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

                                                                                                            • Subform edits don't appear in parent record timeline?

                                                                                                              Is it possible to have subform edits (like add row/delete row) appear in the Timeline for parent records? A user can edit a record, only edit the subform, and it doesn't appear in the timeline. Is there a workaround or way that we can show when a user
                                                                                                            • Knowledge Base Module

                                                                                                              How to enable the knowledge base module in zoho crm account. I saw this module in one crm account but unable to find it other zoho crm account. can anyone know about this?
                                                                                                            • Zoho sign changed Indexing of signing_order

                                                                                                              Because I missed this Announcement (is there even one?): when you work with the indexes of actions > signing_order. Previous those started with 0 now starts with 1. Changed somewhere between 15.07 and 23.07
                                                                                                            • How to Invoice Based on Timesheet Hours Logged on a Zoho FSM Work Order

                                                                                                              Hi everyone, We’re working on optimizing our invoicing process in Zoho FSM, and we’ve run into a bit of a roadblock. Here’s our goal: We want to invoice based on the actual number of hours logged by our technicians on a job, specifically using the timesheets
                                                                                                            • Zoho CRM Community Digest - June 2025 | Part 2

                                                                                                              Welcome back to the Zoho CRM Community Digest! We’re wrapping up June with more fresh updates, smart discussions, and clever workarounds shared by the community. Product Updates: Struggling to keep track of scattered customer interactions? Zoho CRM's
                                                                                                            • Allow Variable Insertion in Prebuilt "Update Record" Action in Schedules

                                                                                                              Hi Zoho Creator Team, Hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request based on our experience using Zoho Creator schedules to manage workflows integrated with Zoho Desk. We currently have an app where Zoho Desk tickets create records in
                                                                                                            • Rich Text Field Editor in Form Builder is Too Small and Not Resizable

                                                                                                              Hello, I am experiencing a significant usability issue with the rich text field in the Zoho Forms builder. The editor window for this field is fixed-size and extremely small. It does not adapt to the screen size, which makes it very difficult to manage
                                                                                                            • Publicar Formulário

                                                                                                              Obs. Não consigo publicar meus formulários, pesquisei alguns artigos, mas me deixou perdido, fala de campo sensível, não consigo entender o que significa. Segue Imagem do problema. Todo formulário que faço sempre termina assim sem o botão de publicar..
                                                                                                            • Anyone else unable to login to ZMA this weekend?

                                                                                                              Hey Is anyone else unable to log into Zoho Marketing Automation at all this weekend? I've been trying on multiple devices - despot and mobile - and multiple browser. I've reset browsing data, gone incognito. Nothing - since Friday I've been unable to
                                                                                                            • Custom Action for Subform row

                                                                                                              Dears, As for now, we only have 2 actions for each subform row: Edit and Delete. I would suggest to have custom action here, instead of create a button with Fx field within the subform. For example, I would create Duplicate button, which duplicates the
                                                                                                            • Urgent: Unable to Receive OTP Email for Portal User Registration in Zoho Creator

                                                                                                              I paid to enable the Portal User feature on 2/25, and followed the official instructions (Youtube video: Customer Portals | Zoho Creator) to set up the Portal User using my Gmail account. However, I am not receiving the OTP email and am unable to successfully
                                                                                                            • Sole Trader - Financial Advisor (Appointed Representative) - Paid via Capital Account but no Invoicing...

