Skip the grunt work: Use AI to turn raw data into Slides (Part 1)

Scenario

You've got to create a presentation using data from multiple CSV files. Typically, this means merging files into a single spreadsheet, generating charts, and copying everything into your presentation—an absolute time sink! Let’s fix that.

Here’s a free, no-code approach using Google Workspace tools and a sprinkle of automation. This is Part 1 of a two-part series.

The Problem Simplified:

• Multiple CSV files in a consistent format (I used stock data).
• The goal: Combine into one Spreadsheet for easy analysis and charting.
• How: Instead of manual copy-pasting, we’ll automate the process using Google Apps Script and Chat-GPT for code generation.

What You'll Need:

• Google Apps account: A free Gmail account will work perfectly.
• Access to Google Drive, Google Sheets, and Google Slides.
• Chat-GPT's free edition for code snippets.

Step-by-Step Solution:

1. Collect your data

• Upload the CSV files to Google Drive.
• Copy the Drive folder ID. The folder ID is the part of the URL that comes after /folders/ (e.g., https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/your-folder-id).

2. Create your Spreadsheet

• Open a new Google Spreadsheet.
• Navigate to "Extensions" → "Apps Script" to open Google Apps Script editor.
• Delete any code you see in the editor window. Keep the window open.

3. Generate code with Chat-GPT

• Open Chat-GPT in another browser tab.
• Ask: “Write an AppScript to merge CSV files from a specific Google Drive folder into one Google Sheet.”
• Chat-GPT will generate the script for you. Copy this script and paste it into the Apps Script editor you opened earlier.

4. Edit the script

• Replace 'YOUR_FOLDER_ID' with the Google drive folder ID.
• Customize the name of your new spreadsheet by finding the line that says destinationSpreadsheet = SpreadsheetApp.create('prices'); and changing 'prices' to your preferred name.
• Preserve the original CSV files by changing setTrashed(true) to setTrashed(false).

Modified script for reference

function mergeCSVFiles() {

  var folderId = 'YOUR_FOLDER_ID'; // Replace with your folder ID

  var destinationSpreadsheet = SpreadsheetApp.create('Combined_Data'); // Change the name if needed

  var folder = DriveApp.getFolderById(folderId);

  var files = folder.getFilesByType('application/vnd.google-apps.spreadsheet');

  

  while (files.hasNext()) {

    var file = files.next();

    var filename = file.getName();

    var fileId = file.getId();

    

    var tempSpreadsheet = SpreadsheetApp.openById(fileId);

    var tempSheets = tempSpreadsheet.getSheets();

    

    for (var i = 0; i < tempSheets.length; i++) {

      var tempSheet = tempSheets[i];

      var tempData = tempSheet.getDataRange().getValues();

      

      var newSheet = destinationSpreadsheet.insertSheet(filename.replace('.csv', ''));

      newSheet.getRange(1, 1, tempData.length, tempData[0].length).setValues(tempData);

    }

    

    DriveApp.getFileById(fileId).setTrashed(false); // Keep original files

  }

}

5. Save and run the script 

• Click the play button (▶️) to execute the script
• The first time you run the script, you’ll be asked to grant permissions to access Google Drive files. Review and approve the permissions.

Important Note:

To maintain data privacy, you can delete the script or spreadsheet after completing your task.

Conclusion:

You should have all the data neatly organized and ready for analysis. 
In the next post we will turn the spreadsheet into a presentation.