Copy Rows With Checkboxes In Google Sheets Using Apps Script

Nov 17, 2025 by Alex Johnson 61 views

So, you're diving into the world of Google Apps Script to automate your Google Sheets – awesome! It sounds like you're aiming to copy rows from one sheet to another, but only the ones that have a checkbox ticked. That's a super useful task, and we can definitely get that sorted for you. Let's break down how to achieve this, step by step, in a way that's easy to understand, even if you're new to scripting.

Understanding the Goal

First off, let's clarify what we want to achieve. You have a Google Sheet (let's call it the 'Source Sheet') with some data, and one of the columns contains checkboxes. When a checkbox in a particular row is checked, you want that entire row to be copied over to another Google Sheet (the 'Destination Sheet'). The key here is to use Google Apps Script to automate this process, so you don't have to manually copy and paste rows.

Setting Up Your Google Sheet

Before we dive into the code, let's make sure your Google Sheet is set up correctly. This will make the scripting process much smoother.

Source Sheet: This is where your original data lives. Make sure you have a column dedicated to checkboxes. You can insert checkboxes by selecting a range of cells, then going to Insert > Checkbox. Add some sample data to test your script later.
Destination Sheet: This is where the selected rows will be copied. You can create a new sheet within the same spreadsheet or use a completely different spreadsheet. Ensure the destination sheet has the same column structure as the source sheet to avoid any data misalignment.

Diving into Google Apps Script

Now, let's get to the fun part – the code! Open your Google Sheet, then go to Tools > Script editor. This will open the Google Apps Script editor in a new tab. Here's where you'll write the script to copy the selected rows.

The Code Explained

Here’s a script that does exactly what you need. I’ll explain each part so you understand what’s going on.

function copySelectedRows() {
  // Get the spreadsheet and sheets
  var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
  var sourceSheet = ss.getSheetByName("SourceSheet"); // Replace with your source sheet name
  var destinationSheet = ss.getSheetByName("DestinationSheet"); // Replace with your destination sheet name

  // Get the data range from the source sheet
  var dataRange = sourceSheet.getDataRange();
  var data = dataRange.getValues();

  // Get the last row in the destination sheet
  var lastRow = destinationSheet.getLastRow();

  // Determine the next row to paste data in the destination sheet
  var nextRow = (lastRow === 0) ? 1 : lastRow + 1;

  // Specify the checkbox column (e.g., column 1 for the first column)
  var checkboxColumn = 1; // Change this if your checkbox is in a different column

  // Loop through each row in the source sheet
  for (var i = 1; i < data.length; i++) { // Start from row 1 to skip headers, if any
    var row = data[i];
    var isChecked = row[checkboxColumn - 1]; // Checkbox values are boolean (true/false)

    // If the checkbox is checked, copy the row to the destination sheet
    if (isChecked === true) {
      var sourceRange = sourceSheet.getRange(i + 1, 1, 1, data[0].length);
      var values = sourceRange.getValues();
      destinationSheet.getRange(nextRow, 1, 1, data[0].length).setValues(values);
      nextRow++;
    }
  }

  // Optional: Show a message box to indicate completion
  SpreadsheetApp.getUi().alert('Selected rows copied successfully!');
}

Breaking Down the Script

function copySelectedRows() {: This line defines the start of your script function. Everything inside these curly braces {} will be executed when the script runs.
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();: This gets the current spreadsheet that the script is bound to.
**`var sourceSheet = ss.getSheetByName(