What is Zapier?

Zapier is an online automation tool that connects your favorite apps, such as Gmail, Slack, Mailchimp, and over 1,500 more. You can connect two or more apps to automate repetitive tasks without coding or relying on developers to build the integration. It’s easy enough that anyone can build their own app workflows with just a few clicks.

We prepared this step-by-step tutorial with screenshots on how to make a Zap using PDF.co and Dropbox, to automatically convert URL input to PDF when you add the document to a Dropbox folder defined for this task.

Useful resources:

  1. Make a Zap
  2. Add Dropbox App
  3. New File in Folder Option
  4. Connect Dropbox Account
  5. Dropbox Folder
  6. Test Trigger Result
  7. Add PDF.co App
  8. Anything to PDF Converter
  9. Connect PDF.co Account
  10. Setup PDF.co Action
  11. Test Action
  12. Test Action Result
  13. Turn Zap On

TL;DR:

  1. Start by clicking on Make a Zap! at the top-right corner of your Zapier dashboard.
  2. Under “When this happens …” Choose App & Event search and select Dropbox from the list of apps.
  3. Under Choose Trigger Event selects New File in Folder.
  4. Select or connect your Dropbox account to Zapier.
  5. Select the Folder on your Dropbox where input documents will be added.
  6.  Once the test trigger was successful, you can now add another app.
  7. Under “Do this …” Choose App & Event search and select PDF.co from the list of apps.
  8. Under Choose Action Event select Anything to PDF converter.
  9. Select or connect your PDF.co account to Zapier.
  10. Under Customize Anything to Pdf set the Source Type to Link to a website and the PDF URL to Direct Media Link.
  11. Once you are done setting up, click the Test Action button to see the result
  12. The test was successful and returned a temporary URL. Copy the URL and paste it into your browser to view the output.
  13. Give a name to your Zap at the top-left corner, then hit Done Editing, you can then TURN ZAP ON

Step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Make a Zap

  • Start by clicking on Make a Zap! at the top-right corner of your Zapier dashboard.

Step 2: Add Dropbox App

  • Under “When this happens …” Choose App & Event search and select Dropbox from the list of apps.

Step 3: New File in Folder Option

  • Under Choose Trigger Event selects New File in Folder.

It should look like this up until this point:
Zapier - Dropbox - Trigger Event

Step 4: Connect Dropbox Account

  • Select or connect your Dropbox account to Zapier.

Step 5: Dropbox Folder

  • Select the Folder on your Dropbox where input documents will be added.

Zapier - Dropbox - Customize Input File

  • After setting up the configuration, test the trigger to make sure that we set it up correctly.

Step 6: Test Trigger Result

  • Once the test trigger was successful, you can now add another app.

Test Trigger Result

Step 7: Add PDF.co App

  • Under “Do this …” Choose App & Event search and select PDF.co from the list of apps.

Step 8: Anything to PDF Converter

  • Under Choose Action Event select Anything to PDF Converter.

Zapier - PDF.co - Choose Action Event_v2

Step 9: Connect PDF.co Account

  • Select or connect your PDF.co account to Zapier.

Connect Zapier to PDF.co

Step 10: Setup PDF.co Action

  • Under Customize Anything to PDF set the Source Type to Link to a website and the PDF URL to Direct Media Link. At this point, optional parameters such as Pages, Passwords, and the output file Name can be defined.

Zapier - Dropbox - URL to PDF

Step 11: Test Action

  • Once you are done setting up, click the Test Action button to see the result.

Test Action

Step 12: Test Action Result

  • The test was successful and returned a temporary URL. Copy the URL and paste it into your browser to view the output.

Test Action Result

Step 13: Turn Zap On

  • Give a name to your Zap at the top-left corner, then hit Done Editing, you can then TURN ZAP ON.

Your Zap Is Ready

Depending on your Zapier plan and settings, your Zaps will trigger and the output and logs can be found in your Tasks History.