Tip of the fortnight 3 - Create merged documents with form responses

Tip of the fortnight 3 - Create merged documents with form responses

Hello fellow form builders,

It's another fortnight, and I am back with an exciting new tip. In the previous post, we discussed how to deliver the PDFs of the submitted form  to your customers. To continue with this process, let's take a look at how to create dynamic documents with the responses that fall in your form.

Sending Order Receipts upon successful purchases, Interview Call Letters to chosen candidates, Invoices for your customers, Certificates on course completion, etc, is crucial for your business. Instead of the default process of manually entering in form data into an external document and dealing with the chaos of paper documents, I'll share a useful solution!



Using this tip, you can quickly integrate your document template with the form you create, and automate them as customized documents by merging the form responses. This ensures that there is no room for manual errors during the pre-filling process. Let's take a deep dive to understand how it's done!


Leave your mark 

Whether it's an Order Invoice or a Sales Contract, the scenarios require customized solutions. To satisfy this, create custom documents using Zoho Writer or WebMerge by adding your company logo, tables, etc. and design them to reflect your business. 

Here's a preview of how a document will look inside Zoho Writer (I've illustrated an Order Invoice and an Interview Invitation here). Include your form responses inside the document by clicking the field labels under INSERT FIELDS header.  






We've learned how to construct various documents as per business needs, and now let's explore the different ways it can be sent to your customers. 

Deliver to every submitter

If you want all of your customers to receive the document (say, an Order Receipt), try setting up an automated email by configuring the customer's email as the To address and include the merged document as an attachment. This configuration delivers custom documents right away when the customers make a form submission.

Deliver to specific submitters

If you want to analyze all your received form entries and send the documents to a few of the customers (say, a Course Completion Certificate), you can follow our manual workflow. For a Zoho Writer document, configure the email set up in the Merge and Send Email tab that appears. You can check the status of the document (if it is successfully merged or sent) by routing to the Mail Merge Status column under the All Entries/ Report section. You will receive a success message like this. 




That's all there is to it! Try this out and get started with the document merge for your forms by learning the set up from our help documentation. And, it's a wrap! What are the different documents you create for your business? Comment 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

                                                                                                            • Syncing stuck for days

                                                                                                              Hello when I made an account a few days ago and synced all my notes to it, it is still syncing. My app is only 400mb so I do not know why it is taking so long. Please help
                                                                                                            • Workflow runs on every edit despite not ticking the field repeat this workflow whenever a parent is edited.....

                                                                                                              Hi, It is my understanding that this workflow should only trigger once. Why is this triggering on every edit of the field? Based on another support query - directly from Zoho, If i tick the box 'repeat this workflow whenever a parent is edited' it should
                                                                                                            • How do you add or update tags on Zoho CRM records via n8n? (Workarounds or best practices?)

                                                                                                              Hi all, I’m running into some limitations with the Zoho CRM node in n8n and was wondering how others have handled this: From what I see, the standard Zoho CRM node in n8n doesn’t allow you to add or update tags when creating or updating contacts/leads.
                                                                                                            • API PARAMETER FOR TICKET CLOSED TIME

                                                                                                              Hi, Is there a parameter for filtering tickets by closed time in zoho api, i can see closed time in the API response i get, but can't get tickets by that field while calling. Regards, Anvin Alias
                                                                                                            • Reply to email addresses wrong.

                                                                                                              I have setup my Zoho mail account using my main domain and I also have an Alias setup from a different domain. In Settings - Mail - Compose I have selected to the option "For replies, send using The same email address to which the email was sent to".
                                                                                                            • Audio/video quality issues with Zoho Meeting – Any roadmap for improvement?

                                                                                                              Hi Zoho Team, We’ve been using Zoho Meeting for both internal and external meetings, and unfortunately, the experience has been consistently poor. The video and audio quality are so unreliable that it often renders meetings ineffective—especially with
                                                                                                            • Meeting integration with Otter.ai

                                                                                                              Would love for an integration with an AI transcription service like Otter.ai to be integrated with Zoho Meeting. Thanks
                                                                                                            • Get Workflow Metadata via API

                                                                                                              Is there a way to get metadata on workflows and/or custom functions via API? I would like to automatically pull this information. I couldn't find it in the documentations, but I'm curious if there is an undocumented endpoint that could do this. Moderation
                                                                                                            • How to close/delete a free creator account?

