can target any tab within a Google Sheets document

• Able to use shortcode multiple times per post / page

• All options are configured via shortcode

• Ability to store and use unlimited Google Sheet Documents

Shortcodes:

• Basic: [dansheet] (defaults to first document, default tab name)

• Single Cell: [dansheet file=1 sheetname="Sheet1" cell=A1 class="gsheets-special"]

• Range of Cells: [dansheet file=1 sheetname=Sheet1 cell=A1:C2 theaders="Col 1,Col 2,Col 3" class="gsheets-special2"]

Optional Attributes

• file=# (number of the Google Doc you have set in the settings page)

• sheetname= name of sheet in doc

• cell (mandatory)= Cell Number or range, with :

• class=custom class name or names here

• theaders = Comma seperated list of column headers, in order, for range view (optional)

For help creating an API key to use with this plugin, either check out the settings page in plugin, or the FAQ tab here.

To see other plugins like this, or tips on how these are built, check out my blog.

Dependencies and Liscencing

Depends on Google Sheets JSON API v4

1. Upload the plugin files to the /wp-content/plugins/dans-gsheets directory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly.
2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ screen in WordPress
3. Head over to the Dan’s GSheets settings page, found on the Dashboard sidebar on the Tools sub-menu.

1. 

   Settings Page

2. 

   Single Cell and Range Examples with Shortcodes

3. 

   Public Sheet the 2nd screenshot is drawing from

How do I create my API key?

To create API key, visit Google Developers Console. https://console.developers.google.com/
Then, follow bellow;

• Create new project (or use project you created before).

• Check “APIs & auth” -> “Credentials” on side menu.

• Hit “Create new Key” button on “Public API access” section.

• Choose “Browser key” and keep blank on referer limitation.

• Set this key on the plugin’s setting page.

How do I find the ID for the folder I want to share?

Once you have set the folder as public, you can find the id with the following:

• Visit https://sheets.google.com/, while logged in to your account.

• Enter the sheets document that you have shared publically

• Find the folder ID from the url, after the /folders/. Example: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/edit , where xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx is the key.

My values aren’t updating when I change them in Google Sheets?

• You may have caching enabled. Either exclude the site from your caching plugin, or you will have to manually flush your caching plugin after you make a change to your Google Sheet.

1.1

• Updated supported version to 4.7.0 after testing

1.0

• Initial Plugin Release