What is the easiest way to import excel/google sheet spreadsheet to a Cloud Firestore database? - google-cloud-firestore

Question

I need to import a large table of data into my database in one go. I currently have it as an Excel file but I am happy to copy it to Google sheets etc.
So far I've added a few entries manually directly via cloud firestore.
Is there a solution already out there to achieve this?

Answer 1

I think the easiest way to export table data into Firestore is to use a Google Apps Script Library (for Google Sheets).
Step 1
Make a Copy of THIS example Google Spreadsheet I created as an example
Step 2
From the menu of YOUR copy of the Example Google Spreadsheet from step 1, click Tools > Script Editor. This should open up the example Google App Script associated with the example spreadsheet.
Step 3
Follow the Steps for installing this library and then update the script with the following:
email
key
projectID
These variables are generated by going to the Google Service Accounts page. This will require that you already have a Firebase or Google Cloud account setup. I won't repeat all the steps that are already iterated in in the aforementioned Github writeup. Just follow them carefully, and realize that the private_key is THE ENTIRE KEY starting with -----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\n, EVERYTHING in between, and ending with \n-----END PRIVATE KEY-----\n
Step 4
Insert a page on your spreadsheet that contains your data, and EDIT the script to use your new sheet name and your data. I have HEAVILY commented the script so it's pretty clear what almost every line of code is doing. For those of you that just want to peek at the Google App Script that's behind this spreadsheet, here's the code:
// Note this Script uses an external library as per this page:
// https://github.com/grahamearley/FirestoreGoogleAppsScript
// This solution requires a Google Spreadhseet and a Firebase Account
// FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THAT GITHUB REPO TO SETUP NEEDED API KEYS!!!
//Global Variables
const ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet(); // Gets the active "workbook"
const sheet = ss.getSheetByName('Restaurants'); // CHANGE TO YOUR SHEET NAME
const headerRowNumber = 1; // If you have more than one row for your header, then change this value to number of header rows
// If you want to mark modified cells, then set up a trigger for the following function:
// Edit > Current Project Triggers > (+ Add Trigger) > On Edit Spreadsheet etc
function onEdit(e) {
var cell = ss.getActiveCell(); //This will also effectively get our row
var dataRange = sheet.getDataRange(); //This checks for all rows/columns with data
var modifiedCol = dataRange.getLastColumn()-1; //Our "modified" column should be the second to last
if (cell.getColumn() < modifiedCol && cell.getRow() > headerRowNumber) { //If we edit any cells to the left of our modified column and below our header...
var celltoMark = sheet.getRange(cell.getRowIndex(),modifiedCol) //Get the R/C cordinates of cell to place modified time
celltoMark.setValue(new Date()); //write timestamp to that cell
}
};
// This will parse any comma separated lists you create in any of your fields (useful for search words, or attributes, etc)
function listToArray(list) {
var ogArray = list.split(","); //Input is a comma separated list
let trimmedArr = ogArray.map(string => string.trim()); //Let's strip out the leading/trailing whitespaces if any
return trimmedArr; //return the cleaned array
}
function writeToFireStore() {
const email = 'sheets#yourprojectid.iam.gserviceaccount.com'; // CHANGE THIS!!!
const key = '-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\nYOURPRIVATEKEY\n-----END PRIVATE KEY-----\n'; // CHANGE THIS!!!
const projectID = 'yourprojectid'; // CHANGE THIS!!!
var firestore = FirestoreApp.getFirestore(email, key, projectID);
const collection = "MySpreadsheetData"; // Name of your Firestore Database "Collection"
var dataRange = sheet.getDataRange().offset(headerRowNumber, 0, sheet.getLastRow() - headerRowNumber); //this is your data range
var data = dataRange.getValues(); // this is an array of your datarange's values
var lastCol = dataRange.getLastColumn(); // this is the last column with a header
var newDoc = {}; // Instantiate your data object. Each one will become the data for your firestore documents
// r = row number in this case
for (let r = 0; r <= dataRange.getLastRow(); r++) {
//Logger.log("R = ",r);
var cellMod = dataRange.getCell(r+1, lastCol-1);
var cellFS = dataRange.getCell(r+1, lastCol);
var cellModVal = cellMod.getValue();
var cellFSVal = cellFS.getValue();
//
// IMPORTANT READ THIS IMPORTANT READ THIS IMPORTANT READ THIS IMPORTANT READ THIS IMPORTANT READ THIS!!!
// Well, read the line below...
if (r > 2) break; //Comment Out this line after you're done testing otherwise you'll write all your rows to firestore after every run
newDoc[r] = {
name : data[r][1],
category : data[r][2],
cuisine : data[r][3],
address: {
add1: data[r][4],
add2: data[r][5],
city: data[r][6],
state: data[r][7],
zip: data[r][8]
},
tel: data[r][9],
searchterms: listToArray(data[r][10]) //Let's turn a csv list into an array
}
// For the sake of efficiency and to save $, we WON'T create documents that have already been created...
// ...and we won't update documents that have a fireStore Timestamp that's newer than a Modified Timestamp
// If there's not firestore timestamp in our spreadsheet, then let's create firestore document and update firestore stamp:
if (!cellFSVal) {
var now = new Date(); //Generate timestamp right now
try {
firestore.createDocument(collection + "/" + data[r][0], newDoc[r]); // To Use Your Own Document ID
//Now let's insert a timestamp in our Firestore TS column of the sheet so we know it's been added to Firestore
cellFS.setValue(now);
Logger.log("Row ",r,"(",data[r][1],") is NEW and was added to FireStore Successfully");
} catch (e) {
Logger.log("Error: ",e," : Document with same name already existed in Firestore.");
}
}
//var if FS Timestamp exists but, the modified time stamp is greater, let's update the Firstore Document
else if ((cellFSVal) && (cellModVal > cellFSVal)) {
try {
firestore.updateDocument(collection + "/" + data[r][0], newDoc[r]);
//Now let's insert a timestamp in our Firestore TS column of the sheet so we know it's been updated to Firestore
cellFS.setValue(now);
Logger.log("Row ",r,"(",data[r][1],") updated/edited.");
} catch (e) {
Logger.log("Error: ",e," : Document existed, we tried updating it, but jack shit happened.");
}
}
else {
Logger.log("Row ",r,"(",data[r][1],") Already in Firestore & hasn't been modified. Skipped.");
}
}
}
Step 5
Once your script is modified to your needs, it's time to run the script. Simply save it (File > Save), then choose the function "writeToFireStore" from the "Select function" dropdown selector in the menu bar (in between the icon of the bug, and the lightbulb), then hit the PLAY icon (to the left of the bug icon). At this point, you will likely be prompted to accept permissions to run the script, (which you need to accept if you want to run the script). Once you've accepted the permissions, then run the "writeToFireStore" function again if it hasn't already run, and voila!
NOTES:
I created a function that automatically writes a Modified Timestamp to the second to last column in the target sheet, and when you run the function, writes a Firestore Timestamp (so you know which rows have been successfully exported to Firestore). This way, if you run the firestore function again, and you haven't changed the data on your sheet, it won't bother updating the database with the same data (and will save you money and/or server resources). For this functionality to work, you must setup project Triggers (which is explained inside the script in the comments).