Zapier Integration Guide

Discover how to connect PDFBolt with Zapier for automated PDF creation in your workflows. Build professional documents from templates, HTML markup, or web pages through Zapier's no-code automation interface.

Prerequisites

To get started, you'll need:

1. PDFBolt API Key

• Sign up or log in to your PDFBolt account.
• Navigate to API Keys section.
• Copy your API key for authentication.

2. Zapier Account

• Zapier account (free or paid plan).

Basic Setup

Configure Webhooks by Zapier

Connect to PDFBolt's API using Zapier's Webhooks action:

1. In your Zap, add an action step and search for Webhooks by Zapier.

2. Select Custom Request as your action event → Continue.

3. Set up the request parameters:

• Method: POST
• URL: https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/direct
• Data Pass-Through? False
• Data: (configuration varies by content source – examples provided below)
• Unflatten: No
• Headers:
  • API-KEY: YOUR-API-KEY

Choose Your Endpoint

Pick the PDFBolt endpoint that matches your workflow requirements:

Endpoint	Best For	Returns
/v1/direct	Immediate PDF delivery	Raw PDF data in response
/v1/sync	URL-based access	JSON with download URL
/v1/async	High-volume processing	Webhook callback with results

Endpoint Details

Check API Endpoints for complete specifications.

Choose Your Source

Select the content source that best fits your use case:

Source	Best For	When to Use
Templates	Documents with consistent structure	Certificates, receipts, invoices – anything generated multiple times with variable data
HTML	Custom documents	When you need full control over a unique layout
URL	Existing web pages	Archiving documentation, reports, capturing dashboards, saving public web content

Source Parameters

Explore source parameters in the API Documentation.

Source 1: Templates

Templates offer the cleanest approach for creating branded, consistent PDFs through design-data separation.

How It Works

1. Create your template in PDFBolt's Template section:

• Build custom layouts with HTML, CSS, and Handlebars variables.
• Or start with a ready-made template from the gallery.

2. Publish for API access and get your templateId.

3. Send API request containing just templateId and templateData.

4. Receive your PDF – PDFBolt returns the generated PDF.

Template Setup

Learn how to create and manage templates in the Templates Documentation.

Example: Course Completion Certificate

Real-world scenario: Student completes your online course. Automatically generate a personalized completion certificate PDF and email it to them.

Step 1: Set up your trigger (e.g., Google Forms or Teachable for course completion).

Step 2: In Webhooks by Zapier action, configure the Data field:

{
  "templateId": "your-certificate-template-id",
  "templateData": {
    "recipient_name": "{{1. Your Full Name}}",
    "course_title": "{{1. Which course}}",
    "completion_date": "{{1. Last Submitted Time}}",
    "instructor_name": "Prof. Lingua Ford",
    "organization_name": "International Language Center"
  }
}

How It Works

• {{1. Field Name}} references data from step 1 (your trigger). To insert dynamic values, click the + icon, search for the field name, and select it.
• Step numbers match your Zap sequence position.
• Field names must exactly match your template's Handlebars variables.
• Combine dynamic fields from triggers with static values as needed.

Template Zap Example

Complete Zap:

1. Google Forms: New Response – Student submits completion form.
2. Webhooks by Zapier: Custom Request – Creates certificate PDF.
3. Gmail: Send Email – Delivers certificate to recipient.
4. Google Drive: Upload File – Stores certificate copy.

Other Learning Platform Integrations

Apply this pattern with Thinkific, Kajabi, Teachable, or similar platforms available in Zapier. Connect completion triggers to your certificate template variables.

Source 2: HTML

Convert HTML directly into PDFs within your Zaps – perfect for event materials, announcements, or custom one-time documents.

How It Works

1. Add your HTML content in a Code step.
2. Encode HTML to Base64 format.
3. Send encoded HTML to PDFBolt.
4. Receive your PDF.

Base64 Encoding Required

PDFBolt requires Base64-encoded HTML. This means you'll need Code by Zapier to encode your HTML before sending it to the Webhooks step.

Example: Event Program

Real-world scenario: Organizing a webinar or conference. Generate a PDF program with schedule, speakers, and session details that attendees can download.

Step 1: Set up Typeform: New Entry trigger for event registration.

Step 2: Add Code by Zapier action with Run JavaScript.

View Complete Code Example

// Static event program HTML – same for all attendees
const htmlContent = `
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <style>
        body { font-family: Arial; color: #333; line-height: 1.6; }
        .header {
            background: linear-gradient(135deg, #6366f1 0%, #8b5cf6 100%);
            color: white;
            padding: 30px;
            text-align: center;
        }
        h1 { margin: 0; font-size: 28px; }
        .event-info {
            background: #f8fafc;
            padding: 20px;
            border-radius: 8px;
            margin: 20px 0;
        }
        .session {
            border-left: 4px solid #6366f1;
            padding: 15px;
            margin: 15px 0;
            background: #fff;
            box-shadow: 1px 1px 10px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);
            page-break-inside: avoid;
        }
        .time {
            color: #6366f1;
            font-weight: bold;
            font-size: 14px;
        }
        .speaker {
            color: #64748b;
            font-style: italic;
            margin-top: 5px;
        }
        .break {
            background: #fef3c7;
            padding: 10px;
            text-align: center;
            margin: 15px 0;
            border-radius: 4px;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <div class="header">
        <h1>Tech Summit 2025</h1>
        <p>Building the Future Together</p>
        <p style="margin-top: 10px; font-size: 14px;">November 15, 2025 | Virtual Event</p>
    </div>

