Work docs and forms

Platform discussions
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1

Hello,

Is it possible to get information from a submitted form to upload onto a workdoc automatically?

I have a form for people to complete when requesting tasks, with a docs column on that board with a set template. Having this on an actual document is the ideal format, but I’ve been stumped how to get it to automatically populate the data.

Any help or workarounds would be great :slight_smile:

2

Hi @Matt_Frost

The Monday API has the ability to automatically to create new docs.

As such, you could (programmatically) whenever a new form is submitted , create a doc based on the form’s data (via the Monday API)

Hope this helps!

2 Likes
3

Oh that’s interesting.

I don’t have those technical skills yet to be able to do that, yet.
Where would you even start? :rofl:

1 Like
4

Hey there! Did you ever find a solution for this? Would love to be able generate a pdf/word document from a form response to attach to a line item.

Thanks!

5

You just need an automation to make it start creating those docs by itself!

When new item created,
Add Doc to column

Then, as long as the selected Docs column is already tied to a template you set up and mapped your values into, you’ll get what you’re looking for.

[cc: @KellyArco @Matt_Frost @Harsh]

1 Like
6

Hello,

Yes, it is possible to automatically populate data from a submitted form into a document (like a Word or Google Docs file) using various tools and integrations. Here’s a general approach on how to achieve this:

  1. Using Google Forms and Google Docs
    If you’re using Google Forms, you can utilize Google Apps Script to automate the process:

Steps:

Create the Form:

Set up your form with all necessary fields.
Set Up a Google Doc Template:

Create a Google Doc with placeholders for the data (e.g., {{Name}}, {{Task}}, etc.).
Use Google Apps Script:

Open your Google Form, click on the three dots (More) → Script editor.
Write a script to trigger when a form response is submitted. Here’s a sample script: function onFormSubmit(e) {
const docTemplate = “TEMPLATE_DOC_ID”; // Replace with your document template ID
const folderId = “FOLDER_ID”; // Replace with the folder ID where you want to save the documents

const responses = e.values; // All responses
const docName = responses[1]; // Assuming first column is the name

const templateDoc = DriveApp.getFileById(docTemplate);
const newDoc = templateDoc.makeCopy(docName, DriveApp.getFolderById(folderId));
const newDocId = newDoc.getId();

const doc = DocumentApp.openById(newDocId);
const body = doc.getBody();

// Replace placeholders with actual responses
body.replaceText("{{Name}}", responses[1]);
body.replaceText("{{Task}}", responses[2]);
// Add more replacements as needed

doc.saveAndClose();

}
Set Up Trigger:

In the Script editor, go to Triggers (clock icon), then add a trigger to run onFormSubmit on form submissions.
2. Using Microsoft Forms and Power Automate
If you’re using Microsoft Forms, you can use Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) to achieve this:

Steps:

Create the Form:

Set up your form in Microsoft Forms.
Create a Document Template:

Use Word to create a template with placeholders (e.g., {{Name}}, {{Task}}).
Set Up a Power Automate Flow:

In Power Automate, create a new flow that triggers on form submission.
Use the “Get response details” action to retrieve form data.
Use the “Create a new Word document” action with your template, and fill in the placeholders with the form responses.
Save the Document:

Add an action to save the populated document in OneDrive or SharePoint.
3. Using Third-Party Tools
If you’re looking for an easier, no-code solution, consider using tools like Zapier or Integromat (Make):

Zapier: Create a Zap that triggers when a form is submitted and creates a document from a template in Google Docs or Word.
Integromat: Similar to Zapier, set up a scenario to watch for form submissions and populate documents accordingly.

hope that helps!

7

This is a great explanation, but I don’t think it addresses what the OP was asking for. They specifically referred to wanting to create a workdoc (using Monday’s native collaborative document feature.) And based on the description, it sounds like they specifically want to use their existing workform (Monday’s native form tool) as the trigger, not a form built on a third-party platform.

As I mentioned in my reply above, all of that is possible to do using functionality that’s already built into Monday. They’d actually already built 98% of their solution—the form, and the Doc column with a template configured—they just needed the automation to create a new doc from their template when the new submission item is created. Easy peasy.

FWIW, I agree that there are many much better form tools out there than Monday’s, but if the one built into the platform they’re already paying for meets their needs (and we have no reason to believe that it doesn’t) why not keep it all under the same umbrella?

8

Thank you for all the advice on this :slight_smile:

When I posted in July 2023 I was totally stumped, but monday has come along way since, and I’ve been able to resolve this :slight_smile:
Really appreciate all the advice though

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@Matt_Frost
How have you been able to resolve this? This is a need we have at the moment.