Convert Airtable Attachments to PDF Using PDF.co and Zapier

Step 1: Prepare Your Airtable Table

Create two attachment fields:

• Source Document: Stores the Word document to convert.
• Generated PDF: Stores the converted PDF.

Create a view filtered to show records where Source Document is not empty. Add a sample record with a Word attachment.

Step 2: Set Up the Airtable Trigger

Create a Zap and select Airtable → New Record.

Connect your Airtable account and configure:

• Base: Select your base.
• Table: Select the table containing your attachments.
• Limit to View: Select the filtered view you created.
• Include file contents?: Set to True.

Test the trigger and select your sample record.

Enabling file contents provides a Source Document File output for subsequent steps. Airtable recommends using this file output rather than relying on its expiring attachment URLs. See Airtable’s attachment guidance.

Step 3: Convert the Attachment

Add PDF.co → Anything to PDF.

Connect your PDF.co account using OAuth by signing in and authorizing Zapier.

Configure the action:

• Input Format: Select the option for Word documents, including DOC and DOCX.
• Input Source: Map Source Document File from the Airtable trigger.
• Output PDF Name: Enter converted-document.pdf, or build a filename using a field from the record.

See the Anything to PDF documentation for configuration details.

Test the action and open the returned url to check the PDF’s content and formatting.

Step 4: Save the PDF to Airtable

Add Airtable → Update Record.

Select the same base and table, then configure:

• Record: Map the record ID from the trigger.
• Generated PDF: Map the PDF.co output url.

Leave unrelated fields unmapped. Test the action and confirm that Airtable has saved the PDF in Generated PDF, leaving the source attachment intact.

Step 5: Publish the Zap

Publish the Zap. New records entering the selected view will have their Word attachments converted and saved back to Airtable automatically.