Generate thousands of PDF files in bulk for Airtable records by integrating with Docupilot. Use this to export custom reports, invoices, etc.
The PDF generator can be triggered it in 3 different ways:
- Schedule it to run regularly. e.g. hourly. (ideal if the task nature is not time sensitive)
- Trigger it by Webhook URL after Airtable Form redirect. (ideal if you fill out records with Airtable Form)
- Trigger it by manually clicking the Webhook URL. You can add the URL to Airtable as a formula for example. (ideal if you fill out records in Airtable grid)
Features
- Supports line items. Here’s a video that showcase how to use line items (aka tables).
- Can be limited to run only on records inside specific Airtable views.
- Can create various types of documents using formula fields.
What is the difference between eSignatures.io and Docupilot, are they doing the same thing?
No, Docupilot is for designing and generating documents. eSignatures.io is for preparing and signing legal agreements.
Can this generate Word documents from Airtable?
Yes, you can use our integration with Docupilot to generate Word files.
Is there is a way to run the extension from within airtable? I’m using the PDF generator for Docupilot now, and wonder if I can trigger this to run from inside Airtable instead of through your extension window.
Yes, the PDF generator can be triggered it in 3 different ways: 1. schedule it to run regularly. 2. trigger it by webhook url after form redirect. 3. trigger it by manually clicking the webhook url (you can add the url to Airtable as a formula for exmaple). Any one of these would work.
How does it handle it when you’ve already made PDFs for all records, but then add a new record and then run the extension? Does it make all PDFs again or only for the new record added?
Only for the new record added. It only process records where the attachment field is empty.
I’m testing out the PDF/docupilot generator and I’me having an issue, the PDFs aren’t showing up in the attachment field after they generate. The extension is working fine, but the PDF never gets uploaded to the attachment field And thus the extension will keep running for the same quotes over and over, since the PDF attachment field stays empty.
If you have Docupilot set up to do an email delivery of the PDF, it won’t also upload to the attachment field in Airtable. Just delete the email delivery within Docupilot and the attachments will appear.
Does this solution support exporting data to MSWord?
Yes, it supports exporting data from Airtable as Microsoft Word documents.
Is a Docupilot license required to run this extension?
Yes!
I would like to know how to trigger the document generation script only for a given row and not for the view as a whole. I created a button to launch the script trigger, but this one applies to the whole view.
It’s not possible to trigger the job for individual records. If you would like to limit which records to be included in the job, you can select a ‘view’ from the extension settings. But the job will always run on every record available in that view.
I have an idea for a new feature. Can you add it to the Page Designer app in Airtable?
Unfortunately, it’s not technically possible for third-party developers to make the Page Designer run/export PDFs automatically due to the API limitation. We have a couple of extensions that allow you to generate PDFs out of Airtable records. Check them out here.
I’m getting the following error. How can I fix it?
400 – {“status”:”error”,”data”:”Template tokens are either empty or invalid.”}
Open the document on Docupilot and check the section named “Template Tokens” on the right side. It either has no tokens, in which case you’d need to add some, or it has an error message. This page explains some common cases that would result in an invalid token.
How can I add an image to a document?
You can add an image like this:
{{insert_image FIELD_NAME}}
Replace FIELD_NAME with the name of your field. If you would like to set a width and a height, you can do so like this:
{{insert_image FIELD_NAME 300 200}}
In that example, the width is 300, and the height is 200.
So that if this is run multiple times, there will be multiple attachments in that same field. Is this possible?
No, the extension would skip any record that has the attachment field already filled.
Are there any automations I can do to program the extension to combine multiple attachment fields into one?
Yes, we have another extension that allows you to do that. You can find it here: https://miniextensions.com/merge-multiple-airtable-attachment-fields/
What does this error message mean? 500 – {“status”:”failure”,”data”:”Something went wrong!”}
This error is coming from Docupilot. It’s related to your document template in Docupilot when it’s not set up correctly.
I wanted to know how to automatically generate a document with Docupilot, as soon as a record is inserted in a view. I succeeded in generating the documents by clicking “Save and run” but I can’t find the thing by myself (I well saw the “Schedule” option but I need to generate the docs (almost)instantly.
You can generate documents automatically by using the automation feature in Airtable. In the bottom of the extension page, there is a button “Run inside Airtable”. It explains how this works. Also, depends on where the new records are coming from, if they are being submitted via form, you can use the redirect URL of the form to trigger the extension webhook immediately after submission.
I would like to add a button (new field type in Airtable) in a single row that would trigger the generation of two documents with data from that row and store it. This extension works fine. But how would I trigger the script to only do this for one single row though?
It’s not possible to only generate PDFs for certain records. When this extension is triggered, it would process any records with an empty attachment field. What you would probably need to do is to come up with a formula that would only include certain records inside an Airtable view and exclude everything else.