What this action does
The Generate PDF action creates a PDF document each time a form is submitted. You can save the generated PDF to an Airtable attachment field, email it to the respondent, or send it to an external system via webhook.Template sources
You choose how the PDF content is created:Configuring a Generate PDF action
1
Open the Automations tab
In the form editor, click the Automations tab.
2
Add an action
Create a new automation (or open an existing one) and click Add action. Select Generate PDF.
3
Choose a template source
Pick Auto-generated, Document Template, or Fillable PDF from the Template source dropdown.
4
Configure the template
For Auto-generated, no setup is needed. For Document Template, design the document inline and
@-mention fields from the submitted record. For Fillable PDF, click Upload PDF template and use the visual field mapper.5
Set the output filename
Use the Output filename field to create dynamic filenames with variable text. For example:
@{Name}-application-@{Date} generates filenames like Jane-Smith-application-2026-03-24.6
Choose delivery options
Toggle on one or more delivery destinations and configure each.
Delivery options
The generated PDF can be delivered to one or more destinations:Freeform text boxes
In Fillable PDF mode, you can draw text boxes directly on the PDF canvas. Each box can contain static text or variable text referencing form field values. Use these for adding content to areas of the PDF that do not have pre-defined form fields.Conditional execution
Like all automation actions, Generate PDF supports an optional “Only run if…” condition. Set a filter to control when the PDF is generated. For example, only generate a PDF when the “Application type” field is “Full application”.Related pages
On-submit automations
Learn how automations work and how actions are structured.
Variable text
Use @ references in filenames and text content.