Tip of the fortnight 2 - Acknowledge customers with a PDF copy of their submitted form

Tip of the fortnight 2 - Acknowledge customers with a PDF copy of their submitted form

Hello fellow form builders, 

I believe the previous tip gave you insights on the different ways of form redirection. Today I've come up with a tip that aims to help your respondents be aware of the data they enter! 

Have you come across a circumstance where you need to give away the form along with the entire response and the answer choices being entered? Well, rather than consuming time to send the raw form submission through manual emails, you can do it in a much simpler way. Yes! The form submissions can be delivered in an organised way, as a PDF. 



Unlike a copy of the form responses that gets submitted in the form, the PDF of the form submission is a copy of the entire form along with the answer choices and the responses that gets filled in. Regardless of the type of business forms you create, you can set up the PDF's page properties to complement it. 


Let's get started with the PDF customization. First things first; Build your form, and finish designing it. Whatsoever theme you've applied for your form will be reflected in the PDF as well. Now, in your form's Settings >> PDF Settings , click Customize and start customizing your PDF. 

Choose a Relevant Title

Inside the PDF editor, start-off by personalizing the name of the PDF. Enter a name or set a custom name by including the field responses that fall in your form. If you need to label the PDF explicitly, add the Unique ID field to it (the field must be added prior in the form).

Customize Appearances

Under the Page setting, quickly pick out from Portrait or Landscape orientation based on how you want to display the page.

Depending on the nature of the form, say for an Order Invoice , Course Application Form , or a Sales Contract , choose the size of the page accordingly. Altering this, maintains the proportions of the entire form by correspondingly scaling the contents. Next up, choose the Margin from the pre-defined values, or set up the page with no margins (choose "0" from the dropdown).



Another significant option is the Exclude Empty Fields . Whenever the respondent has not filled any fields in your form, instead of showing those fields empty, you can delete them from displaying inside the PDF. This sure helps you to generate a sophisticated PDF.


Reveal the unique ID

Another useful field you can add to your PDF is the Include Unique ID field. For example, you've created a Membership Application   Form , and have added a unique ID field (get to know more about Unique ID in this post ) that generates the Applicant Number. When the customers fill out the form, the generated unique ID will not be displayed. However, the Unique ID will be displayed in the PDF when you download it. This ensures your respondents are familiarized with their Applicant Number. Once you are done with fine-tuning your PDF, hit Save .


There are two super-quick ways you can let your customers find and download the PDF. One is that, you can give the PDF's link in the Thank You  Page that gets displayed after the submission. For this, permit to display the link under the PDF Settings. Or, attach the PDF in an email and automate the emails (we will discuss on automating emails in our upcoming series).


And, that's a wrap! Put your forms out there and watch the PDFs generated for every submission. Comment your thoughts below - we'd love to hear from you.

Until next fortnight, 
Prasana.



    Access your files securely from anywhere







                        Zoho Developer Community





                                              Use cases

                                              Make the most of Zoho Desk with the use cases.

                                               
                                                

                                              eBooks

                                              Download free eBooks and access a range of topics to get deeper insight on successfully using Zoho Desk.

                                               
                                                

                                              Videos

                                              Watch comprehensive videos on features and other important topics that will help you master Zoho Desk.

                                               
                                                

                                              Webinar

                                              Sign up for our webinars and learn the Zoho Desk basics, from customization to automation and more

                                               
                                                
                                              • Desk Community Learning Series


                                              • Meetups


                                              • Ask the Experts


                                              • Kbase


                                              • Resources


                                              • Glossary


                                              • Desk Marketplace


                                              • MVP Corner


                                                        • Sticky Posts

                                                        • Tip #10: Automatically add tags to Zoho CRM records using form responses

                                                          You may be using tags to filter records, create reports based on specific tags, or let your sales team to know which clients to give priority to. Don't skip tagging for the crm records added via forms. The tags can be set to be automatically captured during the form submission. How it works When you set up a configuration to push form entries into CRM, you can add a tag to them automatically. The tag value can vary based on the respondent's input (captured using form fields), or you can include a
                                                        • Tip #2: Prefill forms automatically with existing Zoho CRM data

                                                          How to automatically prefill a form with existing Zoho CRM data? Prefilled forms can be useful when you want your prospects to view and confirm their data, and in a wide range of other situations. In Zoho Forms, we prefill the fields with the values from Zoho CRM using the Zoho CRM field. What is a Zoho CRM field? A Zoho CRM field acts as a two-way communication channel, by sending data to Zoho CRM from forms and fetching information from CRM into Forms. The field will look up data from your CRM
                                                        • Tip #8: Pass Adwords data (GCLID) and UTM parameters to Zoho CRM using forms

                                                          When you are using forms to capture leads, you may wonder: " How did they find me? Which marketing campaign worked best?"  You can answer this question by capturing the Google Adwords data (GCLID) or the UTM parameter details in your CRM using forms. This can be a great way to gauge the effectiveness of your campaigns and identify the most effective ways to capture leads.  Capturing GCLID parameters How it works If a person finds your form by clicking an ad, a GCLID gets created. When they fill out
                                                        • ZUG (Zoho User Group) In-person Meetups - Maximize Data Efficiency with Zoho Forms & Beyond

                                                          Hello Zoho Community, Join us for our upcoming meetups in ANZ, where we'll dive into seamless data handling and maximizing efficiency through Zoho Forms and beyond. Explore the potential of Zoho Forms customization and integration, from mastering the
                                                        • Tip #9: Modify deal properties in Zoho CRM using form responses

                                                          How to modify deal properties of Zoho CRM records using form responses? Deal properties in Zoho CRM records are constantly modified based on the status of the deal. You can automatically modify deal properties (like the deal closing date, or deal name) and even update the deal stage, using form inputs. This can drastically reduce the work your team would otherwise do to search and change individual record details manually. How it works This works by integrating the form with the Deals module of Zoho


                                                        Manage your brands on social media



                                                              Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                  Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                    Zoho Books Resources


                                                                      Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                        Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                          Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                            Qntrl Resources


                                                                              Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                  Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                  • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                    CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                  • Kaizen

                                                                                    Kaizen

                                                                                  • Functions

                                                                                    Functions

                                                                                  • Meetups

                                                                                    Meetups

                                                                                  • Kbase

                                                                                    Kbase

                                                                                  • Resources

                                                                                    Resources

                                                                                  • Digest

                                                                                    Digest

                                                                                  • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                    CRM Marketplace

                                                                                  • MVP Corner

                                                                                    MVP Corner







                                                                                      Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                      Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                      Get Started Now


                                                                                        Zoho Show Resources


                                                                                          Zoho Writer Writer

                                                                                          Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                          Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                            Zoho CRM コンテンツ






                                                                                              Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                  ご検討中の方




                                                                                                        • Recent Topics

                                                                                                        • Weekly Tips : Take Control of Your Sent Emails using Outbox Delay

                                                                                                          Ever clicked “Send” on an email, then instantly realized you forgot something—like a file, an attachment, or even made a small typo? It happens more often than you'd think. Wouldn’t it be helpful if your email waited a little before actually going out?
                                                                                                        • Format of data after export to spreadsheet

                                                                                                          Dear Zoho, can you explain to me what is the point of a report exporting to XLSX if the format of the amounts that will be created there is in text format and not suitable for anything? Why do I need data in a sheet with which nothing more can be do
                                                                                                        • Mapping a custom preferred date field in the estimate with the native field in the workorder

                                                                                                          Hi Zoho, I created a field in the estimate : "Preferred Date 1", to give the ability to my support agent to add a preferred date while viewing the client's estimate. However, in the conversion mapping (Estimate to Workorder), I'm unable to map my custom
                                                                                                        • Quoting Subscriptions with one Time costs

                                                                                                          Hello all, We sell a subscription SaaS service for which we provide one-time services for implementation and customization. Using CRM quotes i was able to create customized total fields to show the total one-time costs, monthly cost, total subscription
                                                                                                        • Add the ability to view number of hours planned for a workorder while in the Dispatch Console

                                                                                                          Hi Zoho, When dispatching a work order through the Dispatch Console, there's currently no way to view the number of planned hours for the service tasks associated with that specific work order. Having to click into the details each time to check planned
                                                                                                        • Customer Payment

                                                                                                          Seprate voucher required for cash and bank .You can not authorized any one to enter cash payment .In statement clearly shown is it bank receipt or cash recipt .
                                                                                                        • how to add previous month purchase bill and claim ITC

                                                                                                          Hello we have a unclaimed ITC bill of April (we didn't claim it in may as seller didn't uploaded his gstr1 ) when we trying to file gstr 3b in june month we noticed the bill has been uploaded (april bill) .how to change the filing month of that april
                                                                                                        • Deluge security enhancements

                                                                                                          Hello everyone, At Deluge, security is a top priority, and we're continuously working to enhance the platform's safety and reliability. As part of our ongoing commitment to secure coding and industry best practices, we're rolling out key updates to how
                                                                                                        • Sync desktop folders instantly with WorkDrive TrueSync (Beta)

                                                                                                          Keeping your important files backed up and accessible has never been easier! With WorkDrive desktop app (TrueSync), you can now automatically sync specific desktop folders to WorkDrive Web, ensuring seamless, real-time updates across devices. Important:
                                                                                                        • Outlook 2013 Calendar Syncs but "Related To" Field in Zoho is blank

                                                                                                          Outlook 2013 Calendar Syncs but Related To Field in Zoho is blank I expect the "Realted To" field to be populated with the calendar participants
                                                                                                        • How do I set users up to only send emails using org emails?

