Generating documents from a form

Choose one of your templates for a form, and every response also produces a finished document, such as an invoice, a certificate or an agreement, filled in from the answers.

A form works without this. Add it only when you want a document for each response.

Choose a template

In the builder, open the Document tab, click Choose template, and pick one of your templates.

Template fields are matched to form questions with the same name, so much of the mapping is done for you. A Document download block is also added to the thank-you page, so people can download their document straight after submitting.

You can also start with this set up: in My Forms, click New form and choose Form for a document.

Fill each document field

Under Document fields, choose where each value comes from:

• A form question: the answer to that question. This is the usual case.
• Fixed value: text you type once, the same on every document.
• System value: filled in when the form is sent:
  • Submission date: the date of the response.
  • Submission date & time: date and time, in UTC.
  • Submission ID: a unique id for the response, useful as a reference number.
• Nothing: clear the field to use the template's own value.

Output

• Output format: the file type to make. Leave it empty to use the template's default.
• Link access: turn on Public links for links that never expire and anyone can open. Leave it off for signed links that expire, which is right for anything with personal details.

Email the document

Under Email, turn on Email the document. Under Send to, choose an email question, so the document goes to the address given in that answer, or choose A specific address and type one or more addresses, separated by commas. The email is sent as soon as the document is ready.

• Attach the file: sends the document itself instead of a download link, for documents up to 7 MB. Larger ones are sent as a link.
• Subject and Message: leave them blank for a default.
• Include a copy of the answers: off by default, because email is not a secure channel.
• Sender name: shown as who the email is from. Leave it blank to send as Automette.
• Replies go to: an address that receives replies. Without it, a reply goes nowhere.

Other ways to get the document to people

• On the thank-you page: the Document download block in the After submit tab. See After a submission.
• To your systems: the document webhooks carry each document's details.

Every generated document is also in the Document column of the form's Responses, and in History.

Each document costs 0.01 credits. Responses that do not generate a document are free.

Do more with each response

To do more with each response, such as saving the document to Airtable or asking someone to approve it first, click Turn this into an agent. From then on an agent handles the form's responses, and the Document tab links to it with Open the agent.

Forms set up earlier have their document on a Document (old setup) tab. Open the Document tab and click Move here to move it; everything keeps working the same.

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