Baserow

Prerequisites

• A PolyDoc account and API key - sign up for free, no credit card required. The free plan includes 150 PDF conversions per month.
• A Baserow workspace on version 2.0 or later (free Cloud tier or self-hosted) - the Automations builder and its Send HTTP request action are required.
• Your own cloud storage bucket (S3, GCS, Azure Blob, R2, Wasabi, …) and a way to generate presigned PUT URLs - Baserow automations cannot pass a binary PDF between actions, so PolyDoc uploads the PDF to a presigned URL you supply and returns the object URL. See the cloud storage guide.

Use Case 1: Save PDF URL to row on creation

Generate an invoice PDF whenever a new row is added to the invoices table, then save the resulting download URL back to that row.
Rows are created → List multiple rows (line items) → Send an HTTP request (PolyDoc) → Update a row (save PDF URL)

This guide uses Baserow's native Automations builder (the Send an HTTP request action plus an Update a row action), which shipped in Baserow 2.0 and is available on every plan, including the free Cloud tier and self-hosted. Automations are still flagged beta, so labels and limits may shift. A plain table webhook is not enough on its own: webhooks are fire-and-forget and cannot read the PolyDoc response back into a row, which is exactly what saving the PDF link requires.

Baserow automations cannot forward a binary PDF between actions, so the request includes a cloudStorage.presignedUrl: a presigned PUT URL pointing at your own bucket (S3, GCS, Azure Blob, R2, Wasabi, …). PolyDoc generates the PDF, PUTs it to that URL, and returns the public object URL in the response. See the cloud storage guide for per-provider presigning recipes. The presigned URL must already be on the invoice row when the automation fires, so you populate a presigned_url field externally (the script that creates the invoice row generates the URL and writes it together with the rest of the invoice fields).

Set up your tables

Use invoices (one row per invoice) and invoice_items (line rows linked by invoice_number). Examples below - two tabs in Sheets; two tables or linked records elsewhere.

invoice_number	invoice_date	invoice_due_date	invoice_subtotal	invoice_tax_rate	invoice_tax_amount	invoice_total	customer_name	customer_email	customer_street	customer_city	customer_country
INV-2026-001	2026-01-15	2026-02-14	1200	0.1	120	1320	John Doe	john.doe@example.com	456 Customer Avenue	Beautiful City	UK

invoice_number	quantity	name	description	price	original_price
INV-2026-001	1	Web Design Services	Custom website design and development for company homepage	800
INV-2026-001	1	Logo Design	Professional logo design with 3 revision rounds	300
INV-2026-001	1	SEO Optimization	Search engine optimization for 10 target keywords	100	150

In Baserow, create the two tables above in a database (the Paste table data import is the quickest way). Then add two more Text fields to the invoices table:

• presigned_url: a presigned PUT URL for your bucket, one per invoice row, populated by the script that creates the row.
• pdf_url: left empty; the automation writes the PolyDoc response URL here.

Create the automation trigger

Open the database and click Add new… → Automation (or the + next to Automations in the sidebar). Pick Rows are created as the trigger, then set Integration to Local Baserow, Database to your database, and Table to invoices. Click Test event and create a row (or use an existing one) so the trigger captures a sample payload — later steps reference its fields.

baserow.io

The trigger output is an array of the created rows, so every later reference to a trigger field goes through index 0 (for example Rows are created → 0 → invoice_number). Baserow can create several rows at once; this guide handles the first one.

Add the List multiple rows and Send an HTTP request actions

Click the + under the trigger and add a List multiple rows action. Point it at the invoice_line_items table, open Refinements → Filter, and add Where invoice_number is — then use Use a formula for this filter and pick the trigger row's invoice_number (Rows are created → 0 → invoice_number). This collects the line items for the new invoice.

Add a second action and choose Send an HTTP request. Configure:

• HTTP method: POST
• Endpoint URL: https://api.polydoc.tech/pdf/convert
• Headers:
  • Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY (get your key from the PolyDoc Dashboard).
  • Content-Type: application/json
  • X-Sandbox: true
• Body type: Raw

Choose Raw, not JSON, for the body type. The JSON body type validates the template before the field references are resolved and rejects a body that contains them ("The body is not a valid JSON"). Raw sends the resolved string as-is, so the references are substituted first. Keep the Content-Type: application/json header either way.

