An automation action is a step that performs a task, activity, event, or change. Think of a action as:

When Something happens (the Trigger) and These Conditions are true, then This Event (the Action) occurs.

SmartSuite's Generate PDF action allows you to automatically create a PDF using SmartSuite record content. The created PDF can then be used in subsequent automation actions just like files in a Files and Images field - the PDF can be used as an attachment for emails, added to an existing record in a Files and Images field, or used in any other action that accepts file inputs.

You can choose to export in SmartSuite's default PDF format, or choose a Document Designer template that you have configured. Learn more about Document Designer and how to create templates in this article.

If you haven't already, we also recommend that you check our our articles on creating an automation and managing automations for more information about setting up new workflows.

To use the Generate PDF action with SmartSuite's default export template, no additional setup is required. However, you may want to create a customized Document Designer template to tailor the PDF output. Please refer to this article for all of the details.

The Generate PDF action is part of SmartSuite's automations system, which all account types have access to. Simply click the Automations option in the Solution drop-down menu (see image below).

Note

This action requires Solution Manager permissions or the Administrator role. To learn more, please see our article on roles and permissions.

Accessing the Automations configuration interface:

Once the Solution Automations dialog is displayed, click Add Automation to begin creating an automation that will generate a PDF.

You will need to set up a trigger to tell the Automation when to run and which record to use as the source of data for your Generate PDF actions.

For example, you might be tracking user-submitted help requests in SmartSuite. If you wanted to generate a PDF when a bug is created, you would select a When a Record is Created trigger to initiate the automation when the SmartSuite record is added.

After creating your automation and selecting your Trigger, you can select Generate PDF from the SmartSuite section of the Add Actions list.
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Whenever your automation trigger fires and the conditions are met, the Generate PDF action will create a new PDF based on the template set. Configuring it just requires a few clicks. Customizable fields include:

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You are able to select any triggering record or any (single record) Find Record action before it. "At a scheduled time" and "When an email is received" are not supported as they do not include SmartSuite records in the trigger. To use the Generate PDF action after these triggers, you will need at least one Find Record action.

This allows you to choose whether you'd like to export the full record page or choose from any of your customized Document Designer templates from within the table of the selected record.

You can select any of the fields of data to help generate the name of the PDF file being generated.

Once all of these settings have been configured, you will be able to use the Generate PDF feature in subsequent actions in several different ways. This flexibility allows you to tailor the PDF generation process to fit your specific needs and workflows.

When clicking on any compatible element such as the Attachments element of an Email action or a Files & Images field in a Create or Update action, you'll be able to select the Generate PDF action as a mapping choice which will upload or send the generated file as part of the automation.

When mapping content into a text field or text element—such as an email body, text area, SmartDoc, or other text formats—you will have the option to select either the URL of the generated document or its file name.