Google Sheets

Overview

Use Google Sheets as a data source for Chartcastr. Your Google Drive houses your spreadsheets, and Chartcastr can access them to fetch charts and create visualizations to connect with your destinations.

Setup Options

Chartcastr offers three ways to use Google Sheets as a source:

Published Chart URL

Use a public published chart URL for quick setup

Sync Chart Config

Reuse existing chart configurations from your spreadsheet

Custom Data Range

Create custom charts from sheet data ranges (Coming Soon)

Which Option Should I Choose?

Custom Chart from Google Sheets: ⭐ Recommended - Best option for most use cases. Reuses your existing chart configurations while keeping data private. Beautiful rendering with Recharts.
Published Chart URL: Good for quick setup when you don’t mind making the chart publicly accessible. Uses Google Sheets’ native chart rendering.
Custom Data Range (Coming Soon): Perfect for creating custom visualizations from raw sheet data without needing to set up charts in Google Sheets first.

Option 1: Published Chart URL

This is the simplest option - publish your chart in Google Sheets and paste the URL into Chartcastr.

Only public Published Chart URLs are supported. Charts must be published as “Anyone on the internet can view” to work with Chartcastr. Restricted charts (requiring sign-in) are not supported due to Google limitations at this time.

Setup Steps

Open your Google Sheet
Select the chart you want to share
Click the three-dot menu → Publish chart

In the publish dialog, configure your settings:

Specific Chart
Entire Document

Set Link type to Image
For What to publish, choose only the chart (not “Entire Document”)
For Access, select Anyone on the internet can view

Restricted charts (requiring sign-in) are not currently supported. The chart must be publicly accessible.

Copy the published link
Paste the link in Chartcastr when creating your source

Example Published Chart URL

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-.../pubchart?oid=123456789&format=image

Option 2: Custom Chart from Google Sheets

Extract existing chart configurations from your Google Sheets and render them beautifully with Chartcastr’s advanced charting engine. Your data stays private and secure.

How It Works

Connect your Google account to Chartcastr
Select a spreadsheet from your Google Drive
Choose an existing chart from the spreadsheet
Chartcastr automatically:
- Extracts the chart configuration (type, colors, axes, series, etc.)
- Pulls the data from the specified ranges
- Renders a beautiful, interactive chart using Recharts
Save as a source and connect to your destinations

Features

✅ Private Data: Keep your spreadsheets private - no need to publish publicly
✅ Full Configuration: Preserves chart type, colors, axis titles, legends, and stacking
✅ Multiple Chart Types: Supports bar, line, area, pie, and scatter charts
✅ Live Preview: See exactly how your chart will look before saving
✅ OAuth Authentication: Secure access using your Google account
✅ Auto-sync: Data updates automatically when your spreadsheet changes

Supported Chart Types

Chartcastr supports the following Google Sheets chart types, mapped to our internal chart types:

Google Sheets Type	Rendered As	Notes
Column Chart (`COLUMN`)	Bar Chart	Vertical bar chart
Bar Chart (`BAR`)	Bar Chart	Horizontal bar chart (rendered as bar)
Line Chart (`LINE`)	Line Chart	Line chart
Area Chart (`AREA`)	Area Chart	Area chart
Stepped Area Chart (`STEPPED_AREA`)	Area Chart	Unified with area chart - all area variants render as standard area charts
Scatter Chart (`SCATTER`)	Scatter	Scatter plot
Pie Chart (`PIE`)	Pie Chart	Pie chart
Combo Chart (`COMBO`)	Line Chart	Combo chart (defaults to line)

Design Decisions

Area Chart Variants Unified: All area chart variants (AREA, STEPPED_AREA) are unified into a single area chart type. This simplifies our implementation while maintaining visual clarity. Users can still create different area chart styles in Google Sheets, but they’ll all render as standard area charts in Chartcastr. Combo Charts: Combo charts (which combine multiple chart types) default to line chart rendering. This is a pragmatic choice as combo charts can have complex configurations that don’t map cleanly to a single chart type.

Unsupported Chart Types

The following Google Sheets chart types are detected but not currently supported. They will return an error when encountered:

CANDLESTICK - Financial charts showing open/high/low/close prices
HISTOGRAM - Statistical distribution charts
BUBBLE - Scatter plot with size dimension
WATERFALL - Cumulative effect visualization
TREEMAP - Hierarchical data visualization
ORG_CHART - Organizational structure charts
SCORECARD - Single metric display cards
GEO/REGION - Map/geographic charts (explicitly not supported)

Let us know if you’d like to see a specific chart type supported.

Setup Steps

Create a chart in Google Sheets (if you haven’t already)
In Chartcastr:
- Go to Sources → New Source → Google Sheets
- Search for and select your spreadsheet
- Select the chart you want to use from the Charts section
Preview your chart
- View the chart configuration and data
- Verify colors, labels, and styling
Save as Source
- Name your source
- Connect to destinations
- Set up scheduling

Benefits

No Publishing Required: Keep spreadsheets completely private
Better Visuals: Rendered with modern charting library (Recharts)
Consistent Styling: Maintains your Google Sheets chart configuration
Automatic Updates: Data refreshes on schedule
Interactive: Hover tooltips, legends, and responsive design

Option 3: Custom Data Range

Create custom visualizations from raw sheet data without needing to set up charts in Google Sheets first.

Coming Soon - This feature will allow you to select data ranges and create custom chart types directly in Chartcastr.

Planned Features

Select any data range from your sheet
Choose from multiple chart types and styles
Customize colors, labels, and formatting
Keep your data private (no publishing required)
Perfect for dynamic, data-driven visualizations

Express Interest

Want early access? Let us know you’re interested in this feature!

Authentication

The authenticated Google account must have at least Viewer permissions on the sheets you want to access. This is the Google account you use to login to Chartcastr.

For Option 1 (Published Chart URL), authentication is not required as the charts are publicly accessible. For Options 2 and 3, you’ll need to connect your Google account.

Getting Started

Admin

Sources

Destinations

Overview

Setup Options

Published Chart URL

Sync Chart Config