This is a paid bot, and its usage will be counted toward your plan's credit limit. For more information about credit usage, refer to this article.
General
The bot automates the process of transferring completed documents, such as forms, invoices, and other related attachments, from your workflows to Airtable.
Use case: A company needs to handle expense reimbursement requests from employees. Employees fill out the Expense Reimbursement Form, detailing their expenses, and submit the form along with receipts that will be attached next to the employee name in Airtable.
How to set up
To add the bot:
1. Add a new action by clicking a plus icon.
2. Choose Bot and search for the Export Attachments to Airtable bot.
3. Click on the bot to install it.
Trigger
A trigger is an event that causes the bot to start working. The bot can be placed only after a step or any other element (for example, another bot), and it will run once the previous element finishes its job.
Connection settings
To connect the bot to your Airtable account, select Connect in the Source section.
In the new window, grant access to your Airtable workspace and its bases.
Select the Airtable base, table, view, and column where the attachments will be exported.
Tip: View attached documents in the Attachments field of your Airtable table by clicking on the file icon or name in the corresponding cell.
Selecting documents
In Documents, select the documents to attach to the Airtable record.
Note: Ensure that the Airtable table includes the Attachment field. To add one, open the table, click the plus icon in the last column, and choose Attachment as the field type.
You can also export documents as an archived ZIP file, which is useful for bundling multiple documents for easy download or backup. To enable this action, select the corresponding checkbox.
Lookup
In Find record, specify how the bot will find the destination record data by matching the Airtable column to document field values, custom values, or signer details.
Value based on | Explanation |
Document field value | This option allows the bot to find records by matching the value in the specified object field with a corresponding value in a document field.
For example, if your document has a field that captures a record ID or name, the bot will search for records where the object field contains this value.
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Signer data | This matching type uses the details the signer provides, such as their email, first name, or last name, to find a corresponding record in the object.
It’s useful for workflows where the signer’s identity must be cross-referenced with your system's records. |
Enter your text | This option allows you to manually enter a custom text value, which the bot will use to find a matching record in the object.
This is particularly useful when the value to be matched isn't defined by the document or the signer but is a specific input the workflow creator provides.
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Input parameter | This option uses the predifined workflow parameters to find a corresponding record in the object. |
Testing
In the Test section, check how the bot works by selecting Test. You will see a success message if everything is set up correctly. If there are issues, review the connection, mapping, or trigger configuration.
If you skip testing by selecting Skip testing, you may miss issues with the bot setup. Testing is recommended to ensure everything works as expected.
Conditions
Set conditions to control when the bot activates, tailoring it to your specific needs for more efficient automation. For detailed guidance, refer to this article.
Without defined conditions, the bot will default to activating whenever recipients complete the documents or the previous element (for example, another bot) finishes its job.
Best practice: If you configured the lookup to locate the Airtable record, set conditions to ensure the lookup field is not empty.
Advanced settings
This section allows you to choose how the process proceeds in case the bot fails:
Select Proceed to allow the workflow to move to the next signer and automation if the bot isn't crucial.
Select Stop if the bot is critical; this prevents the next signer from receiving documents if data wasn't pre-filled from the source of your choice.