How to Set the Output File to Expire after 5 Minutes using PDF.co and Make

Step 1: Create a New Scenario

• First, log into your Make account and click on the Create a New Scenario button.

Step 2: Add PDF.co Module

• Next, search and select the PDF.co app. Then, choose the Make an API Call module.

Step 3: Setup PDF.co Configuration

Let’s set up the PDF.co configuration.

• For the API Endpoint Path field, we will use the /v1/pdf/makesearchable endpoint. This endpoint will turn your scanned PDF into a text-searchable PDF.
• For the Input Type dropdown box, select the Override ‘url’ param with value.
• For the URL dropdown box, input the direct URL of your source file.
• Then, type in your desired Output File Name.
• Under the Body param, type async for the Key and set true for the Value.
• In the Forcely enable async mode dropdown box, select the No, rely on the async parameter in Body.

After setting up the configuration, let’s run the scenario.

Step 4: Run Scenario Result

• The scenario runs successfully. We will use this output file and set it to expire after 5 minutes.

Step 5: Add Delay Tools Module

• Now, let’s add the delay tools. So we can set the expiration time of the output file.

Step 6: Set Delay Time

• In the Delay dropdown box, set it to 300 in seconds. This is equivalent to 5 minutes before the output file expiration.

Once you are done setting up the Delay tools, let’s add another module to delete the expired file.

Step 7: Add Another Module

• Select the PDF.co app and choose the Make an API Call module.

Step 8: Make an API Call Configuration

Let’s set up the configuration.

• For the API Endpoint Path dropdown box, we will add the /v1/delete/file endpoint. This endpoint will automatically delete the temporary file after expiration.
• For the Input Type dropdown box, select the Upload files and inject as ‘url’ param to automatically input files from PDF.co –  Make an API Call output.

Since we’re done setting up the configuration, let’s re-run the scenario to see the result.

Step 9: Deleted File Result

• Great! We successfully set the output file to expire after 5 minutes and delete the expired file automatically.