How to Remove Cells with Specific Text Value in Google Sheets (Using App Scripts)

Have you ever needed to remove cells with specific text value in Google Sheets? It can be a time-consuming task to do it manually, especially if you have a large dataset. Luckily, there is a way to automate this task using App Scripts.

I have found that using App Scripts is a great way to quickly and easily remove cells with specific text value in Google Sheets. App Scripts is a powerful tool that allows you to automate tasks in Google Sheets, including removing cells with specific text value. With just a few lines of code, you can easily remove all cells that contain a specific text value in your spreadsheet.

Why Remove Cells with Specific Text Value?

As I work with Google Sheets, I often find myself needing to remove cells with specific text values. This can be useful in a variety of situations, such as when I need to clean up data or to prepare a sheet for analysis. By removing cells with specific text values, I can ensure that my data is accurate and that my analysis is based on reliable information.

Removing cells with specific text values can also help me to save time. Instead of manually deleting each cell, I can use App Scripts to automate the process. This means that I can quickly and easily remove cells with specific text values, without having to spend hours doing it manually.

Another reason why I might want to remove cells with specific text values is to improve the readability of my sheet. By removing cells with specific text values, I can make my sheet easier to read and understand. This is particularly important when sharing my sheet with others, as it can help to ensure that everyone is able to quickly and easily understand the information presented.

Step-by-Step Guide to Removing Cells with Specific Text Value

Step 1: Open the Script Editor

To remove cells with specific text value in Google Sheets, we will use App Scripts. First, open the Google Sheet and click on the Tools menu. From the dropdown menu, select Script editor. This will open the Script Editor in a new tab.

Step 2: Write the Code to Remove Cells with Specific Text Value

Once the Script Editor is open, paste the following code:

function removeDataByText() {
  var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getSheetByName("Sheet1"); // replace "Sheet1" with the name of your sheet
  var dataRange = sheet.getDataRange();
  var data = dataRange.getValues();
  var searchText = "DELETE-THIS-TEXT"; // replace with the text you want to remove

  for (var i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
    for (var j = 0; j < data[i].length; j++) {
      if (data[i][j].toString().indexOf(searchText) !== -1) {
        sheet.getRange(i + 1, j + 1).clearContent();
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace “DELETE-THIS-TEXT” with the text value you want to remove. This code will search for the specific text value in all cells of the sheet and remove the entire row if it contains the text value.

Example for my case, where I wanted to delete all cells which has word ‘SHORT’ in it.

I was making my YouTube channel’s 3 months’ roadmap on it.

Step 3: Run the Script to Remove Cells with Specific Text Value

After writing the code, save it by clicking the save icon.

Then, click on the Run, this will run the script and remove all cells with the specific text value.

That’s it! You have successfully removed cells with specific text value in Google Sheets using App Scripts.

Common Errors and Troubleshooting

While using the App Scripts to remove cells with specific text value, you may encounter some errors. Here are some common errors and their solutions:

Error: “TypeError: Cannot read property ‘length’ of undefined”

This error occurs when the script is unable to find any cells with the specified text value. To fix this error, you need to check if the text value exists in the sheet before running the script. You can do this by using the indexOf() method to search for the text value in the sheet. If the method returns -1, it means that the text value does not exist in the sheet.

Error: “TypeError: Cannot call method “toLowerCase” of undefined”

This error occurs when the script is unable to convert the text value to lowercase. To fix this error, you need to check if the text value exists in the sheet before running the script. You can do this by using the indexOf() method to search for the text value in the sheet. If the method returns -1, it means that the text value does not exist in the sheet.

Error: “TypeError: Cannot read property ‘getValues’ of undefined”

This error occurs when the script is unable to retrieve the values from the sheet. To fix this error, you need to check if the sheet exists before running the script. You can do this by using the getSheetByName() method to get the sheet by name. If the method returns null, it means that the sheet does not exist.

By following these solutions, you can easily troubleshoot the common errors that you may encounter while using the App Scripts to remove cells with specific text value in Google Sheets.

Conclusion

In this article, I have shown you how to remove cells with specific text values in Google Sheets using App Scripts. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can quickly and easily delete rows or columns containing specific text values in your Google Sheet.

Using App Scripts is a powerful way to automate tasks in Google Sheets and save time. By creating a script to remove cells with specific text values, you can streamline your workflow and make your work more efficient.

Remember to always test your script on a copy of your data before running it on your actual sheet. This will help you avoid accidentally deleting important information.

With the knowledge you have gained from this article, you can now confidently remove cells with specific text values in Google Sheets using App Scripts. Whether you are working on a small project or a large data set, this technique will help you clean up your data and make it easier to work with.