How To Schedule Data Cleaning Functions

Introduction to Scheduling Functions

Automate your data cleaning by scheduling Flookup's powerful functions to run on their own. This feature utilises Google Apps Script triggers to keep your datasets consistently clean and up-to-date, saving you time and reducing errors with minimal manual effort.

You can set core operations like Fuzzy match or Standardise text to run at flexible intervals, from once an hour to once a month, perfectly tailoring the automation to your workflow. Before scheduling, it is best to run the function manually on a small sample of your data to identify the optimal parameters.

To begin, open the tool by navigating to Extensions > Flookup Data Wrangler > Schedule data cleaning functions in your Google Sheets menu.

How to Schedule a Function

Select the function mode
Choose the operation you want to automate from the top dropdown, such as Fuzzy match by percentage or Standardize text entries. The form will update to show relevant options.
Choose the processing mode
Select how you want the task to handle your data:
- Process data to the end: The task runs until it reaches the last row of your data and then stops.
- Process data in a loop: The task restarts from the beginning after each completion, ensuring continuous data integrity.
Configure the data ranges
Define your data sources e.g. Lookup_values, Table_values or Input range. Highlight the range in your sheet and click the corresponding Grab selected range button.
Set the output position
The task will process data and write results starting from the **active selection** when the schedule is first created. Ensure you have selected the correct starting cell in your spreadsheet.
Adjust parameters
Specify function-specific settings like Threshold, column indexes or operation types.
Set frequency and timing
Choose between HOURLY or DAILY triggers:
- For hourly schedules, set the Frequency (number of hours between runs).
- For daily schedules, set the Time of day and the Frequency (number of days between runs).
Schedule the function
Click Schedule to create the automated trigger.

Tool-Specific Configuration

Standardize text entries: Supports specialized operations like Extract domain from URL and Remove stop words. If removing stop words or punctuation, you can specify a Stop_array range.
Compare string similarity: Requires a Left_string range and a Right_string range. You can choose to compare By word or By phrase.
Fuzzy matching: Available in both percentage and sound-based modes. Percentage mode allows for adjustable Threshold values.

Managing Scheduled Tasks

Resetting a Schedule: To stop an automated task, open the scheduling sidebar, select the relevant function mode and click Reset. This deletes the trigger and clears all saved parameters.
Updating a Schedule: To change settings, first Reset the existing task and then create a new schedule with your updated parameters.

Technical Notes and Troubleshooting

Quota Limits: Automated triggers share your account's daily execution quota (approx. 90 minutes for Consumer accounts). Very frequent schedules on large datasets may exhaust this limit.
Execution Limits: Google Apps Script enforces a 6-minute limit per execution. Flookup's scheduling engine automatically handles this by pausing and resuming in the next scheduled run.
Sheet Integrity: Do not rename your spreadsheet or the sheets involved in a scheduled task, as this will break the background triggers.
Trigger Failures: If a task fails to run, ensure your Google Sheet hasn't hit the 300-trigger-per-project limit and that the sheet owner's authorization is still valid.

Visual Learning Resources

Labels might differ slightly but the steps remain the same.