Generate PDF from Airtable records: an extension, a script or an automation tool

Generate PDF from Airtable: the three ways

To generate a PDF for each record in an Airtable base, add a PDF extension to the base, run a script from a button or an automation, or send the record to a template API through Zapier or Make. This page is for someone whose invoices, reports, certificates or labels live as records in a base.

Airtable has a route of its own. Its Page designer extension, listed for all paid plans, lays out a page from a record, and Print saves it as a PDF through the print dialog. Airtable recommends Interface Designer instead, and says attaching a Page designer PDF to the base from an automation is not supported.

If one printed record on a paid plan is all you need, no other tool is required. The extension steps further down are the ones CraftMyPDF documents for its own Airtable extension.

What you need before you start

You need an Airtable attachment field for the finished PDFs. Airtable lists attachment fields on all plan types, and its Free plan caps attachment storage at 1 GB per base. You also need your CraftMyPDF API key and a template whose fields match your record. A template is the reusable layout you design in the editor, and generate PDF from template covers the model.

Sample JSON from one record goes into the Data tab of the template editor, the place where sample data lives so the record's fields can be dragged into the layout.

Steps with an extension added to the base

CraftMyPDF documents this route for its Airtable extension.

1. In Airtable, click Tools, then Extensions, then Add an extension. This opens the Airtable Marketplace, where you add the CraftMyPDF extension.
2. Paste your CraftMyPDF API key into the extension's API key field and click Save.
3. Click Generate Sample JSON Data, select an Airtable record, and click Generate Sample Data.
4. In the template editor, open the Data tab and replace the sample data with the JSON you copied. Then drag the fields into the design.
5. Select the records you want in a view and click Generate. The PDFs are saved back into the attachment field you chose.

CraftMyPDF publishes an Airtable extension that generates a PDF from each selected record and saves it into an attachment field; the CraftMyPDF review covers its plans and limits.

When a script or an automation tool is the better way

Airtable's Scripting extension, listed for all paid plans, is a code editor where you write the script in JavaScript. CraftMyPDF points to it for a custom button field and custom logic, and a button field can run a script on any plan.

A script can also run from an Airtable automation. The Run a script action works in the background, allows 50 fetch requests and 30 selectRecords queries, and ends a fetch after 30 seconds. CraftMyPDF lists a 100 second timeout on its main endpoint, and neither page says whether your document fits.

Zapier or Make suits a PDF that must be created when a record changes. CraftMyPDF's Make guide names an Airtable change as an example trigger, and Zapier's listing for CraftMyPDF.com offers a Zap template for new Airtable records. Both are listed on every CraftMyPDF plan, and Zapier generate PDF has the steps.

Airtable and CraftMyPDF limits that affect the result

• CraftMyPDF counts one credit per PDF whatever its page count, and its Free plan covers 50 PDFs or images a month with the REST API, Zapier and Make.com listed.
• Airtable lists extensions as a paid-plan feature and disables installed extensions on a downgrade to Free. CraftMyPDF does not say which Airtable plan its extension needs.
• A stored PDF link from the CraftMyPDF API expires after 5 minutes by default, so a script or Zap should keep the file in the attachment field.
• Documint lists Airtable Automation and an Airtable integration on its pricing page; the Documint alternative page prices five other document APIs.