                                                                                                              I have a free zoho creator account associated with my email address that is not being used.  I want to become a user of another paid zoho creator account but I can not associate with the paid account with the same email.  I assume if I can close or delete the free account I will be able to use the paid account. I have emailed support but no response. Suggestions?
                                                                                                            • Zoho books and zapier causes Invalid data provided

                                                                                                              I have been using zoho books with zapier for over 2 years now, everything was working fine. On September 13th my zaps stopped working. Now on step create sales invoice in zoho books i get an error: Failed to create a create_invoice_v2 in Zoho Books The
                                                                                                            • CRM report

                                                                                                              Is it possible to pull a contacts report that also includes the company industry, as well as the company name? I’m having trouble combining company and contact fields – any help is appreciated. Thank you, Sam
                                                                                                            • Early Payment Discount customize Text

                                                                                                              Hi, I’m currently using Zoho Books and am trying to customize the standard “Early Payment Discount” message that appears in the PDF invoice template. I’ve reviewed the documentation here: https://www.zoho.com/books/help/invoice/early-payment-discount.html
                                                                                                            • Enhancements to Client script?

                                                                                                              Hi Zoho CRM, I've been extensively using Client Scripts to enhance our Deal form experience, particularly for real time validations and auto updating fields based on specific logic. However, I've encountered a challenge regarding permission boundaries.
                                                                                                            • Add views to new CRM UI navigation + Unlimited Webtabs

                                                                                                              Zoho CRM is so close now to being the ultimate business application with the new UI, as soon as this one feature is added. This is probably where Zoho is headed but if it's not I want to BEG for this to be incorporated. What we need is to be able to put
                                                                                                            • E-Mail Distribution List

                                                                                                              How do I create an e-mail distribution list in Zoho Mail?
                                                                                                            • Custom "create meeting" button with more functionality than Zoho currently has?

                                                                                                              I'm looking for a little help/direction in how to do this. Even just some general high level pointers on how this might be able to be done. The current Zoho Meeting Activity functionality is not ideal for my org's workflow. I'd like to try and create
                                                                                                            • Error Code 4: Invalid value passed for JSONString

                                                                                                              Okay, I want to start by saying I know I'm a terrible scripter, so sorry if this is a dumb mistake. I just can't figure it out, even with LLM help. Here's my code: // --- Input Variables --- customer_id = salesorder.get("customer_id"); so_id = salesorder.get("salesorder_id");
                                                                                                            • Organizing contacts/members by company

                                                                                                              I work for a membership organization (representing businesses) and am trying to use Zoho CRM more effectively for managing the points of contact for our members. Currently, our members are listed in our CRM by the primary point of contact's name, but
                                                                                                            • Allow Stripe Credit Card and Stripe ACH payment methods to be enabled separately on an invoice.

                                                                                                              I need to be able to pick at the invoice level whether Stripe Credit Card and/or Stripe ACH payment methods are available. Currently, I'm not able to select from the two Stripe payment methods individually on an invoice. However, there are some larger
                                                                                                            • Unable to search in Zoho Email

                                                                                                              I've started using Zoho Email (free version) recently and realized that it doesn't have email search functionality. Am I missing anything here? I've gone through the Zoho tutorial which does show the search bar on the right top of the Zoho UI. But in
                                                                                                            • Response Time Report

                                                                                                              From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports Every organization that interacts with its customers should have an established timeframe for how soon an agent is expected to send the first response and any reply to any follow-up messages.
                                                                                                            • Problem : Auto redirect from zoho flow to zoho creator

                                                                                                              Hi there, I've been waiting for zoho team to get back on this for last couple of days. Anyone else have the problem to access zoho flow? everytime I click on zoho flow it redirects me to zoho creator. I tried incognito mode but it still direct me to zoho
                                                                                                            • Zoho - Outlook plugin

                                                                                                              Does anyone know if there is a way to modify the autofill in the Zoho plugin in outlook? When we create a contact, it enters the correct email address and name, but then pulls information from our own signature line to add phone number, address, etc.
                                                                                                            • Threaded conversations for emails sent via automation

                                                                                                              Hi Guys, I hope you are doing well. Don't you guys think we should have an option in a workflow to notify users either as a new email or the previous email thread. For example, if you have one deal in the process and there are 10 different stages during
                                                                                                            • Zoho Books - Sales Person Information

                                                                                                              Hi Team, On Invoices, Quotes, etc... I can include the Sales Person, but it only shows their name and not their email or phone number. It would be great to have place on invoice templates where we can manage what sales person information should be shows
                                                                                                            • Offline working in Zoho Creator portal

