Other How-Tos
If you already use Google Forms, you can add Formstack Documents into the process to automatically take the data you are collecting on your Google Forms and populate PDFs and Word documents, such as invoices, contracts, applications, and more. In this example, we’re going to show you how to take submissions from a job application form and populate a PDF with the information to pass along to HR.
To get started, we’re going to set up the template for our application using the Formstack document builder. Inside the builder, we’re going to add fields for where we want the applicant’s info to go. We’re going to name the fields like “Name” and “Address” so we can easily tell which field is which.
Here’s what our application template looks like:
After you've built the document, jump over to the Settings tab where you can modify various options like the type of file that is generated and the name of the file. In this example, we’re going to output a PDF and we’re going to include the name of our volunteer in our file name.
Next, we’re going to set up the delivery of our document so that the PDF can be reviewed by HR. We’re just going to send the PDF via email. Under the Deliver tab, we’re going to select the "New Delivery" button, and choose the Email delivery. From there, edit the email delivery settings to your needs.
After we finish up the email delivery, we’re done with the setup process inside Formstack Documents, and we’re ready to integrate our document with Google Forms. To help with the integration, we’re going to use Zapier.
Inside Zapier, go ahead and create a new Zap. For the Trigger, we’re going to choose Google Forms as the service and then pick New Response in Spreadsheet as the trigger.
After you authenticate your Google Forms account, Zapier will have you pick the form that you want to monitor. Go ahead and pick your form. Next, we’re going to set up the Action of our Zap. For the service, we’re going to choose Formstack Documents and then Create Document Merge as the action.
After you authenticate your Formstack Documents account, Zapier is going to load a list of all the documents in your Formstack Documents account. Go ahead and pick your document template. Once you pick the document, Zapier is going to load a list of the merge fields that are in your document.
For each of the merge fields in your document, you need to pick the corresponding fields from your form. This tells Zapier how to send the data over to Formstack Documents so that it is populated in the correct spot within your template.
Once you have all of your merge fields matched up, go ahead and save your Zap and turn it on. It’s time to run a test! Go ahead and submit a test submission through your form. Zapier will detect this new response and send the data over to Formstack Documents.
Here’s what our completed application looked like:
Congrats, you’re all finished! You can now automatically generate all types of documents from your Google Forms responses. Can you think of any other ways that you can use Formstack Documents to streamline your paperwork process?