Google Drive changes and Utility Cloud updates - 15/Feb/2024
We wanted to bring to your attention some recent changes that Google has introduced to Google Sheets which are temporarily affecting our process for Google reporting. Due to these updates, our current reporting system may experience interruptions or require adjustments to ensure seamless functionality. We understand the importance of timely and accurate reporting for your business needs, and we want to assure you that we are actively working on resolving this issue.
What’s changed?
The change introduced by Google requires that any Google Sheet requesting data from an outside source (such as Utility Cloud) manually have that request approved by a user from within that Google Sheet. This means that any report template in your Google Drive used to produce a report may require manual approval given in order to see your data show in that completed report.
You can read more about the specific change introduced by Google here, but the relevant technical details from their documentation are below:
If an IMPORT function is added or edited for the first time in a Sheet for the following functions, a warning banner will appear as the sheet will be able to send and receive data to external parties.
IMPORTHTML
IMPORTXML
IMPORTFEED
IMPORTDATA
IMAGE
To allow access, editors of the spreadsheet can click Allow access
This notification will be triggered once per Sheet, but only editors can act on it. Once an editor takes action, the notification is dismissed and will not be shown to other collaborators.
All existing IMPORTs on the page will be blocked until Allow access is clicked
The user will not be able to revoke access after accepting it, unless they use Version history. In Version history revert to a version prior to the notification appearing, then re-add or re-edit the IMPORT. The notification will re-appear . You can then remove all
IMPORTHTML(), IMPORTXML(), IMPORTFEED(), IMPORTDATA(),orIMAGE()functions in the spreadsheet.
From the Utility Cloud side, we have had to implement a temporary change behind the scenes to mitigate any disruptions to your reporting experience introduced by Google’s change. This will mean that your Google reports will take longer to return after completing your work instead of returning immediately.
What can I do?
This change does not appear to have been released for all Google Drive users at this time.
If your Google reports are producing correctly
No further action will be required from you at this time.
If you are having issues with your reports
You will need to:
Log in to your Google Drive account.
Open any Google Sheet spreadsheet used in your Google reports.
Select “Allow Access” in the yellow warning bar that appears at the top of your spreadsheet.
This will need to be done for each Google Sheet spreadsheet used for your Google reports. If you do not have access to your Google Drive, please reach out to our support team for assistance.
Our team is closely monitoring the situation and will provide updates as soon as we have more information on when Google is able to accommodate our reporting process.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding during this time. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to our support team, who will be more than happy to assist you. They can be reached through the AMCS Support Portal, our support email address at supportus@amcsgroup.com, or our general support number at +1 (800) 962-9264.