                                                                                                              Hi. I'm about to venture into a new business after 12 months of intensive learning/exams. A little chuffed if I may say so especially at 52! I really like the look of ZoHo Books for my modest enterprise but I'm in need of some guidance, please. My services
                                                                                                            • Display multiple fields in lookup dropdown

                                                                                                              I have a module called Technicians and a related module called submissions that registers technicians for different assignments. The lookup in Submissions to Technicians is the Technician ID (auto generated unique number). How do I display in the dropdown
                                                                                                            • Integrate with Power BI

                                                                                                              Hi, How to connect Zoho CRM dashboards & reports with POWER BI ?
                                                                                                            • No "Import Users" option in Zoho FSM

                                                                                                              I recently noticed that there is no option to import Users into Zoho FSM, and this has become a serious challenge for us. When migrating data, especially technicians or other user profiles, we often have hundreds of users to bring into the system. Currently,
                                                                                                            • Finding "like" projects

                                                                                                              Hi Everyone! My team is running into several duplicating deals. I've been trying to get them all to name things the same way ex. State is 2 letters not spelled out. Things like that. What I am wondering if there is anything I can do as the superadmin
                                                                                                            • Não consigo localizar o Botão de Publicar Formulário no meu app

                                                                                                              Depois que finalizar meus formulários, não consigo localizar o botão de publicar para concluir meu aplicativo
                                                                                                            • DATEV-Export Erfahrungen?

                                                                                                              Wir würden gern den DATEV-Export in Books nutzen, jedoch ist dieser nicht wirklich nutzbar. Gibt es positive Erfahrungen von Alternativ-Lösungen?
                                                                                                            • Kaizen #191: Implementing "Login with Zoho" using Python SDK

                                                                                                              Welcome back to another week of Kaizen!! This week, we are diving into how to implement secure user authentication using Login with Zoho and integrate it with Zoho CRM through our Python SDK. To ground this in a real-world scenario, we will look at how
                                                                                                            • WhatsApp Business Calling API

                                                                                                              Dear Zoho SalesIQ Team, I would like to request a feature that allows users to call WhatsApp numbers directly via Zoho SalesIQ. This integration would enable sending and receiving calls to and from WhatsApp numbers over the internet, without the need
                                                                                                            • Custom modules not showing in developer console

                                                                                                              I'm trying to create a custom summing function for a custom module I made in my CRM. When I go to create the function, my module isnt showing up. Do I need to share the custom moldule with my developer console or something of the like?
                                                                                                            • Following retainer invoice for partial payment of a sales order

                                                                                                              HI, We issue sales orders when a client buy a product from us. We also issue multiple retainer invoices for partial payment (2 to 4 depending of the client). Team wants to follow payment of these retainer invoices for this Sales Order. If they are paid
                                                                                                            • Zoho CommunitySpacesとzoho CRM連携について

                                                                                                              お世話になっております。 いつもご質問に丁寧に回答いただき大変助かっております。 今、当団体ではZoho CommunitySpacesを利用しており、利用ユーザ一覧をzoho CRMに自動登録(連携)したいと考えております。 そもそも可能なのか、もしあれば具体的な手順や方法はあるのかをご教授いただきたいです。 上記がないのなら、ユーザ一覧のエクスポート方法(メールアドレスと姓を含む)でもよいです。 お手数となりますが、お願いいたします。
                                                                                                            • Zoho Wiki or new Zoho Learn

                                                                                                              We are currently evaluating if we should move off confluence. At present in Confluence we have multiple levels within our documentation but with learn it looks like you can only have Space       - Manual             - Chapter Is it possible to have levels below Chapter? Also the same question for the existing wiki, can I have more sub-levels?
                                                                                                            • New user After moving over from QBO

                                                                                                              New user observations/suggestions. QBO took away a lot of features I was used to with the desktop version. Chaos ensued. Zoho Books has a lot of what I was used to and a bit more. Good deal Some things I have run into and suggest some upgrades. 1: The
                                                                                                            • Sales without an invoice

                                                                                                              Sales without an invoice is not included on the “payments received” report. Also, sales without an invoice is not listed in the transactions under the customer’s profile, also making it easy to do a double entry. Is there a way for me to see my sales
                                                                                                            • Zoho Sign API - Create a document from template.

