Google Sheets
Turn your spreadsheet data into PDF / Google Docs in minutes
Last updated
Turn your spreadsheet data into PDF / Google Docs in minutes
Last updated
DocsAutomator's Google Sheets integration is the fastest way to create professional documents from your sheets data. Let's dive in!
Prefer watching via video? Please find two videos below, a 5 minute run through and a full demo explaning all features of the integration:
DocsAutomator's Google Sheets integration works on a primary sheet and linked sheets basis. Documents are printed from rows in your primary sheet, while lists of data ("line items") can be added to documents from linked sheets. This allows for almost any document to be created based on your Google Sheets data.
Created PDFs (and optionally Google Docs) are automatically saved to specified columns in your primary sheet.
Triggering document creation happens via a simple webhook (just add the formula to a column in your sheet) or via a copy / paste Apps Script which adds a "create document" button to your menu bar (no coding knowledge required).
The first step is to create a new automation in your DocsAutomator account.
In this example, Invoices is the primary sheet and Line Items is used as a linked sheet / line item sheet. We are printing a single invoice (one row from the primary sheet) and are potentially including multiple line items (multiple rows from the linked sheet) for every single invoice. As you can see, DocsAutomator expects the first row to be a header row with column titles (that's how columns are identified).
You can of course print any type of document with DocsAutomator, but the structure has to match the example above.
In our example (see above), the primary sheet is called Invoices. We are printing documents for a row in this primary sheet.
Your primary column identifies your rows. In our example, that column will be Invoice Number as it makes sense to identify invoices by their number. This column is used to select rows for generating previews as well as match potential linked data in linked sheets / line item sheets.
Choose a column that contains a unique name for your documents.
This specifies the column where links to generated PDFs will be stored.
Now it's time to map placeholders from your template to columns in your primary sheet. In our example, we have a lot of standard invoice placeholders like client name, client address, invoice number etc. that we are mapping.
If you want to add line items to your documents, you will find a section titled with Line Item Table 1 for the first line items table below the primary column mapping. Not every document has line items of course, this only applies if you want to add a related list of things (like line items on invoices in our example).
The first step is to define a line item sheet. This is the sheet in your Google Sheet which contains the line items that related to your primary sheet. In our example, this line item sheet is called Line Items (but could be called anything).
Now select the primary column. This column identifies related rows from your primary sheet. Values need to be the same as the primary column in your primary sheet. Please have a look at the example sheet above. You will see that our primary / identifier column for the primary sheet is called Invoice Number. We have to select a column in our line item sheet that contains the same value used for invoice number. As you can see, the column Invoice contains the same values found under the column Invoice Number in our primary sheet.
Optional, additional features for line items. Please have a look at Line Items Grouping + Calculations and Auto Row Numbers
As before for the primary sheet, please map placeholders from your template to corresponding columns in your line items sheet (use AI for this!). Once everything is mapped, it may look like this:
After having saved the settings above, you're now able to generate previews on the right side. Just pick a row from the dropdown (only first 50 options are loaded; search for more). After having selected a row, click Create Preview. Below a generated preview for our example:
Finally, it's time to set up document creation from Google Sheets. Here you have three options (please also not the video tooltips for each in the interface):
If you toggle this on, DocsAutomator will check every 5 minutes for new rows in your Google Sheet and generate documents for new found rows.
When first loaded, the next row to process is set to the last content row in your sheet + 1. So if you have 20 rows currently, the next row to process will be 21.
Here you also see when rows were last successfully processed. Moreover, you have the option to reset the row count (if rows got removed from your sheet) and you have the option to trigger manually via "Run Now".
The benefit of using an Apps Script is that you can easily trigger document generation for multiple rows by just selecting multiple rows.
You can add images to your documents via links stored in a column. Please have a look at Dynamic Images to understand how placeholders need to be declared in your Google Docs template. Multiple images are added if links are separated by comma in your column.
Under 4. Template / Document Generation Options in your automation settings, you find the option PDF Expiration. This defines how long DocsAutomator keeps your PDFs. Please adjust according to your needs. See more here: PDF Expiration / Storage
Sometimes you may want to keep editing your document or prefer generating a Google Doc. You can turn this on under 5. Additional Actions After Document Generation and also specify a column where the Google Doc shall be stored. In addition, you can specify a Google Drive Folder where generated Google Docs shall be stored. See Saving Google Docs for more.
You also got the option to store generated PDFs in Google Drive by specifying a folder (or leaving this empty to store in My Drive). For more, please go here: Save PDFs in Google Drive
DocsAutomator allows you to send generated documents via email, specifying dynamic parameters via your added data. You can also define conditions under which these emails are sent. For more, please go here: Send Email
Every automation in DocsAutomator needs a Google Doc template to create documents from. Please visit our for all the options on how to get started. If you just want to test DocsAutomator, a good starting point is to start from scratch (option in the middle).
In our example, we are using
Now it's time to select your Google Sheet. Please have a look at the following example for the basic syntax (; feel free to copy!):
When rows are selected (position of your cursor), a document for that row will be generated. In case there are any errors, you will receive an email or you can see all creation requests in your .