    <div class="event-info">
        <strong>Event Details:</strong><br>
        Date: November 15, 2025<br>
        Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM EST<br>
        Platform: Zoom (link will be sent via email)
    </div>

    <h2>Event Schedule</h2>

    <div class="session">
        <div class="time">9:00 AM – 9:30 AM</div>
        <strong>Opening Keynote: The Future of AI</strong>
        <div class="speaker">Speaker: Dr. Sarah Johnson, AI Research Director</div>
        <p>Exploring emerging trends in artificial intelligence and their impact on business.</p>
    </div>

    <div class="session">
        <div class="time">9:45 AM – 10:30 AM</div>
        <strong>Workshop: Building Scalable APIs</strong>
        <div class="speaker">Speaker: Mike Chen, Senior Engineer</div>
        <p>Hands-on session covering best practices for API design and implementation.</p>
    </div>

    <div class="break">☕ Coffee Break (10:30 AM – 11:00 AM)</div>

    <div class="session">
        <div class="time">11:00 AM – 11:45 AM</div>
        <strong>Panel Discussion: Cloud Architecture</strong>
        <div class="speaker">Panelists: Various industry experts</div>
        <p>Interactive discussion about modern cloud infrastructure and DevOps practices.</p>
    </div>

    <div class="session">
        <div class="time">12:00 PM – 1:00 PM</div>
        <strong>Networking Session</strong>
        <p>Connect with other attendees and speakers in breakout rooms.</p>
    </div>

    <div class="break">🍽️ Lunch Break (1:00 PM – 2:00 PM)</div>

    <div class="session">
        <div class="time">2:00 PM – 2:45 PM</div>
        <strong>Case Study: Digital Transformation Success</strong>
        <div class="speaker">Speaker: Lisa Martinez, CTO</div>
        <p>Real-world example of successful digital transformation journey.</p>
    </div>

    <div class="session">
        <div class="time">3:00 PM – 4:00 PM</div>
        <strong>Q&A with Speakers</strong>
        <p>Ask questions and get insights from all our speakers.</p>
    </div>

    <div style="margin-top: 30px; padding-top: 20px; border-top: 2px solid #e2e8f0; text-align: center; color: #64748b;">
        <p><strong>Questions?</strong> Contact us at events@example.com</p>
    </div>
</body>
</html>
`;

// Encode to Base64
const html = Buffer.from(htmlContent).toString('base64');

output = { html };

Why Code by Zapier?

HTML must be Base64-encoded before sending to PDFBolt. Code by Zapier handles this encoding using Buffer.from(html).toString('base64').

Step 3: Add Webhooks by Zapier: Custom Request.

Configure the Data field:

{
  "html": "{{2. Html}}",
  "format": "A4",
  "printBackground": true,
  "margin": {
    "top": "30px",
    "bottom": "30px",
    "right": "30px",
    "left": "30px"
  }
}

Dynamic Values

• Click the + icon in the Data field and select 2. Html from the Code step output.
• This passes the Base64-encoded HTML to PDFBolt.

HTML Zap Example

Complete Zap:

1. Typeform: New Entry – Registration form submitted.
2. Code by Zapier: Run JavaScript – Add and encode HTML.
3. Webhooks by Zapier: Custom Request – Generate PDF program.
4. Gmail: Send Email – Send confirmation with PDF to attendee.

PDF Customization

Adjust PDF formatting by modifying parameters in the Webhooks Data field. See Conversion Parameters for all available options like page size, orientation, and margins.

Source 3: URL

Convert public web pages into PDF documents – perfect for saving online materials, dashboard snapshots, or creating report archives.

How It Works

1. Provide the target webpage URL.
2. PDFBolt retrieves and renders the page.
3. Returns a PDF.

Example: Daily Dashboard Report

Real-world scenario: Your team tracks metrics on a web-based analytics dashboard. Every weekday morning, automatically capture the dashboard as PDF and share it on Slack so the team stays informed.

Step 1: Set up Schedule by Zapier trigger.

Configure to run every weekday at 8:00 AM.

Step 2: Add Webhooks by Zapier: Custom Request.

Configure the Data field:

{
  "url": "https://analytics.yourcompany.com/dashboard",
  "format": "A4",
  "landscape": true,
  "printBackground": true,
  "waitUntil": "networkidle",
  "margin": {
    "top": "20px",
    "right": "20px",
    "bottom": "20px",
    "left": "20px"
  }
}

Dynamic URLs

For pages requiring variable URLs, construct the URL in previous Zap steps. Reference it using {{Step Number. Field Name}} in the Data field.

Page Loading

waitUntil: "networkidle" ensures all dashboard charts, data, and dynamic content finish loading before PDF capture – essential for accurate snapshots.

URL Zap Example

Complete Zap:

1. Schedule by Zapier – Every weekday at 8:00 AM.
2. Webhooks by Zapier: Custom Request – Capture dashboard as PDF.
3. Slack: Send Channel Message – Share report with team channel.
4. Google Drive: Upload File – Archive in Reports folder.

Additional Resources

PDFBolt Documentation

• Templates Management Guide – Detailed creation and management instructions.
• Templates Docs – Templates overview, benefits, and use cases.
• API Endpoints – Complete endpoint reference.
• Conversion Parameters – Full parameter documentation.
• Error Handling – Troubleshooting and error codes.

Zapier Resources

• Zapier Guides
• Zapier Help Center
• Zapier Community