How to Create PDF Reports with Airtable Data Using PDF.co and Zapier

11 Minutes Read

This tutorial shows how to automatically generate a PDF report whenever a new record is added to Airtable. Zapier retrieves the record, inserts its data into an HTML layout, and uses PDF.co to convert the finished report into a PDF.

What You Need

An Airtable account with a base containing your report data
A Zapier account
A PDF.co account
At least one sample record in Airtable

IN THIS TUTORIAL

Create the Airtable Trigger

Add the PDF.co Action

Create the HTML Report

Configure the PDF Output

Test the PDF.co Action

Publish the Zap

Step 1: Create the Airtable Trigger

For the trigger:

Select Airtable as the app.
Choose New Record as the trigger event.
Connect your Airtable account.
Select the base and table containing the report data.
Optionally select a view if the Zap should process only records from that view.
Test the trigger and select a sample Airtable record.

The sample record provides the fields that you will insert into the PDF report.

Step 2: Add the PDF.co Action

Add another step to the Zap:

Select PDF.co as the app.
Choose HTML to PDF Converter as the action.
Click Sign in and authorize Zapier to access your PDF.co account.

Step 3: Create the HTML Report

In Input HTML or URL to Convert, enter the HTML for your report. Use Zapier’s field picker to replace the example values with fields from the Airtable trigger.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <style>
    body {
      font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
      margin: 40px;
      color: #222;
    }

    h1 {
      color: #2457a7;
    }

    table {
      width: 100%;
      border-collapse: collapse;
    }

    th,
    td {
      padding: 10px;
      border: 1px solid #cccccc;
      text-align: left;
    }

    th {
      width: 35%;
      background-color: #f3f5f7;
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Order Report</h1>

  <table>
    <tr>
      <th>Customer Name</th>
      <td>[Map the Customer Name field from Airtable]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th>Order Number</th>
      <td>[Map the Order Number field from Airtable]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th>Order Date</th>
      <td>[Map the Order Date field from Airtable]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th>Product</th>
      <td>[Map the Product field from Airtable]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th>Quantity</th>
      <td>[Map the Quantity field from Airtable]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th>Total</th>
      <td>[Map the Total field from Airtable]</td>
    </tr>
  </table>
</body>
</html>

You can modify the HTML and CSS to add branding, colors, images, headers, or other report information.

Step 4: Configure the PDF Output

Complete the PDF.co action:

Set the output file name, such as order-report.pdf.
Adjust the page size, orientation, and margins if required.
Leave optional settings at their defaults unless your report needs different formatting.

You can also map an Airtable value into the file name, such as:

order-[Order Number].pdf

Step 5: Test the PDF.co Action

Test the action. PDF.co should return a URL for the generated PDF.

Open the URL and confirm that:

The correct Airtable values appear in the report.
The formatting is suitable.
The file name and page settings are correct.

PDF.co output URLs are temporary. If the report must be retained, add another Zapier action that saves the PDF to permanent storage such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive.

Step 6: Publish the Zap

Once the test succeeds, publish the Zap.

Whenever Airtable receives a new record, Zapier will send its data to PDF.co and generate a formatted PDF report automatically.

Conclusion

You now have an automated workflow that converts Airtable records into customized PDF reports. The report layout can be changed directly in the HTML, while Airtable fields supply the information for each generated document.

For additional action settings, see the PDF.co Zapier integration documentation.