                                                                                                              1. I would like to create a document from a template and send the document to the customer for signing. Is this possible using the Zoho Sign API? If so, please share the api reference link. 2. Is there sand box for Zoho Sign to test the APIs without using
                                                                                                            • Zoho Sign embedded iframe

                                                                                                              Hello, we are looking for any of these options: a) some iframe that we can paste into our website for every signer, for onpage signing document. b) or get direct link for signers from Zoho sign API which we can redirect manually. Is any of these options
                                                                                                            • Goods in transit

                                                                                                              When creating a purchase order in Zoho Books, how can I properly reflect the inventory as "Goods in Transit" until it reaches its final destination?
                                                                                                            • how to coming soon, holding site, or "under construction"

                                                                                                              Hi! I was wandering if was possible to create a website with the simple sign of "Under construction or coming soon" while i work on the site. if possible, how? Cheers
                                                                                                            • Announcing Agentic AI - Ask Zia!

                                                                                                              We are delighted to roll out the new agentic AI capabilities in Ask Zia, where every stage of the BI workflow is assisted by AI. With a human-in-the-loop approach, Ask Zia ensures that you’re in command of the decision, while AI handles the complexity.
                                                                                                            • Zoho People LMS VS Zoho Connect Manuals VS Zoho Learn

                                                                                                              in the past I came accross Zoho WIKI but did not like the platform because it could use a lot of upgrade. Over the time I have noticed Zoho People come out with a LMS module which allows us to created a shared knowledge for our internal team I also came across Zoho Connect which as a knowledge-based for internal team referred to as Manual Now I am seeing Zoho Learn which is a new and fine-tuned version of Zoho Wiki. All of these platforms are very similar but I am wondering what are the differences
                                                                                                            • Marketing Automation Activities in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                              Hello, I've connected Zoho CRM and Marketing Automation, sent a campaign, but no data are displayed in CRM, neither in "campaigns" section inside contact profile. It is possible to display Marketing Automation activities in CRM? Also in CRM Timelines?
                                                                                                            • How do we get a follow up to Experts 22: Scale up your customer support with integrations & extensibility

                                                                                                              Hi, How do we get a followup and answers to the questions we have asked during 'Experts 22: Scale up your customer support with integrations & extensibility'. I have repsonded to the answers but have no way of following up. Thanks Brett
                                                                                                            • Frustrating Email Duplication and Timeline Issues Between Zoho Mail and CRM

                                                                                                              Hi Zoho team, Can someone please help clarify what’s going on here? Here’s what’s happening: I initiate an email to a lead using Zoho Mail. The lead is created in Zoho CRM via the integration, and the email is correctly associated with that lead. Sometimes,
                                                                                                            • Best Strategy to import contacts and when to create leads

                                                                                                              Hi, I'm new to Bigin and looking for a "best" strategy. I had and have the following idea for an use case: 1. Search for websites which I want to contact 2. Create a contact in Bigin with all the required information based on this website (via API if
                                                                                                            • Better implementation of Item Category on Invoices and Estimates

                                                                                                              1) I have added Item Category as a custom field. Honestly, this should be a native part of the item itself, and either required, optional, or not used.  2) When entering an item on an invoice, you have to enter the first character(s) of the item, otherwise
                                                                                                            • Bulk Update (via the 'Accountant' menu)

                                                                                                              Why can't we bulk update Expenses to Owner's Drawings? It always ends in failure with the error "Involved account types are not applicable". If such conversion isn't possible, why make the option available? Better to allow it though.
                                                                                                            • Set Reply_to parameter for "Email an Invoice" API Endpoint

                                                                                                              Is there a way to set "Reply To" email address when using the Email an invoice API endpoint? It doesn't seem to be in documentation, but sometimes there are undocumented parameters. If it doesn't exist, please consider adding it as parameter since all
                                                                                                            • Zoho Books adaptado a la legislación española. ¿Sustitutos?

                                                                                                              Buenas a tod@s No tenemos información sobre la adaptación de Zoho Books a la nueva ley de facturación en España. Me preguntan usuarios de zoho que deberían hacer. Propongo una lista de alternativas, si al final se opta por no desarrollar la funcionalidad
                                                                                                            • Next Page