Q: “How can I prevent the ‘Tables’ palette from appearing every time I create a new Google Sheet?”

A: There’s no setting in Google Sheets to suppress it.

But the Tampermonkey browser extension, with a script, can do it:

1] install the Tampermonkey extension in your browser

2] click the Tampermonkey icon and select “Create a new script…”

3] highlight the existing code in the <new userscript> window

4] replace the highlighted text by copying-and-pasting the code block below:

// ==UserScript==
// @name         Kill Google Sheets Tables sidebar
// @match        https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/*
// ==/UserScript==
(function() {
    let interval = setInterval(() => {
        let sidebar = document.querySelector("div.building-blocks-sidebar > div > div > div#docs-tiled-sidebar-title");
        if (sidebar && sidebar.innerHTML === 'Tables') {
            document.querySelector("div.building-blocks-sidebar > div > div > div#docs-tiled-sidebar-title + div.docs-tiled-sidebar-close").click();
            clearInterval(interval);
        }
    }, 50);
})();

5] click “File | Save”

That’s it! The next time you open a new Google Sheet, you’ll see the “Tables” palette flicker and disappear.

props to Reddit user zoooooook’s solution

Q: “How do I get the Salesforce ID out of a hard-coded hyperlink in a Google Sheets cell?”

A: Here‘s the Apps Script function. More explanation below.

function GetURL(input){
  const sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getActiveSheet();
  const myFormula = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveRange().getFormula();
  const matches = (myFormula.indexOf("(") !== -1 && myFormula.indexOf(")") !== -1) ? myFormula.slice(myFormula.indexOf("(") + 1, myFormula.indexOf(")")) : undefined;
  const range = sheet.getRange(matches);
  // Extract the link URLs for each cell in the range
  const linkUrls = range.getRichTextValues().map(ia => ia.map(row => row.getLinkUrl()));
  // Return the link URLs
  return linkUrls;
}

Let’s say you’ve pasted values from Salesforce into Google Sheets like the following. . .

. . . and you need the Salesforce IDs behind those links.

You could get the URL from each cell, one at a time–but that‘s woefully inefficient.

The faster way is to define a custom GetURL() function you can use in the spreadsheet:

1. click “Extensions | Apps Script” from the Google Sheets menu bar;
2. highlight all text in the “Apps Script: Untitled Project” window that appears
3. replace the highlighted text by copying-and-pasting the red code block above
4. click the “Save project to Drive” button (it looks like a floppy disk):

Congratulations! You now have a custom GetURL() function you can use in the spreadsheet, like this:

props to https://productivesheets.com/extract-url-from-hyperlink-google-sheets/

Q: “How can I find all the Jira tickets I touched in the last week?”

A: Three steps:

1. Run a regular search in Jira.
2. In the results screen, click Jira’s “Switch to JQL” link
   
3. Once you’ve switched to JQL, run a query like the following:
   key IN updatedBy(ezra, -7d) ORDER BY key DESC

• if your name isn’t Ezra, you probably want to modify the ezra part
• if you want a timeframe other than the last 7 days, modify the -7d argument

Q: “How can I find all the Jira tickets in the current sprint?”

A: sprint IN currentSprints()

If, like me, you save queries and you don’t wanna constantly update the query to say sprint = 'Sprint 2' or sprint = 'Bugfix Sprint' or whatever, then sprint IN currentSprints() is your huckleberry

Q: Pop quiz! One of these Custom Activity Formula Fields is syntactically correct, and the other produces an error. Which is which?

Option 1:

Option 2:

A: Highlight to show answer: Option 2 is syntactically correct. I don’t know why. AccountId is a perfectly legitimate system field on both Event and Task!

Q: Why doesn’t the installer for Data Loader on the Mac install automatically?

A: Nerd cred, I guess. It’s more badass to have to do manual things.

Anyway, if you’re on a Mac and you

1. downloaded the latest installer from this site,
2. double-clicked the downloaded Zip file with a name like dataloader_v62.0.2,
3. opened the folder with a name like dataloader_v62.0.2,
4. double-clicked the file named something like install.command, and
5. got the error below. . .

. . . here’s what you should do:

1] control-click the folder with a name like dataloader_v62.0.2,
2] select “New Terminal at Folder” from the drop-down menu

3] copy the command below, paste it into the Terminal window, and press Return:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine install.command

. . . and that should do it! The file named install.command has been unquarantined and should now run without further complaint.

props to this StackExchange post and this old Macworld forum post

Q: How do I stop Jira automatically setting me as a watcher every time I create or contribute to an issue?

A: In any Jira screen,

1] click your Account menu in the upper right-hand corner and choose “Personal Settings“:

2] In Personal Settings, change “Watch your issues” to “Disabled” and click the “Save changes” button:

that’s it!

plucked from this Jira support page.

Q: Can Salesforce Integration Licenses access Standard Objects like Accounts and Opportunities?

A: Yes, but only with some configuration weirdness!

To access Standard Objects, a userid with a Salesforce Integration License must be assigned to the right kind of Permission Set: the Permission Set’s “License” field must be set to

• no specific License, or
• a “Salesforce API Integration” License:

• a Permission Set whose “License” field is “Salesforce” can’t be assigned to a userid with a Salesforce Integration License, and
• a Permission Set whose “License” field is “Salesforce Integration” can’t access Standard Objects.
• And a Salesforce Integration License’s Profile can’t access Standard Objects, either.

go figure.

thanks to Josh Dehkordi and Surya Kamkipati for their help sorting this out!

Q: How do I block browser advertisements without purchasing an ad blocker?

A: Adding entries to your HOSTS file enables you to block advertisements by blocking ad-servers’ domains. To install:

1] download the “hosts.zip” file from this website.

2] install it as follows:

For Windows PC: instructions on that page help you install the HOSTS file on your computer.

For MacOS: I copied the contents of the text file in hosts.zip, and added it to my Mac’s HOSTS file by

1. double-clicking my hard drive icon;
2. pressing ⌘-Shift-Period in the Finder window to view all files;
3. double-clicking the etc folder, then
4. opening the HOSTS file in a text editor (I use Visual Studio Code), pasting in the clipboarded contents, and saving.

For Unix: heck if I know

Q: How do I view YouTube videos without participating in its toxic recommendation algorithm?

A: Three steps!

1] install Auto Incognito Mode in your browser

2] click the Auto Incognito Mode extension’s button (it looks like a hat and sunglasses) and select “Options” from the dropdown menu:

3] add the following two lines to the list of filters, then click the Save button:
*://*.youtube.com/*
*://youtube.com/*

that’s it!

ps while we’re at it. . .

• I also strongly recommend switching from Chrome to Brave. It’s easy!
• heck, add filter lines to run your Google searches anonymously:
  *://www.google.com/*
*://google.com/*

All chapters of “Divorce Google”:

• Part 1 (stop using Chrome)
• Part 2 (hide from YouTube’s algorithm)
• Part 3 (remove yourself from Google search results)