                                                                                                          We run marketing campaigns for multiple clients and strictly send emails using the official organization addresses provided by each client. However, we've encountered several instances where users unintentionally send emails from their own company accounts—a
                                                                                                        • Empowered Custom Views: Cross-Module Criteria Now Supported in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                          Hello everyone, We’re excited to introduce cross-module criteria support in custom views! Custom views provide personalized perspectives on your data and that you can save for future use. You can share these views with all users or specific individuals
                                                                                                        • open multiple notes at a time.

                                                                                                          Hey there, New to Notebook and liking it, but one thing that's really a bother is not being able to open more than one note at a time, either in a new window or in a new tab. Often times, I like to copy/paste from one note to another or compare drafts
                                                                                                        • Let’s Talk Recruit: Forms that think before you do!

                                                                                                          Welcome back to our Let's Talk Recruit series. In our previous post, we shared highlights from our community meetups held across India. This time, we’re talking about something that often gets overlooked but makes a huge difference once you set it up
                                                                                                        • Zoho Reports Not Grouping from Subforms

                                                                                                          I have created reports from a subform. We have a budget from a standard field, and the bills added to a subform. I've summarised the bills in a field. In edit mode, the bills are joined per supplier, which is what we want. But then it converts and separates/duplicates
                                                                                                        • PEPPOL Support Needed for Zoho Books in Europe

                                                                                                          I'm reaching out to discuss the urgent need for PEPPOL support in Zoho Books for European users. With Belgium mandating B2B e-invoicing via PEPPOL starting in 2026, many of us are struggling to manage invoices without this integration. While Zoho Books
                                                                                                        • Allow Equity Accounts to be Used for Expenses

                                                                                                          Currently, when entering an Expense or Bill, the Expense Account (account to be debited) allows for accounts in any of these categories to be chosen: COGS Expense Other Current Liability Fixed Asset Other Current Asset Noticeably missing are Equity Accounts.
                                                                                                        • メール一括配信の未送信のメールについて知りたい

                                                                                                          メール一括配信の後の、未送信のメールの数は添付のようにシステムから連絡がくるのですが それらの対象者を知りたい。レポートなど一覧で知りたい。 また配信対象者なのに(担当者、リード)の メールの履歴に配信したメールの件名でさえ表示されないのはどう理解したらよいのか知りたいです。 また、これらの人をレポートで一覧で出す方法を教えてください。把握したいためです。
                                                                                                        • How do I add the time zone for the each recipient/subscriber

                                                                                                          Hi, I've read that Zoho allows for emails to be sent at a certain time based on the recipient's time zone. How do I add the time zone for the each recipient/subscriber? Thanks!
                                                                                                        • Zoho Projects - Q2 Updates | 2025

                                                                                                          Hello Users, With this year's second quarter behind us, Zoho Projects is marching towards expanding its usability with a user-centered, more collaborative, customizable, and automated attribute. But before we chart out plans for what’s next, it’s worth
                                                                                                        • low quality videos

                                                                                                          when in puplish videos or reel in social media platforms it pulished in low quality
                                                                                                        • Find and Merge Duplicates to trigger webhook

                                                                                                          My sales team uses the Find and Merge Duplicates feature often to cleanup records in the CRM. We use webhooks to signal to our internal tools database when new Contacts are created, updated, or deleted, in order to keep our DB in sync with Zoho CRM. However,
                                                                                                        • [Important announcement] Zoho Writer will mandate DKIM configuration for automation users

                                                                                                          Hi all, Effective Dec. 31, 2024, configuring DKIM for From addresses will be mandatory to send emails via Zoho Writer. DKIM configuration allows recipient email servers to identify your emails as valid and not spam. Emails sent from domains without DKIM
                                                                                                        • Marketer’s Space: Using Zoho CRM Data for Dynamic Content and Personalization in Zoho Campaigns

                                                                                                          Hello Marketers! Welcome back to Marketer’s Space. Do you want to send emails or SMS that feel less like mass messages and more like one-on-one conversations? By integrating Zoho CRM with Zoho Campaigns, you can pull in rich customer data and use it to
                                                                                                        • Change start time after starting the timer

