API calls from Apps Script in Google Sheets - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

This sheet lists User IDs in column A. We want to fetch User Names from an API using Apps Script.

Cell	Value
A1	User ID
B1	User Name
A2	123
A3	456
A4	789

Formula Trace

fetchUserName(123)

Step 1: fetchUserName(123)

Step 2: UrlFetchApp.fetch('https://api.example.com/users/123')

Step 3: JSON.parse('{"id":123,"name":"Alice"}')

Step 4: return parsedResponse.name

Cell Reference Map

User ID

↓

123

↓

456

↓

789

Column A contains User IDs. The Apps Script function fetchUserName uses these IDs to get names from the API and fills column B.

Result

   A       B
1 User ID  User Name
2 123      Alice
3 456      Bob
4 789      Carol

After running the Apps Script, column B shows user names fetched from the API for each User ID in column A.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the function fetchUserName(123) return?

A "123"

B An error

C "Alice"

D "User Name"

Key Result

Custom Apps Script functions can call APIs using UrlFetchApp.fetch and return parsed JSON data to cells.