Google Slides tutorial code does not apply desired filename to a copied file

Question

I am following Google's "Data Merge" tutorial to import data from Google Sheets into Google Slides, and the part that does not work fully is "Copying an existing presentation." When I run the provided Apps Script code, I am getting a copy of the file with the name "Copy of ..." instead of "New presentation title".

// Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API.
var copyTitle = 'New presentation title';
var requests = {
  name: copyTitle
};
var driveResponse = Drive.Files.copy({
  resource: requests
}, originalpresentationID);
var presentationCopyId = driveResponse.id;
Logger.log(driveResponse.title) # Logger returns: "Copy of ..."

How can I properly create a copy of an existing file, with my desired name? It seems the tutorial is wrong.

Drive v2, not v3. `{title: "new name"}` – tehhowch Jul 27 '18 at 11:29 — tehhowch, Jul 27 '18 at 11:29

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 27 '18 at 10:52

1

I tried doing this and faced the same issue. Looks like a bug. As a way around try renaming your copy file after is has been created. Here's the code.

var copyTitle = 'New presentation title';
    var driveResponse = Drive.Files.copy({          
    }, originalpresentationID);
    var presentationCopyId = driveResponse.id;
    var copyPPT = DriveApp.getFileById(presentationCopyId);
    copyPPT.setName(copyTitle);

answered Jul 27 '18 at 10:52

Darpan Sanghavi

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Drive in Apps Script is v2, which uses `title` as the filename property. V3 uses `name`. – tehhowch Jul 27 '18 at 11:31
1

@tehhowch :I've tried with `title` as well. Still it is creating a file with name as 'Copy of...' instead of provided title. – Darpan Sanghavi Jul 27 '18 at 11:36
You must have also used the incorrect metadata specification - see my answer. – tehhowch Jul 28 '18 at 14:48

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 27 '18 at 12:03

The code used in that example mixes in some syntax from other languages and client libraries.

The Drive "advanced service" in Google Apps Script uses v2 of the Drive REST API, for which there are some property name differences. Notably, the filename is title, not name.

Additionally, the syntax for a drive#file resource (aka metadata) in the Drive.Files.copy request is not as a child resource property of the parameter, but as the parameter directly:

const metadata = {
  title: "new name",
  // other properties
};
const options = {
  // optional request parameters
  // fields: "*",
};
var newFileMetaData = Drive.Files.copy(metadata, sourceId, options);

Google Slides tutorial code does not apply desired filename to a copied file

2 Answers2