Using googlesheets in Shiny
There are many cool ways to feed data into a Google Sheet … and then use in a Shiny app:
- scrape the web
- built-in functions such as
importxml, importfeed and importhtml
- Google Apps scripts – possibly written by others and baked into Google Sheet “templates” you can copy then customize
- crowdsource data via Google Forms or direct Sheet editing, on a small or large scale
- automated data collection based on web services, such as ifttt.com
Sample apps
We’ve built a few simple apps to get you started in some important use cases:
- No authentication/authorization:
- 01_read-public-sheet: simply read a public sheet. See it deployed here.
- 02_user-picks-worksheet: read a public sheet but allow the app user to specify which worksheet is being inspected. See it deployed here.
- 03_craigslist-lost-and-found: reads from a public spreadsheet that utilizes the Google Sheet function
IMPORTXML to read data from Vancouver’s Craigslist’s Lost and Found listings. See it deployed here.
- 04_embedded-google-form: a Google Form is embedded in the app, allowing user to enter data with native Google Form/Sheets functionality. App also displays the underlying Sheet, allowing user to see the just-entered data. See it deployed here.
- Credentials are baked into the app:
- 10_read-write-private-sheet: app users are allowed to view and edit data in a private Google Sheet via the app. A token stored in a file within the app is used for auth. See it deployed here.
- See Persistent data storage in Shiny apps, a blog post by Dean Attali, for another example of using a Google Sheet as a Shiny data store. He shows how to append new rows to a data table. His app loads the token from the cache in a
.httr-oauth file.
- User provides Google credentials via the app:
- 20_gs-explorer: app requires the user to authenticate with Google and authorize the app to deal on their behalf. After authorization, the user is presented with a listing of their Sheets, the option to view details of each spreadsheet and inspect the worksheets contained in a spreadsheet.
More inspiration for feeding Google Sheets:
Here are examples of using Google Sheets as an online datastore from Amit Argawal’s blog: