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Find answers to common questions about DocsAutomator. If your question is not listed below, reach out via in-app chat or email us at support@docsautomator.co.

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Getting Started

You can connect these data sources directly in an automation:
  • Airtable: OAuth connection with field mapping, linked tables, and nested line items
  • Google Sheets: automatic creation from new rows, manual trigger, and batch generation
  • Google Forms: a document for each new form response
  • Notion: OAuth connection with database mapping, page body as Markdown, and line items from Relations (including nested line items up to 3 levels)
  • SmartSuite: OAuth connection with solution and table mapping
  • ClickUp: OAuth connection with task automation
You can also start document generation from these tools:
  • Zapier: the DocsAutomator app with its Create Document action
  • Make: the DocsAutomator app with its Create Document module
  • n8n: the DocsAutomator community node
  • Glide, Noloco and Softr: no-code integrations
  • MCP: connect an AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT to the DocsAutomator MCP server
  • API: the DocsAutomator API for any custom application
In the app, the DocsAutomator AI Agent can set up an automation for you from a plain-language description.
DocsAutomator always generates a PDF. For the PDF you can:
  • Save it in Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox
  • Attach it to an email (not while signing is on for the automation)
  • Write it back to your data source: an Airtable, Notion, SmartSuite or ClickUp file field, or its link in an Airtable or Notion field or a Google Sheets column
  • File it in a folder on your Documents page
  • Merge existing PDFs into it, or notify a webhook
  • Use the PDF URL returned in the API response
With a Word (.docx) template, you can also keep the generated Word file with the Save Word document action. It is downloadable from the run history, and you can save it in Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox, or upload it to an Airtable, Notion or SmartSuite file field. You can attach the Word file to an email even if you do not keep it.With a Google Doc template, the Save Google Doc action saves an editable Google Doc in a Google Drive folder, and can write its link to your data source.See Actions after Document Generation for every option.
  1. Create an account at app.docsautomator.co (sign up with Google, Microsoft, or email)
  2. Create a new automation and add a template: a Google Doc, a Word (.docx) file, or a PDF
  3. Open the Data / Placeholders panel and connect your data source
  4. Map your data fields to template placeholders
  5. Generate a preview to verify your document
See the Quickstart Guide for a detailed walkthrough.
No. Testing is free and unlimited, and you need no credit card to sign up. Test documents carry a watermark and do not count against a plan. To generate live documents without a watermark, you need a paid plan: Professional, Business or Scale. See docsautomator.co/pricing.

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Templates

DocsAutomator supports three template formats:
  • Google Docs: pick a Google Doc from your Google Drive
  • Word (.docx): upload a Word file
  • PDF: upload an existing PDF and place data fields on top of it in the visual editor
In Google Docs and Word templates, you add placeholders with double curly brackets ({{placeholder}}). DocsAutomator replaces them with your data for each document. The DocsAutomator AI Agent can also design a new Word template for you. See Templates Overview to choose a format.
Yes. You can use any Google Doc as a template. Add placeholders ({{fieldName}}) where you want data inserted, then pick the Google Doc from your Google Drive when you add the template to the automation. You can also upload an existing Word file, or start from the Template Gallery.
DocsAutomator supports several placeholder types:See the Placeholder Syntax Reference for the full syntax.
Yes. You can use the same placeholder in multiple places within a template. You only need to map the data once. DocsAutomator replaces all occurrences automatically.

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Pricing & Limits

DocsAutomator offers three plans:Every account can test without limits in Test Mode, with no credit card. Test documents carry a watermark and do not count against a plan. You need a paid plan to set an automation to Active and generate live documents.Existing customers on legacy plans (Starter, Professional, Business, Scale, 200, 500, 2000, 5000 and Unlimited) stay on their original pricing and document allowance for as long as they wish. E-signing and acceptance are included in these plans too.Visit docsautomator.co/pricing for full details including overage rates and feature comparisons.
Overage documents are off by default. Turn on Enable Overage Documents in your workspace settings to keep generating documents above your plan’s allowance, at a price per document:You can change the setting once per billing period. If overage is off, or you reach the cap, the API returns a 402 Payment Required error with the message “You have reached your documents limit. Please upgrade your plan” and a link to the subscription page.
Exceeding a rate limit returns a 429 Too Many Requests response.

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Data Sources

DocsAutomator supports all standard field types from each data source, including text, numbers, dates, single/multi-select, attachments (for images), and linked records. Linked records in Airtable can be expanded into line items for table generation. For Google Sheets, each column maps to a placeholder.
Each automation is connected to a single data source. However, you can create multiple automations, one for each data source, and trigger them independently. If you need to combine data from multiple sources, you can use the API or an integration tool like Zapier, Make, or n8n to aggregate data before sending it to DocsAutomator.
When Auto creation is on, DocsAutomator checks your sheet every 5 minutes. It generates a document for each new row below the last row it processed, up to 50 rows per check. Use Run now to check at once. This is ideal for hands-off automation where documents should be created as soon as data is added. Google Forms automations check for new responses every minute.

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E-Signatures

DocsAutomator eSign supports four field types:Increment the signer number for multiple signers (_1, _2, _3, etc.). There is no limit on the number of signers, and numbers need not be consecutive. See Variable Number of Signers.
Yes. DocsAutomator eSign is compliant with the ESIGN Act and UETA in the United States, and eIDAS (Simple Electronic Signatures) in the European Union. Every signed document includes a Certificate of Completion with audit trail, SHA-256 document integrity hashing, and secure access tokens. See Compliance & Legal Validity for details. For documents that the recipient accepts instead of signs, see Is acceptance legally binding?.
Two signing workflows are supported:
  • Parallel signing (default): all signers receive invitations at the same time and can sign in any order
  • Sequential signing: signers receive invitations one at a time in a defined order
You set the signing order in the Signing & Acceptance panel of your automation.
E-signing and acceptance are included in every paid plan. A signed or accepted document counts as one document in your plan, the same as any other document. In Test Mode you can try both with test documents. See docsautomator.co/pricing for the plans.In the Signing & Acceptance panel of an automation, choose under How it completes:
  • Signature required: the recipient fills the signature fields from your template and clicks Complete
  • Acceptance: the recipient reads the document and clicks Accept, with no signature fields (see Acceptance)
  • No closing step: the document is generated and delivered without signing or acceptance

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Technical

By default, the POST /createDocument endpoint runs synchronously and waits up to 5 minutes for the document to be generated. In async mode (send "async": true in the request body or ?async=true), the API returns immediately with a jobId (HTTP 202) and you poll GET /job/{jobId} for the result.Use async mode when:
  • Your calling platform has execution time limits (e.g., Airtable’s 120-second limit)
  • You are generating complex or large documents
  • You want non-blocking document generation in your application
Most documents generate in 5-30 seconds. Complex documents with many line items, images, or large templates may take longer. When using async mode, poll with exponential backoff starting at 2 seconds.
Yes, for Google Doc, Word and PDF templates. For Google Docs, pass a docTemplateLink parameter in your createDocument request with either a full Google Docs URL or a document ID. The override template must be accessible by your connected Google account.For Word templates, pass wordTemplateLink with an https link to a .docx file, or wordTemplateBase64 with the file itself encoded as base64. The document uses that file, and all other settings come from the automation you call. The file is used for this request only and is not saved as a template.For PDF templates, pass pdfTemplateLink with an https link to a PDF, or pdfTemplateBase64 with the PDF itself encoded as base64. The automation’s saved fields are placed on that PDF at their saved positions, so the PDF needs every page that holds a field. The PDF is used for this request only and is not saved as a template.docTemplateLink only applies to Google Doc templates; Word and PDF automations ignore it.
PDF and Word files are stored in our file storage (Cloudflare R2, EU). By default, they are kept until you delete them. You can set each automation to delete them automatically after about 5 minutes, 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, 30 days, 3 months, 6 months or 1 year. For eSign-enabled automations, PDFs are automatically set to never expire. See PDF Expiration / Storage for details.

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Troubleshooting

Google OAuth tokens can expire or become invalid. Common causes:
  • Token expired: Google refresh tokens may become invalid after extended inactivity. Reconnect your Google account in the DocsAutomator app under Settings > Integrations > Google Permissions.
  • Insufficient permissions: ensure the connected Google account has access to the template and destination folder.
  • Shared Drive templates: you need Manager (Organizer) level permissions on the Shared Drive. See Google Shared Drive Permissions.
Images must be publicly accessible via URL. Common causes for missing images:
  • The image URL requires authentication or is behind a firewall
  • The URL has expired (e.g., temporary Airtable attachment URLs)
  • The image format is not supported (supported: JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, SVG, TIFF, AVIF and HEIC; for a PDF, EPS or AI file, the first page is used)
See Dynamic Images for details and best practices.
Generation time depends on document complexity. Factors that increase generation time:
  • Large number of line items or nested line items
  • Multiple high-resolution images
  • Complex template with many placeholders
  • Google API rate limits during high-traffic periods
If generation consistently exceeds expectations, enable async mode to avoid timeouts.
If a placeholder appears as raw text in the generated document:
  • Verify the placeholder name matches exactly (case-sensitive) between your template and data mapping
  • Check that curly brackets are not formatted differently (e.g., smart/curly quotes instead of straight brackets)
  • Re-type the placeholder directly in your template rather than copy-pasting, which can introduce hidden formatting
  • Ensure the data field is mapped and has a value in the source record

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Need More Help?

In-App Chat

Use the chat feature in your DocsAutomator dashboard for quick support

Email Support

Contact support@docsautomator.co (response within 24 hours)

Video Tutorials

Watch tutorials on the DocsAutomator YouTube channel

Book a Call

Schedule a personal walkthrough with the team
Last modified on October 12, 2026