Create a To-Do list App using Google AppSheet — Part 1

Welcome!

In this blog, I am going to show you how to create a To-Do list app using Google AppSheet. A To-do list app lets you write organize and prioritize your tasks more efficiently. In this blog, we will be creating a To-Do list app using Google AppSheet that will allow you to do the same. Additionally, we will be using the automation features in Google AppSheet to send an email as soon a task is completed.

This blog is divided into two parts:

1. In the first part, I will be showing you how to create the app from scratch and make our first To-Do list activity entry in the App.
2. In the second part, I will be showing you how to create slices that will be used to filter data and remind us about the tasks that need to be completed. Also, I will be showing you how to send an email as soon a task is completed in the app.

So let’s get started.

Sample Google Sheet

In this blog, I am going to be using a spreadsheet that contains the following data. If you prefer working with the Google Sheet you can make a copy of it by clicking here.

The first sheet contains the following details:

1. Category of the task
2. Name of the Task
3. Deadline for Task
4. Status of the Task
5. Any notes for the Task

The second sheet that I will be using for this blog contains the different statuses that can be there.

1. Completed
2. In-progress
3. Not Completed

The third sheet that I will be using for this blog contains the categories under which a list of activities can be recorded in the App. They will look something like this.

Step1: Create the App

Now that we are done setting up the sheets for the app, it's time to go ahead and create the app. To create the app follow these steps:

1. Go to the official website of Google AppSheet or just click here.

In order to get started, you have to click on login and enter your email address and get started with creating apps.

After logging in you will see something like this. To create apps you have to click on the plus sign or if you want to view app templates provided by Google AppSheet you can just click on Templates.

For this blog, we will be creating an app from scratch without any template. To create the app, click on the plus sign. As soon as you click on the plus sign, it will show you the following options:

Here you will be asked whether you want to start with your own data, use a template from the Google AppSheet template gallery or start with an idea. Since we have our own data, we are going to click on Start with your own data.

On clicking Start with your own data, you will be asked to give a name for the app and the category for the app. After giving the basic details for the app, you have to select the data that will power the app.

Here you are asked to specify the Google Sheet you want to use for the App. After you choose the spreadsheet you will see something like this.

It will take a few seconds to set up. After the app is set up, the following screen should appear.

Here you can see a confirmatory message saying that Your app is ready, to make changes to the app click on Customize your app.

On clicking Customize your app, you will see something like this. On the right side of the screen, you can see the preview of the app. It will show what the app looks like for the user.

At the bottom of the app preview, you can see the different app views. If you want you can choose to create more views by going to the UX views. But here you cannot see the second sheet in the app. For the better working of the app, we are going to add the second sheet to the app. To do that follow these steps:

1. Click on Data.

2. To add tables to the app, you have to click on the New Table button.

3. On clicking New Table, you will be shown the following options.

Here you have a few options from which you can add data to the App. To add the Category table to the App you can directly click on the Add Table Category button.

After clicking on the Add Table Category button, you will see the following options.

After selecting the required settings click on Add This Table, in a few seconds the table will get added to the app.

After adding the table you will see something like this.

Now that we have added the sheet to the app it's time to use the categories sheet in the To-Do list app. As soon as the user clicks the categories option in the To-Do list form, the user should be able to select from the various categories the Category sheet contains. To do that follow these steps:

1. Go to the Data Tab and click on Columns.

2. After clicking the columns tab, click on the To-do list table.

3. After clicking the To-do list table, you can have a detailed view of the To-do list table with all their columns of data with their data type.

4. Here we have to edit the Category column by changing the data type and making it refer to the Category sheet we have added.

5. To edit the Category column, click on the edit button next to it.

6. On clicking edit, you will be shown all the properties of the column.

Here we have to change the Type( Column data type) to Ref and then specify the Category sheet so that it can take it as reference.

Here I change the Type(Column Data Type) to Ref and then specified the Category sheet as the source table. After making the required changes click on Done.

After saving the changes made, let's move towards the app preview and add a new to-do activity to the app by clicking on the plus sign.

On clicking the plus sign a form will open where you have to put in the details of the Task.

Next to the Category option, you can see a dropdown containing all the categories under which an activity can be added to the app. This means that Ref has successfully worked. Now as we move forward in the form, you can enter the name of the task, deadline of the task, status of the task(which will be converted into a dropdown), and any notes regarding the activity that needs to be completed.

After adding the details to the form, go ahead and click Save, and the entry will get saved to the App.

Here you can see that the record has successfully been added to the required category.

That’s all for this blog. I hope you have understood how to create the app and make our first To-Do list task entry in the app. In the next blog, I will be showing you how to create slices to filter data and also show you how to send emails using the Automation feature in Google AppSheet.