Zapier Integration
Zapier lets you connect cloudlayer.io with thousands of apps so you can automate document generation without writing any code. Create PDFs, images, invoices, certificates, and more — triggered by events in the tools you already use.
Visit the cloudlayer.io Zapier integration page to get started.
What You Can Do
With the cloudlayer.io Zapier integration, you can:
- Generate PDFs automatically when a new row is added to a spreadsheet
- Create invoices when a Stripe payment is received
- Produce certificates when a student completes a course
- Convert web pages to PDF on a schedule or triggered by an event
- Send generated documents via email, Slack, or store them in Google Drive, Dropbox, or S3
Available Actions
The cloudlayer.io Zapier integration provides the following actions:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| URL to PDF | Convert a publicly accessible URL to a PDF document |
| URL to Image | Capture a screenshot of a URL as a PNG, JPEG, or WebP |
| HTML to PDF | Convert HTML content to a PDF document |
| HTML to Image | Convert HTML content to an image |
| Template to PDF | Generate a PDF from a predefined or custom template |
| Template to Image | Generate an image from a predefined or custom template |
Common Workflows
Google Sheets to Invoice PDF
Automatically generate a PDF invoice whenever a new row is added to a Google Sheet.
Trigger: New Spreadsheet Row in Google Sheets Action: Template to PDF in cloudlayer.io
- A new row is added to your “Orders” spreadsheet
- Zapier maps the spreadsheet columns (customer name, items, amounts) to the invoice template data fields
- cloudlayer.io generates a professional PDF invoice
- Optionally, a follow-up step emails the PDF to the customer via Gmail or SendGrid
Stripe Payment to Invoice
Generate and deliver an invoice PDF when a Stripe payment succeeds.
Trigger: New Payment in Stripe Action: Template to PDF in cloudlayer.io
- A payment is completed in Stripe
- Zapier extracts the payment details (amount, customer info, description)
- cloudlayer.io generates an invoice PDF using your branded template
- The invoice is stored in Google Drive and/or emailed to the customer
Form Submission to Certificate
Create a certificate of completion when someone submits a form.
Trigger: New Form Submission in Typeform / Google Forms / JotForm Action: Template to PDF in cloudlayer.io
- A student submits a course completion form
- Zapier maps the form fields (name, course, date) to the certificate template
- cloudlayer.io generates a personalized certificate PDF
- The certificate is emailed to the student and saved to Dropbox
Scheduled Website Archival
Capture a website as a PDF on a recurring schedule.
Trigger: Schedule by Zapier (daily, weekly, etc.) Action: URL to PDF in cloudlayer.io
- Zapier triggers on your chosen schedule
- cloudlayer.io converts the target URL to PDF
- The PDF is stored in Google Drive or S3 for archival
Setup Guide
Step 1: Create a Zapier Account
If you do not have one already, sign up at zapier.com.
Step 2: Get Your cloudlayer.io API Key
- Log in to your cloudlayer.io dashboard.
- Navigate to Settings > API Keys.
- Copy your API key. If you do not have one, create a new key.
Step 3: Create a New Zap
- In Zapier, click Create Zap (or Make a Zap).
- Choose your trigger app — this is the app that starts the workflow (e.g., Google Sheets, Stripe, Typeform).
- Configure the trigger event and connect your account.
- Test the trigger to make sure Zapier can pull in sample data.
Step 4: Add the cloudlayer.io Action
- For the action step, search for cloudlayer.io.
- Choose the action you want (e.g., Template to PDF, URL to PDF).
- Connect your cloudlayer.io account by entering your API key when prompted.
- Configure the action fields:
- For Template to PDF/Image: Select or enter your
templateId, then map data fields from your trigger to the template’s data properties. - For URL to PDF/Image: Map the URL field from your trigger, or enter a static URL.
- For HTML to PDF/Image: Provide the HTML content (Zapier will handle the base64 encoding).
- For Template to PDF/Image: Select or enter your
Step 5: Test and Activate
- Click Test to run the Zap with sample data and verify the output.
- Review the generated document to ensure it looks correct.
- Turn on the Zap to activate it.
Mapping Data Fields
When using Template to PDF or Template to Image actions, you need to map data from your trigger to the template’s expected data fields.
Example: Mapping Google Sheets columns to an invoice template:
| Sheets Column | Template Data Field |
|---|---|
| Customer Name | bill_to_fullname |
| Customer Address | bill_to_address1 |
| Customer City | bill_to_city |
| Invoice Number | invoice_no |
| Item Description | items[0].title |
| Quantity | items[0].quantity |
| Unit Price | items[0].unit_price |
Tip: Use the sample data from the template gallery to understand what data fields each template expects.
Tips and Best Practices
- Test with sample data first before activating your Zap on live data.
- Use predefined templates from the cloudlayer.io gallery for the easiest setup — they have well-documented data schemas.
- Add a delay step if your trigger fires rapidly (e.g., batch spreadsheet imports) to avoid hitting rate limits.
- Use Zapier’s formatter step to transform data (dates, numbers, text) before sending it to cloudlayer.io.
- Add error handling with Zapier Paths to handle cases where document generation might fail (e.g., missing required fields).
- Store generated documents in cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, S3) as a follow-up step for easy access and archival.
- Use filters to only generate documents when specific conditions are met (e.g., order amount > $100).