Google Forms

DocsAutomator reads your Google Form responses directly. You do not need a linked response spreadsheet, an add-on, or Apps Script. Paste a form link, map your questions to a template, and every new response becomes a document.

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Key Features

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Step-by-Step Setup

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Direct Read vs. Linked Sheet

The Google Forms source has two read surfaces:

• Form responses (direct) — the default. DocsAutomator reads responses through the Google Forms API. No spreadsheet is involved.
• Linked spreadsheet — available only when your form already has a linked response sheet. DocsAutomator then behaves like the Google Sheets integration, reading rows from that sheet.

Choose the linked sheet when you need what only a spreadsheet gives you:

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Question Mapping

Placeholders are bound to the question itself, not to its text.

• Rewording a question does not break mappings. Change “Full name” to “Your full name” and the mapping stays intact. On a linked sheet, the same change silently breaks the column mapping — this is the main reliability win of the direct read.
• Deleting a question leaves its mappings without a source. The mapping panel shows the last known question title so you can re-map.
• Response fields are available in addition to your questions: the respondent’s email address (see below), the submission time, and the response ID.

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Grids

A grid question (multiple-choice grid or checkbox grid) is one visual question with several rows. Each grid row maps separately: the picker lists them as “Grid title → Row label”, and each row gets its own placeholder.

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File Uploads

File-upload answers work with dynamic images: an uploaded image can be placed straight into the generated document. Non-image files render as their file names.

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Checkboxes

A checkbox question can carry several answers. They render comma-separated in your document.

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Automatic Generation

Enable auto-create and DocsAutomator checks your form for new responses every few minutes. Each new response is queued and turned into a document. The same automatic safety shutoff as for Google Sheets applies: after repeated polling or generation failures, auto-create is disabled and the workspace owner is notified by email. Fix the issue and re-enable it.

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Email the Respondent

When your form collects email addresses, the respondent’s email is available as a response field. Use it in the Send Email action to deliver each respondent their own document — no extra “What is your email?” question and no mapping gymnastics.

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E-Signatures

Documents generated from form responses can be routed for e-signing automatically. The respondent receives an email with a signing link for their document; the signer defaults to the respondent’s email address from the form, so a consent form or waiver needs no signer configuration at all. To enable it, open your automation’s output settings and toggle on the e-signature option. Add e-signature placeholders such as {{esign.signature.1}} and {{esign.date.1}} to your template to control where signatures appear.

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Troubleshooting

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The respondent email field is empty

Your form does not collect email addresses. In Google Forms, open Settings → Responses → Collect email addresses and pick a collection mode. Responses submitted before you enable collection have no email — Google does not add it retroactively.

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Old responses did not generate documents

Auto-create only processes responses that arrive after you enable it. This is by design, so enabling the trigger on a form with hundreds of past responses does not generate hundreds of unexpected documents. Generate documents for existing responses manually from the automation.

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Next Steps