Action to Generate Workflow as Downloadable

Kyle_Grieb · 03-03-2020 01:17 PM

Is it possible to have an Action perform some of the functionality Workflows support but perform a GET request so that the client (mobile/web) may download the file?

My objective is to use a supported template file (HTML) to generate a report (PDF) to be visible quickly for the user.
Button on a row, click button, HTML template is rendered into a PDF and user is presented with a file for download or to view in a web browser.

Koichi_Tsuji

Unfortunately, there is native “download file” type of function for the moment.

Instead, what I do now -

Create filed called [Trigger] and initial value set to 0
set action to add 1 on this field.
set workflow to be fired by UPDATE of this field.
workflow will save (archive) the file onto cloud storage.
Set the virtual column to construct the URL to this PDF file.
This URL data filed is made hidden by default (in case of [Trigger] is equal with zero.
Once the action is fired, workflow is triggered and generate PDF on the backend.

It takes a while till workflow complete the jobs, but once being done, when user click the URL it will display the output file.

Without visiting email, the user could access to the worflow output within Appsheet app.

This is not complete download file experience, but give kinda of similar experiences to my app users.

just for your guidance.

furkizio

Hello,

Thank you for this guide. May i ask if there is a way of deleting previously created reports from drive? When trigger will increase initial value, each time a new pdf file will be generated. I am afraid some time later my space is drive will descrease by pdf reports. Can i somehow delete reports created by previous initial values?

Thank you indeed

Furkan

Koichi_Tsuji

Recent years, “storage” prices is remarkably cheaper, so I dont think the server space should not be an issue torward the future, but if you want to overwrite the old files generated by Workflow, then keep generating the files in the same file name by turning off the timestamp setting on the workflow/email set up.

Once new PDF is generated, then it will be saved on the same folder with the same name as perviously saved file, meaning it will keep overwrite.

LeventK

@tsuji_koichi
@furkizio
I’m afraid there’s no overwriting functionality in Google Drive as each file is created with a different UUID

furkizio

Wow thank you for this. I see it won’t be an issue with generating the same file name.

I will review storage prices of google drive.

Thank you so much

VGC_Innovation

Hi, could you please share to us how you constructed the expression for this? my files are saved in google drive.

Koichi_Tsuji

Those are documents you refer to

VGC_Innovation

Thank you very much! appreciate this.

Hocappsheet

can you show me how to construct the URL to this PDF file?

OptimiX_XcrY

This is what I
use in an app, based on the above guide :

CONCATENATE(“data/attachments/Adeverinte Covid/”, [x7],"/Adeverinta Angajator “,[x7],” “,[nume ang],”.pdf")