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How to Automatically Create PDFs with Google Form Responses

How to Automatically Create PDFs with Google Form Responses

March 22, 2025 Digital

How to Automatically Create PDFs with Google Form Responses

Creating PDFs from Google Form responses can streamline your data management and reporting processes. With the integration of Google Sheets and Google Apps Script, you can automate the process of generating PDFs whenever a new form response is submitted. This step-by-step guide will walk you through setting up this automation.

Step 1: Set Up Your Google Form

To begin, you need to create a Google Form and link it to a Google Sheet:

Create a Google Form: Go to Google Forms and create your form with the questions you need. Link to Google Sheets: Once your form is ready, click on the Responses tab, then click on the green Sheets icon to create a Google Sheet that will collect the responses.

Step 2: Create a Google Apps Script

Here’s how to create the script that will generate PDFs:

Open the Google Sheet: Open the Google Sheet linked to your Google Form responses. Access the Script Editor: Click on Extensions then Apps Script. Write the Script: Replace any existing code in the script editor with the following template: Save the Script: Click Save and ensure you authorize the script to run. 
function onFormSubmit(e) {  const responses  (); // Get the submitted responses  const pdfFolderId  'YOUR_FOLDER_ID'; // Replace with your Google Drive folder ID  const pdfFileName  `Response_${responses[1].getResponse()}`; // Customize the file name based on a response e.g. timestamp or name  // Create a new Google Doc  const doc  (pdfFileName);  const body  ();  // Populate the Google Doc with responses  for (let i  0; i

Ensure to replace YOUR_FOLDER_ID with the actual ID of the folder where you want to save the PDFs. You can find the folder ID by navigating to the folder in Google Drive and examining the URL. The ID is the string after /folders/.

Step 3: Set Up Triggers

To automate the process:

Set Up Trigger: Click on the clock icon Triggers in the left sidebar of the Apps Script editor. Add Trigger: Click on Add Trigger in the bottom right corner: Choose: From the function dropdown, choose onFormSubmit. Select: From the event source dropdown, select Form submit. Event Type: Choose On form submit and click Save.

Step 4: Test the Setup

Submit a Response: Fill out your Google Form to test the automation. Check Google Drive: After submitting, check the specified Google Drive folder for the generated PDF.

Notes:

Folder ID: Ensure you have the correct folder ID for uploading the PDFs. Customization: You can customize the PDF content and formatting in the script as needed. Permissions: The script must have permissions to access Google Drive and create files.

This setup allows you to automatically generate PDFs whenever a new response is submitted through your Google Form. By following these steps, you can streamline your data management and reporting processes, enhancing efficiency and accuracy in your workflows.

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