Scripting answers to Google Form?
May 10, 2021 5:17 AM Subscribe
Every morning for both of my kids I need to complete a "my kid doesn't have COVID" form seen here. Is there a way I can script the responses so that I don't need to do it manually every day?
Best answer: I would be nervous about something unattended like Selenium, because while it's a fantastic tool it needs things to generally not change. If questions ever moved around or something was added you may run into trouble.
A good balance between time-saving and reliability might be using your browser autofill feature, which would require you to click between each page but then just hit a button to fill in your answers. Random internet search result with instructions here: https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001377.htm
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 6:11 AM on May 10, 2021 [5 favorites]
A good balance between time-saving and reliability might be using your browser autofill feature, which would require you to click between each page but then just hit a button to fill in your answers. Random internet search result with instructions here: https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001377.htm
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 6:11 AM on May 10, 2021 [5 favorites]
Best answer: I used the View Source method that Diddly linked to in Winnie the Proust's Previously thread, plus a bit of fiddling and experimentation, to come up with the following monster URL:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdOiTzurSVw46ICRvjfkymNnsBmlAE3EQah9sksm2LPWJoTgg/viewform?entry.540966946=Cranston&entry.721668057=Snord&entry.1401178090=7&entry.108358292=No&entry.1131281825=No&entry.2037958956=My%20child%27s%20temperature%20DOES%20NOT%20meet%20or%20exceed%20100.4%20degrees%20Fahrenheit.&entry.801445891=No&entry.339272810=NO%20SYMPTOMS%20DISPLAYED&entry.493469042=No&entry.1457437768=No
This brings up the same form that you linked to above, but with the form entries prefilled as follows:
entry.540966946 (First Name of Student): Cranston
entry.721668057 (Last Name of Student): Snord
entry.1401178090 (Select Your Child's Grade): 7
entry.108358292 (Has your child received a confirmed diagnosis...): No
entry.1131281825 (Has your child had close contact...): No
entry.2037958956 (Your child's temperature must be checked...): My child's temperature DOES NOT meet or exceed 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
entry.801445891 (...symptoms in the last 14 days): No
entry.339272810 (Please indicate the symptoms...): NO SYMPTOMS DISPLAYED
entry.493469042 (...traveled internationally in the past ten days?): No
entry.1457437768 (Will your child [use the] school bus today?): No
If you modify this appropriately for each of your kids and save the resulting monster URLs as browser bookmarks, then you can bring up their forms with all the no-COVID answers pre-filled. If those answers are correct, as I'm sure we all hope they will remain, then all you need to do is click through the Next buttons and then click Submit. The form remains fully functional in case you do need to alter an answer.
Is that good enough?
posted by flabdablet at 8:37 AM on May 10, 2021 [11 favorites]
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdOiTzurSVw46ICRvjfkymNnsBmlAE3EQah9sksm2LPWJoTgg/viewform?entry.540966946=Cranston&entry.721668057=Snord&entry.1401178090=7&entry.108358292=No&entry.1131281825=No&entry.2037958956=My%20child%27s%20temperature%20DOES%20NOT%20meet%20or%20exceed%20100.4%20degrees%20Fahrenheit.&entry.801445891=No&entry.339272810=NO%20SYMPTOMS%20DISPLAYED&entry.493469042=No&entry.1457437768=No
This brings up the same form that you linked to above, but with the form entries prefilled as follows:
entry.540966946 (First Name of Student): Cranston
entry.721668057 (Last Name of Student): Snord
entry.1401178090 (Select Your Child's Grade): 7
entry.108358292 (Has your child received a confirmed diagnosis...): No
entry.1131281825 (Has your child had close contact...): No
entry.2037958956 (Your child's temperature must be checked...): My child's temperature DOES NOT meet or exceed 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
entry.801445891 (...symptoms in the last 14 days): No
entry.339272810 (Please indicate the symptoms...): NO SYMPTOMS DISPLAYED
entry.493469042 (...traveled internationally in the past ten days?): No
entry.1457437768 (Will your child [use the] school bus today?): No
If you modify this appropriately for each of your kids and save the resulting monster URLs as browser bookmarks, then you can bring up their forms with all the no-COVID answers pre-filled. If those answers are correct, as I'm sure we all hope they will remain, then all you need to do is click through the Next buttons and then click Submit. The form remains fully functional in case you do need to alter an answer.
Is that good enough?
posted by flabdablet at 8:37 AM on May 10, 2021 [11 favorites]
Do you actually need to fill it out? I get these from Seattle school district and just ignore them.
posted by wongcorgi at 9:02 AM on May 10, 2021
posted by wongcorgi at 9:02 AM on May 10, 2021
Response by poster: Do you actually need to fill it out? I get these from Seattle school district and just ignore them.
They make the kid do a spit test if we don’t, and the spit test produces anxiety in the kid.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:04 AM on May 10, 2021
They make the kid do a spit test if we don’t, and the spit test produces anxiety in the kid.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:04 AM on May 10, 2021
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posted by bfranklin at 5:25 AM on May 10, 2021