I want to pare two cells and depending on whether they are equal or not send out different e-mails. After having read several articles on this topic I unfortunately do not see why the the following parison with === always gives out as a result that the cells are different, even if I pare the same cells:

function SendEmail() {
 var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
  var lastRow = sheet.getLastRow(); 
  var ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi(); //  var file =     SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet(); 
  if (sheet.getRange(2,10) === sheet.getRange(2,10)) {
    MailApp.sendEmail("[email protected]", "test", "not equal!");
  } else {
    MailApp.sendEmail("[email protected]", "test", "equal!");
  }
  }

It also does not work if I use !==.

Any hint is highly aprreciated - thanks!

I want to pare two cells and depending on whether they are equal or not send out different e-mails. After having read several articles on this topic I unfortunately do not see why the the following parison with === always gives out as a result that the cells are different, even if I pare the same cells:

function SendEmail() {
 var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
  var lastRow = sheet.getLastRow(); 
  var ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi(); //  var file =     SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet(); 
  if (sheet.getRange(2,10) === sheet.getRange(2,10)) {
    MailApp.sendEmail("[email protected]", "test", "not equal!");
  } else {
    MailApp.sendEmail("[email protected]", "test", "equal!");
  }
  }

It also does not work if I use !==.

Any hint is highly aprreciated - thanks!

• javascript
• google-apps-script

Share Improve this question Follow edited Mar 9, 2017 at 15:01 JSS asked Mar 9, 2017 at 14:58 JSSJSS 1311 gold badge11 silver badge44 bronze badges 3

• 1 The getRange() calls return objects, and two distinct objects are always unequal. – Pointy Commented Mar 9, 2017 at 14:59
• That helps a bit, how do I have to address the cells in order to get the parison I am looking for? – JSS Commented Mar 9, 2017 at 15:02
• Change it to ge the values: ` if (sheet.getRange(2,10).getValue() === sheet.getRange(2,10).getValue()) {` See this thread for more details – Karl_S Commented Mar 9, 2017 at 15:05

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3 Answers 3

Sorted by: Reset to default 2

You need to pare the values in the cells rather than the Ranges themselves.

If you are dealing with single cells, this is straightforward:

if(sheet.getRange(2,10).getValue() === sheet.getRange(2,10).getValue())

However if you want to pare ranges with multiple cells it is more plex, as you'll need to pare arrays of values.

I noticed you were paring the same cells? I changed it to pare cells J2 & K2 and to log the differences. I hope this helps.

function SendEmail() {
 var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
  var lastRow = sheet.getLastRow(); 
  var ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi(); //  var file =     SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet(); 
  Logger.log(sheet.getRange(2,10).getValue());// logs value of J2
    Logger.log(sheet.getRange(2,11).getValue());// Logs the value of K2
 if(sheet.getRange(2,10).getValue() === sheet.getRange(2,11).getValue()) {
    // MailApp.sendEmail("[email protected]", "test", "equal!");
    Logger.log('equal');
  } else {
   //  MailApp.sendEmail("[email protected]", "test", "not equal!");
    Logger.log('not equal');
  }
  }

The return type for the getRange() method is Range, which inherits from Object. Objects are reference types and will never be considered equal unless the variables being pared point to the same object instance.

As mentioned, you need to call the getValue() method on the range that will return the contents of the cell and pare the values.