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1

Title:
Google Sheets “Watch New Rows” not triggering even after correct setup (OpenAI → Update Row → Gmail)

Body:
Hi, I need help with a Google Sheets trigger that refuses to work.

I created a scenario with these modules:

  1. Google Sheets — Watch New Rows

  2. OpenAI — Generate a response

  3. Tools — Text Aggregator

  4. Google Sheets — Update a Row

  5. Gmail — Send Email

Everything is set up correctly:

  • Spreadsheet ID = correct file

  • Sheet name = Sheet1

  • Table contains headers = YES

  • Row with headers = A1:E1

  • Limit = 1

  • Run once mode is ON

  • A new row is added below the header (row 2) with data in A, B, C, E and D left empty

  • “Run once” stays idle and does NOT detect the new row

  • No error messages

  • OpenAI and Gmail modules work fine when tested manually

  • I even deleted and recreated the sheet, but the trigger still does not fire

  • I also reconnected the Google Sheets connection

Here is exactly what happens:

  • I press Run once

  • I add a new row in Google Sheets

  • The scenario does not run, nothing is triggered, and the AI Response column stays empty

I’ve already verified:

  • Permissions are correct

  • The sheet is shared with my Google connection

  • The file is NOT protected or restricted

  • I tried moving the file, reconnecting Google, refreshing module, and creating new rows

Still the Watch New Rows module is NOT detecting anything.

Can someone tell me:

  • what else could block the trigger?

  • whether my sheet structure could be the issue?

  • if I should use a different trigger (Watch Changes instead)?

  • whether Make might be reading a cached or duplicate Drive version?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

3

Welcome to the Make community!

Polling Triggers & Empty “Check Runs”

This is because the module is a POLLING trigger, and not an INSTANT (Webhook) trigger.

If you don’t see any bundles from the trigger module and operations on the rest of the modules, it means there are no new responses (empty output bundle) when the scenario ran to check for new items. This is called a “Check run”.

There are two main types of triggers, Polling (scheduled), and Instant (webhooks). Polling triggers can only run on a schedule. Instant triggers can be run as soon as data is received by the webhook.

  • Polling means Make checks external service for changes (pull changes to Make).
  • Webhook (instant) triggers means external service calls Make when there are new changes (push changes to Make).

The module you are using does not push changes — it’s basically a API request that Make has to occasionally “call” to fetch the latest changes/items.

To find out more on the different types of Trigger modules, see refer to Types of Modules and Webhooks sections of the Make Help Centre.

If you want your scenario to only run when there is new data (and not on a schedule or timed interval), see if your app has an “Instant” or “Webhook” trigger in Make. If not, check if the third-party service has a feature that can send out a webhook when content is created/updated - and then you can point it to a “Custom Webhook” trigger in your scenario.

If you want to re-run your scenario on older data,

Polling Triggers: Epoch Panel & Selecting Older Data

Go to the Epoch Panel, by right-clicking on the trigger module (polling triggers only), and select “Choose where to start” from the list of options in the context menu.

260×187 11.7 KB

If you select “From now on”, the next time the scenario runs it will only return new data (or nothing if there is no new data).

450×247 13 KB

You can also select other old data to re-run your scenario with next using the “Choose manually” option. This will then show you a list of previous historical items you can select to process the next time the scenario is triggered.

For more information, see

To answer your question

You have the order wrong. Here’s the steps you need to do in the correct order:

  1. You need to select “From now on” in the Epoch panel.
  2. You need to add a new row in the Sheet.
  3. Then your scenario needs to run (either by scheduled run, or by pressing “Run Once”).

You can also learn more about this in these Make Academy units:

Modules, scheduling and bundles

  • Blueprints
  • Different types of modules - search
  • Different types of modules - action
  • Introduction to triggers
  • Scheduling your scenario
  • Introduction to bundles

Webhooks

  • What are webhooks?
  • Webhook concepts - URL query string
  • Defining and redefining webhook data structure
  • Webhook scheduling and webhook queue

Hope this helps! If you are still having trouble, please provide more details.

— @samliew
P.S.: investing some effort into the tutorials in the Make Academy will save you lots of time and frustration using Make!