Generate Google Forms from Structured Data with GAS (Paper → Schema → Form)

Overview

This practical guide shows how to convert paper intake forms into Google Forms using a structured definition (JSON/JS object) and Google Apps Script (GAS). The script below is ready to paste into the GAS editor and run.

Key points

• Use a schema (DSL) → GAS → FormApp to auto-generate forms
• Create choices with the item object's createChoice() (there is no FormApp.createChoice())
• Diff/updating existing forms requires extra logic; regenerating is the simplest approach

Privacy / anonymization

The examples are generic and avoid any clinic or personal identifiers.

Schema example (JS object)

Copy and edit this FORM_SCHEMA to match your paper form structure.

const FORM_SCHEMA = {
  title: "Intake Form (Sample)",
  description: "Sample schema to convert paper intake to Google Form",
  sections: [
    {
      title: "Basic Information",
      items: [
        { type: "text", title: "Furigana" },
        { type: "text", title: "Full name", required: true },
        { type: "multipleChoice", title: "Gender", choices: ["Male", "Female"] },
        { type: "date", title: "Date of birth" },
        { type: "text", title: "Address" },
        { type: "text", title: "Mobile number" },
        { type: "text", title: "Household composition", help: "e.g. grandmother, mother, father, younger sibling (6)" }
      ]
    },
    {
      title: "Visit Details",
      items: [
        { type: "checkbox", title: "Reason for visit", choices: ["Checkup","Fluoride","Cavity prevention","Cleaning","Worried about alignment","Cavity","Injury","Other"] },
        { type: "text", title: "When did you last visit a dental clinic?" },
        { type: "text", title: "Clinic name" },
        { type: "multipleChoice", title: "Is this your first visit?", choices: ["First time","Unsure"] },
        { type: "multipleChoice", title: "Are you in pain now?", choices: ["No","Yes"] },
        { type: "text", title: "Since when are you in pain?" }
      ]
    },
    {
      title: "Medical History / Medication / Allergies",
      items: [
        { type: "multipleChoice", title: "Are you currently under treatment?", choices: ["No","Yes"] },
        { type: "text", title: "Diagnosis / medication names" },
        { type: "multipleChoice", title: "Do you have allergies?", choices: ["No","Yes"] },
        { type: "text", title: "Allergy details" },
        { type: "multipleChoice", title: "May we use fluoride for prevention?", choices: ["Yes","No"] }
      ]
    },
    {
      title: "Visit Trigger & Preferences",
      items: [
        { type: "checkbox", title: "How did you find us? (multiple)", choices: ["Local","Referral","Saw sign","Instagram","Google search","Other"] },
        { type: "text", title: "Search keywords (optional)" },
        { type: "text", title: "Requests or painful experiences at previous clinics (optional)" },
        { type: "multipleChoice", title: "Can you visit outside busy times (after 16:00 or Sat)?", choices: ["Yes","No"] },
        { type: "text", title: "Preferred days/times", help: "e.g. Tuesday" }
      ]
    },
    {
      title: "Treatment Interests & Consent",
      items: [
        { type: "checkbox", title: "Interested treatments (multiple)", choices: ["Orthodontics","Preventive dentistry"] },
        { type: "multipleChoice", title: "Do you agree to the cancellation policy?", choices: ["Yes","No"], required: true }
      ]
    },
    {
      title: "Guardian Confirmation (if applicable)",
      items: [
        { type: "text", title: "When did you last visit a dental clinic?" }
      ]
    }
  ]
};

GAS script (paste and run)

function createFormFromSchema(schema) {
  const form = FormApp.create(schema.title);
  if (schema.description) form.setDescription(schema.description);

  schema.sections.forEach(section => {
    form.addSectionHeaderItem().setTitle(section.title);

    section.items.forEach(item => {
      addItem(form, item);
    });
  });

  Logger.log('Edit URL: ' + form.getEditUrl());
  Logger.log('Response URL: ' + form.getPublishedUrl());
}

function addItem(form, item) {
  let q;

  switch (item.type) {
    case 'text':
      q = form.addTextItem();
      break;

    case 'multipleChoice':
      q = form.addMultipleChoiceItem();
      q.setChoices(item.choices.map(c => q.createChoice(c)));
      break;

    case 'checkbox':
      q = form.addCheckboxItem();
      q.setChoices(item.choices.map(c => q.createChoice(c)));
      break;

    case 'date':
      q = form.addDateItem();
      break;

    default:
      throw new Error('Unknown item type: ' + item.type);
  }

  q.setTitle(item.title);
  if (item.help) q.setHelpText(item.help);
  if (item.required) q.setRequired(true);
  if (item.other) {
    try { q.setHasOtherOption(true); } catch (e) {}
  }
}

function run() {
  createFormFromSchema(FORM_SCHEMA);
}

// Paste the FORM_SCHEMA above in the same script file.

Practical notes

• For production: store FORM_SCHEMA in a Spreadsheet or JSON file so non-developers can edit it.
• To avoid breaking live forms, implement a safe update path: match question titles and update choices instead of recreating the form.
• OCR → schema pipeline makes this approach powerful for paper-to-digital automation.

Next steps (recommended)

• Build OCR → FORM_SCHEMA converter
• Add Spreadsheet-based DSL editor for non-technical staff
• Implement a diff/update mechanism for existing forms

That's it — ready to paste and run. If you want, I can post these two drafts to WordPress on 2025-02-11 morning for you.