In the Body content editor, type the JSON below and use dynamic data (the field picker that opens on focus, or the get formula in expert mode) to insert each value:

{
  "source": "[template:YOUR_TEMPLATE_ID]",
  "templateData": {
    "invoice_number":     "<invoice_number field>",
    "invoice_date":       "<invoice_date field>",
    "invoice_due_date":   "<invoice_due_date field>",
    "invoice_subtotal":   <invoice_subtotal field>,
    "invoice_tax_rate":   <invoice_tax_rate field>,
    "invoice_tax_amount": <invoice_tax_amount field>,
    "invoice_total":      <invoice_total field>,
    "customer_name":      "<customer_name field>",
    "customer_email":     "<customer_email field>",
    "customer_street":    "<customer_street field>",
    "customer_city":      "<customer_city field>",
    "customer_country":   "<customer_country field>",
    "items":              <List multiple rows output>
  },
  "cloudStorage": {
    "presignedUrl": "<presigned_url field>"
  }
}

Group the bindings by field type when wiring them in:

• Text (invoice_number, customer_name, customer_email, customer_street, customer_city, customer_country): insert the field inside the existing quotes — for example Rows are created → 0 → customer_name.
• Number (invoice_subtotal, invoice_tax_rate, invoice_tax_amount, invoice_total): insert the field with no surrounding quotes, so the API receives a JSON number, not a stringified number.
• Date strings (invoice_date, invoice_due_date): Baserow date fields serialise as ISO strings (YYYY-MM-DD), so insert the field inside quotes.
• Array (items): replace the placeholder with the entire List multiple rows output (no quotes). The line-item field names (quantity, name, description, price, optionally original_price) must match what your template expects — rename them in invoice_line_items if needed.

baserow.io

cloudStorage.presignedUrl points at your bucket. There is no PolyDoc-side dashboard setup to do. See the cloud storage guide for per-provider presigning recipes.

Remove the X-Sandbox header before going to production. Sandbox requests return a watermarked PDF and do not count against your quota.

This example uses a template as source. You can also use plain HTML or a URL. See Templates for details.

Add the Update a row action

Add a third action and choose Update a row. Point it at the invoices table, set Row ID to the trigger row's id (Rows are created → 0 → id), and map the pdf_url field:

• Field: pdf_url
• Value: from the dynamic-data picker, pick the previous Send an HTTP request output, then drill into data → url. PolyDoc returns { "data": { "url": "<your-presigned-url-without-querystring>" } }, so data.url is the permanent object URL in your bucket.

Enable and test

Toggle the automation On (the Draft switch at the top of the editor) and Publish it. Create a test row in the invoices table with a fresh presigned_url, then refresh the row — the pdf_url field should be populated within a few seconds. Use Test event on each action, or the History tab, to inspect inputs and outputs if a run fails.

Use Case 2: Email the PDF link to the customer

Email the generated PDF link to the customer as soon as the invoice is created, using Baserow's native Send an email action chained after the HTTP request.
Rows are created → List multiple rows → Send an HTTP request (PolyDoc) → Send an email

This use case reuses the trigger, List multiple rows, and Send an HTTP request from Use Case 1 unchanged; only the trailing action differs. You can also keep both endings (Update a row + Send an email) in a single automation to do both at once. Send an email needs workspace SMTP configured; on Baserow Cloud this is provided, while self-hosted instances must set the SMTP environment variables.

Reuse the trigger and HTTP request

Create a new automation (or extend the one from Use Case 1). Use the same Rows are created trigger on invoices, the same List multiple rows action, and the same Send an HTTP request action as Use Case 1, Steps 2 and 3.

Add the Send an email action

After the Send an HTTP request action, add another action and choose Send an email. Configure:

• To: insert the customer_email field (Rows are created → 0 → customer_email).
• Subject: Invoice followed by the invoice_number field.
• Body: Your invoice is ready. Download it here: followed by the previous Send an HTTP request's data → url value. Same field path as Use Case 1 Step 4.

Enable and test

Toggle the automation On and Publish it. Create a test row and verify that the customer email arrives with the PDF download link. The History tab surfaces the response body of each action if a run fails.