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How to Generate PDF Reports Automatically

Collect data, generate content with AI, create styled PDFs, and deliver them by email.

Overview

Formt can generate polished PDF reports from workflow data automatically. Collect data from Google Sheets, financial APIs, or form submissions, generate report content with AI, convert it to a styled PDF, and email it to recipients.

Collect Your Data

Pull data from various sources to feed into your report:

  • Google Sheets for spreadsheet data.
  • Financial Data step for stock and market data.
  • SEC Filing for audited financials.
  • Property Lookup for real estate data.
  • Form steps for user-submitted input.

Generate Report Content with AI

Use AI Generate with HTML output mode to create formatted report content. Reference upstream data in your prompt. The AI produces valid HTML with headings, tables, and formatting that translates well to PDF.

Step Guide: AI Generate

Create the PDF

Use the PDF Create action to convert HTML to a styled PDF. Configure orientation (portrait or landscape) and paper size. The output includes a pdf_url, file name, size, and page count.

Step Guide: PDF

Merge Multiple Sections

If your report has multiple sections generated separately (e.g., executive summary, financial analysis, property details), use the PDF Merge action to combine them into a single document.

Extract and Analyze Existing PDFs

Use PDF Extract to pull text from uploaded PDFs, or PDF Extract Structured to parse specific fields (invoice number, totals, dates). Feed extracted data into AI steps for analysis or into new report generation.

Deliver by Email

Use Send Email to deliver the report. Map the pdf_url from the PDF step to the attachments field. Send from your own domain for a professional appearance.

Step Guide: Send Email

Templates

Start from a pre-built template to get a working report pipeline in minutes.

Tips
  • Use HTML output mode on AI Generate for report content. It produces structured HTML that converts cleanly to PDF.
  • Configure landscape orientation for reports with wide tables or charts.
  • PDF Extract Structured is useful for processing uploaded documents. Define the fields you need and the step parses them automatically.
  • Chain multiple PDF steps: extract from an uploaded document, analyze with AI, generate a new report, merge everything together.