This article explains how to generate multiple templates from a single form. You will learn step-by-step how to create and send different documents to different recipients from only one Google Form submission.
Generate multiple files from one Google Form
timer 20 min.
- Link multiple templates
- Generate numerous files from those templates
- Good knowledge of Google Form
- Knowing how to configure Form Publisher
- Understanding templates & markers
- Alice, the event manager, wants to invite Bob's team to an event.
- Alice submits a Google Form with details on the event (price, attendees, date, location etc.).
- Bob receives the invitation card to share it with his team and Marc, the HR manager, receives the invoice with all the event details.
1. Create your original Google Form
Create your Google Form with the questions you want. Once you are done, open Form Publisher > Get started.
2. Configure your current template
Create and personalize your existing template. In our example, we selected our own Google Doc as a template, an Invitation card containing all the event details.
Click Select template, check that all your markers are valid and click Next.
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3. Configure Form Publisher on your original form
Configure the Destination folder and naming convention sidebar as you need and click Next.
On the Sharing options and notifications sidebar, add the recipient who will receive the file every time someone submits the form. Then, click Next.
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In our example, the generated Google Doc is sent to bob.fordemos@gmail.com.
4. Add a new template to your current form
After completing the previous step, open the add-on menu again.
Then, click Form Publisher > Additional template. A new sidebar appears. Click Get started.
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Then, Form Publisher duplicates the current Google Form into a new one (renamed Connected to Event), with the same questions. The connected form is automatically linked to your current form. So every time someone submits the original form, data will be forwarded to the connected one.
By default, Activate additional template is ticked, make sure it is unless you don't want your additional template to be generated when the original template is created.
To open this duplicate form, click Open.
5. Configure your connected template
On the connected Google Form open Form Publisher > Get started.
Then, create and personalize your connected template with the markers you want, precisely as you did for your original Google Form.
In our example, we created an invoice with all the details of the event. We also added a formula that multiplies the Ticket Price by the Number of employees invited.
In our example, we selected our own Google Sheet as a template. Click Select template, make sure that all markers are valid and click Next.
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6. Configure Form Publisher on the connected form
Configure the Destination folder and naming convention sidebar as you need and click Next.
Finally, on the Sharing options and notifications sidebar add the recipient who receives the file each time someone submits the form. Then, click Next.
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In our example, the generated Google Sheet is sent to marc.walkerd@gmail.com.
Both documents are sent to different email addresses depending on your configuration.
7. Add a third or more templates (optional)
This option is useful if you want to send more than two templates at the same time. To do so:
- Open Form Publisher from your connected template
- Click Additional template
- Configure the Connected to Event form by adding a new template
- Select Create both templates in the Sharing options and notifications sidebar
8. Send your Google Form
Once you are done with all the configurations, open your original form. In our example, we go back to the Event file.
Then, click Send.
Every time your respondent submits a form (on the original one), Form Publisher generate the files as Google Doc and Google Sheet.
In our example, bob.fordemos@gmail.com receives the Invitation Card (Google Doc).
The Invitation Card contains all the event's details, Bob only has to share it with his team.
And marc.walkerd@gmail.com receives the Event invoice (Google Sheet).
The Event invoice contains all the details of the event as well, allowing Marc to know the costs of this event, to refund the employees.
Comments
3 comments
This seems a slightly cumbersome way of doing it. What prevents you creating 2 different outputs from a single form submission? My concern with the duplicated forms setup you describe is that with intensive use it has the potential to cause problems.
Hi there,
We are a vacation rental management company and we'd like to be able to receive the guest responses to a form sent to them in two different templates.
The first would be for the guest to sign upon arrival so it ideally would be in PDF.
The second would be for administration records and would ideally be in Excel so we can copy and paste the guest data into a unique spreadsheet.
Is there any way this is possible?
I've been playing with this platform for hours and cannot seem to work out how a response to a form can be received in two different file types (e.g. one in excel for admin purposes and the second in PDF for printing and guest signing purposes).
Maybe I'm missing something?
Cheers,
Steve
Hi Steve,
Thanks for your comment!
Did you check that your additional template was set up as a Google Sheet file as per your request? If so, once the user will fill out the form and the connected template will be triggered then the user will receive the specific file according to your set up. However, without a connected template, it is not possible for the user to receive different kinds of files for one single submission.
Hope that helps
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