                                                                                                              Zoho's help says that offline working is only available in the Creator mobile app and not in the portal app. But I can see offline options in the portal app too and it seems to work when I test it. My portal users are often in areas where there is poor
                                                                                                            • Fetch Records using Dynamic Criteria

                                                                                                              Hi,  I have a form that builds a filter based on user input.  I need to fetch the records based on dynamic criteria.  How would I accomplish this as there is no eval function? For example: desiredRecord = Form1[dynamicCriteria];
                                                                                                            • Url filter Report date (pivot chart)

                                                                                                              Hello. Is it possible to filter the data in pivot char using parameters in the url? I'm trying but I should not doing very well. Something like: https://creator.zoho.com/.../....../#Report:MyPivotChartReport?MyDate=01-Jan-2012;31-Jun-2012;MyDate_op=58 Saludos
                                                                                                            • Sending gmail to a particular person fails because the address gets changed to "gmaill", with a second "l" typo somewhere

                                                                                                              I send to bob@gmail.com (example) and get an error sending to bob@gmaill.com, only for this one person. Note the extra "l" in the email the system tried to send to, which was not in the address I entered. Can't find a typo in the contact or anywhere else
                                                                                                            • Emoji Support in Bigin CRM

                                                                                                              We request the implementation of emoji support across Bigin CRM. This feature should allow users to seamlessly use emojis in text fields, headlines, and deals. It would enhance communication, improve the visual appeal of records, and bring more personalization
                                                                                                            • Bigin Booking Pages enhancements

                                                                                                              I would like to ask for several enhancements for the brand new (and promising) Booking feature. 1. Add "Contact/Mobile" Field to Booking form We use Mobile as key (id), but unfortunately it is missing from the Booking form, only Home Phone is available.
                                                                                                            • Amount in words in Indian format

                                                                                                              Hi, I had coded the following code to convert amount in words. But in the code in the format of US like million. But i need in Lakh and Crore. So pls suggest ideas r post corrected code string Num2Words(int val) {     val_s = input.val.toString();     th = {"", "thousand", "million", "billion", "trillion"};     // uncomment this line for English Number System     // th = {"","thousand","million", "milliard","billion"};     dg = {"zero", "one", "two", "three", "four", "five", "six", "seven", "eight",
                                                                                                            • What are people using to send Service based emails?

                                                                                                              Zoho Campaigns is for marketing. Users can unsubscribe from these emails. Service based emails need to be delivered and can without the worry of Can-spam act. What are people using to send service based emails? My mailing list is derived from a database
                                                                                                            • Standalone LMS tool

                                                                                                              Will Zoho release a standalone LMS (Learning management System) than can be used by external parties (guest)?
                                                                                                            • Announcing Kiosk 1.1 - Customize screen titles, configure new fields & actions, use values from your Kiosk to update fields, and more.

                                                                                                              Hello all We are back again with more enhancements to Kiosk. So what's new? Enhancements made to the Components Add titles for your Kiosk screens and adjust its width to suit your viewing preferences. Three new fields can be added to your screen: Percentage,
                                                                                                            • An Overview of Dario Schiraldi Deutsche Bank Executive

                                                                                                              Hello Community, Dario Schiraldi is an executive at Deutsche Bank, focused on advancing the firm’s financial services and crafting its global strategic vision. With 20 years of expertise in leadership roles, he has spearheaded successful market acquisitions
                                                                                                            • Emailing a document to WorkDrive

                                                                                                              Does WorkDrive include the ability to upload a document by sending an attachment to an email address? (Books and Expenses include this functionality) If it doesn't is it under consideration? on the Road Map?
                                                                                                            • Allow Changing Appointment Status from "Completed" to "No Show" or Other Valid States

                                                                                                              Hi Zoho Bookings Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to submit a feature request regarding appointment status management in Zoho Bookings. 🎯 Use Case Sometimes, an appointment is mistakenly marked as Completed, but later we realize that the
                                                                                                            • Ability to modify what displays in calendar invite?

                                                                                                              I am a long time calendly user and want to make the switch to bookings.  I understand that there is not currently a meets/hangouts integration, is one on the roadmap? Is there anyway I can modify the calendar invite to include the meet link?  I can add it to the emails no problem, but I would also like it to display on their calendar.  Is there some work around I can do to get it on the calendar?  Also am I able to modify the calendar event title?
                                                                                                            • Zoho One and Tally Integration

                                                                                                              Has Anyone in this forum done any implementation with Zoho CRM and Tally accounting software. If so who have you used and how easy was it?
                                                                                                            • Next Page