                                                                                                          Hello Projects Community, an amazing feature would be to change the start time of a running timer. I know this from some other time tracking softwares. Any idea about this? Best wishes Niels
                                                                                                        • I can't found API for Sales Receipts

                                                                                                          Hello May you please help me to find an API document for Sales Receipts to get data and retrive a custom fields like Invoice and credit notes Regards
                                                                                                        • Delete my store of Zoho commerce

                                                                                                          Hi Team, I want to delete my stores of commerce. Please help me asap. Looking for the positive response soon. Thanks Shubham Chauhan Mob: +91-9761872650
                                                                                                        • Add Attendees to Session months before the Event

                                                                                                          I need to manually add Attendees to Sessions right away for an event that's taking place in 6 months so that the Speaker can communicate with them in advance of the event. How can this be done?
                                                                                                        • Extensions 101 webinar series: Build, integrate, and monetize with extensions

                                                                                                          Attention developers! Are you ready to take your extension development skills to the next level? We're excited to bring back the Extensions 101 webinar series with an expanded lineup of Zoho products and an introduction to more platform features. Last
                                                                                                        • Override Auto Number field?

                                                                                                          We are preparing to migrate from Salesforce. In Salesforce, we auto-generate a unique number on our Opportunities (Potentials). If the Opportunity results in a contract, we use that unique number as the Contract number. There are some situations where
                                                                                                        • Zoho Books | Product updates | July 2025

                                                                                                          Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From plan-based trials to the option to mark PDF templates as inactive, explore the updates designed to enhance your bookkeeping experience. Introducing Plan Based Trials in Zoho
                                                                                                        • Zoho Recruit > Email Templates

                                                                                                          Dear All Background: We are using Zoho Recruit for the 4 business units under our group of company it our posting our of Job it will be done via our internal recruiter. In the Email templates, i want to be able to insert the individual business unit,
                                                                                                        • Unapproved Leaves are hard to distinguish in Attendance View

                                                                                                          This is a an unapproved leave request It appears in the Attendance view without any visual indicator if its approved or not For a whole day request this might be manageable but for hourly requests it gets very hard to know which are approved, which are
                                                                                                        • Client Script Quality of Life Improvements #1

                                                                                                          Since I'm doing quite a bit of client scripting, I wanted to advise the Zoho Dev teams about some items I have found in client script that could be improved upon. A lot of these are minor, but I feel are important none-the-less. Show Error on Subform
                                                                                                        • Communicating with emojis

                                                                                                          On July 17, we celebrate World Emoji Day! We're a bit late 😐 sharing insights about this day. But we just couldn't let it pass without a mention 😊 because emojis have a meaningful connection with customer service 💬 🤝. We do not want to miss out on
                                                                                                        • GA4 data

                                                                                                          Hi, I have data being pulled from GA4 into numerous tables. There are a few major errors in the source data. Eg for a period of time GA4 reported ecommerce sales that were $98 as $9,800 and $42 as $4,200. It's not happening now but my historical data
                                                                                                        • 5名限定 課題解決型ワークショップイベント Zoho ワークアウト開催のお知らせ(7/24)

                                                                                                          ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。Zoho ユーザーコミュニティチームの藤澤です。 7月開催のZoho ワークアウトについてお知らせします。 2ヶ月ぶりに、渋谷にて「リアル開催」します! ▷▷詳細はこちら:https://www.zohomeetups.com/20250724Zoho ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Zoho ワークアウトとは? Zoho ユーザー同士で交流しながら、サービスに関する疑問や不明点の解消を目的とした「Zoho ワークアウト」を開催します。 Zoho サービスで完了させたい設定やカスタマイズ、環境の整備など……各自で決めた目標達成に向け、
                                                                                                        • Switching hosts while meeting is occuring

                                                                                                          We had a team meeting in Zoho Meetings this morning, but the person listed as the host had to leave the meeting early. We looked for an option to set me to host, but didn't see the option, and we incorrectly assumed that it would be like Zoom in that
                                                                                                        • Introducing Assemblies and Kits in Zoho Inventory

                                                                                                          Hello customers, We’re excited to share a major revamp to Zoho Inventory that brings both clarity and flexibility to your inventory management experience! Presenting Assemblies and Kits We’re thrilled to introduce Assemblies and Kits, which replaces the
                                                                                                        • Refund Form Can’t Reverse “Bank Charges” Line — Throws Off Reconciliation

                                                                                                          Zoho, When we pay a vendor, the Payment screen lets us add a “Bank Charges” amount (we post a $1 processing fee there). Perfect. But on the Refund popup there’s no matching field, so the refund can only return the net expense. If our processor sends back
                                                                                                        • Next Page