I have a number of Google Sheets that make heavy use of ImportData to call a REST service.
I was initially under the impression that ImportData would only call the REST service when the sheet is open and in use by a person.
It turns out, this is not the case, I can see many calls going to the REST service, even when the sheets are not open.
What could be making matters worse, is the fact that a number of these sheets were also accidentally made available offline in the Google Sheets Android app (by default, the app will make recently used sheets available offline). I have a feeling that may have made matters worse.
So my questions:
- Is there somewhere an explanation how the ImportData refreshes work?
- Is it possible to control this refresh mechanism?
- Does the Android app's "offline" functionality interfere with this mechanism?
Ideally, I would like to:
- Put a "refresh now" button on the sheet.
- Click the button to refresh all importdata fields.
- As long as the button is not pressed, the fields keep displaying the old data (even when the sheet is re-opened).
- Optionally, this should also behave well in the Android app, although this is not a "must have".
Note that this is related to this question, but the other way around. I do not want ImportData updates when the sheet is not open in some one's browser.