Automating PDF Creation with Pabbly Connect: A Step-by-Step Guide

Learn how to automate PDF report card creation using Pabbly Connect, Google Sheets, and Google Docs. Streamline your workflow and save time! Navigate the automation landscape confidently with clear, structured guidance suitable for professionals regardless of prior technical experience.

Watch Step By Step Video Tutorial Below

1. Accessing Pabbly Connect for Automation

To begin automating the report card creation process, access Pabbly Connect by visiting the official website. If you’re a new user, you can sign up for free and get 100 tasks per month.

After signing in, you will see the dashboard. Click on the ‘Access Now’ button for Pabbly Connect to start creating your automation workflow. This platform is essential for integrating various applications like Google Sheets and Google Docs.

2. Creating a Workflow in Pabbly Connect

Once in Pabbly Connect, create a new workflow by clicking the ‘Create Workflow’ button. Name your workflow appropriately, such as ‘Create PDF from Google Sheets and Google Docs and Share via Email.’ Select a folder to store this workflow for better organization.

• Click on the ‘Create’ button to finalize your workflow setup.
• You will see two sections: Trigger and Action.
• Triggers initiate the workflow, while actions define what happens next.

Setting up triggers and actions is crucial for the automation process. Pabbly Connect allows you to define these steps precisely, ensuring a smooth workflow.

3. Setting Up the Trigger in Pabbly Connect

In this step, you will set the trigger for your workflow in Pabbly Connect. Choose ‘Schedule by Pabbly’ as your trigger application. This allows you to send report cards at a specified date and time.

• Select the trigger event as ‘Schedule Workflow’.
• Set it to run once, specifying the date and time for sending the report cards.
• Choose the appropriate time zone, such as Asia/Kolkata.

After configuring the trigger, click on the ‘Save’ button. This setup ensures that your workflow runs automatically, sending out report cards on time using Pabbly Connect.

4. Configuring Action Steps in Pabbly Connect

Next, you will configure action steps in Pabbly Connect to retrieve data from Google Sheets. Choose Google Sheets as your action application and select ‘Get Rows’ as the action event.

Authorize your Google Sheets account to connect it with Pabbly Connect. Select the spreadsheet containing student data and specify the range of rows to retrieve. Save and test the request to ensure data is fetched correctly.

This action step is essential for pulling student data, which will be used to create personalized report cards. Pabbly Connect simplifies this process by seamlessly integrating Google Sheets with your workflow.

5. Finalizing the Process and Sending Emails

After successfully retrieving student data, the next step in Pabbly Connect is to create report cards using Google Docs. Select Google Docs as your action application and choose ‘Create Document from Template’.

Map the required fields from the previous steps to the template variables. Authorize Google Docs to allow Pabbly Connect to create documents. Save the document and obtain the document ID for further actions.

Finally, to share the report cards, set another action step to use Google Drive for sharing files. Map the document ID and specify the email addresses of the parents. This ensures that each parent receives their child’s report card efficiently through Pabbly Connect.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we explored how to automate the creation and distribution of student report cards using Pabbly Connect, Google Sheets, and Google Docs. This integration streamlines the entire process, saving time and reducing errors.